body & soul

The Great Exhaustion

Why we're more tired than ever before (and what to do about it)

Trends like Quiet Quitting, The Great Resignation and Bare Minimum Mondays are indicative of a new era we've entered: The Great Exhaustion.

I first realised I was in a state of permanent exhaustion sometime in 2023. Australia was adjusting to post-pandemic life, and nowhere was that period of adjustment more fraught with difficulties than in the workplace.

If you’re an office worker like me, you’ll know what I’m referring to. Employers were flip-flopping about whether we’d get to keep our much-loved ‘work from home’ days, many businesses were struggling financially, redundancies were a regular occurrence, and pretty much everyone in the workforce was dealing with personal aftershocks – whether physical, financial or mental – of the pandemic. 

Sitting in an office you’ve come to dislike, while trying to meet the ever-increasing demands placed on you due to staffing shortages, is a lot as is. But doing that while navigating the biggest collective trauma most of us have ever faced? It was, and still is, a lot.

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic and the years following it have left people with very little in the tank energy-wise. Trends like ‘Quiet Quitting’, ‘The Great Resignation’ and ‘Bare Minimum Mondays’ reared their heads from 2021 onwards, each indicating a growing desire for more work-life balance, and less emphasis on the rise-and-grind culture we’ve become so used to in late-stage capitalism. 

Earlier this year, a new term was coined by economists and analysts to explain the work-related burnout so many of us are now experiencing: ‘The Great Exhaustion’.

So how did we get here, and what can we do to replenish our energy levels and approach work in a different way?

What can we do to replenish our energy levels? Image: Pexels

Unpacking The Great Exhaustion

Caroline Weinstein, a clinical psychologist and the co-founder of The Talking Cure, believes The Great Exhaustion highlights the significant mental health impact of modern work culture on employees.

“Many of us are feeling more depleted than ever, and it’s not surprising when we look at the demands placed on workers in today’s fast-paced, always-on society," she says. "Trends like ‘Quiet Quitting’, ‘The Great Resignation’, and ‘Bare Minimum Mondays’ are powerful indicators of a collective response to chronic burnout, where people are reevaluating their relationship with work and pushing back on unrealistic expectations."

Weinstein points to the ‘right to disconnect’ laws that recently passed in Australia and give workers the right to refuse to monitor and respond to after-hours work communication, saying that it’s “further proof that workers are exhausted and need additional safeguards for their mental health”.

Having our phones and laptops (not to mention smart watches) always on us or within easy reach means we don’t ever really get the chance to properly switch off.

Having our phones and laptops (not to mention smart watches) always on us or within easy reach means we don’t ever really get the chance to properly switch off, and this hyper-connectedness is burning us out. 

“It’s often assumed that we are accessible at all times, both day and night. Moreover, technology has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life, so many people feel they’re never truly off the clock, with emails, Slack notifications and other digital demands extending well into personal time,” explains Weinstein.

“This digital overload and the ‘always on’ culture erodes boundaries, encroaches on personal space and time and contributes to a heightened stress response, potentially leading to chronic fatigue.”

The work-from-home culture that so many of us love isn’t always the best for our energy levels.

But it’s not only our increased workloads that are exhausting us – ironically, the work-from-home culture that so many of us love isn’t always the best for our energy levels.

“For those working remotely or in hybrid models, the lack of face-to-face interaction can lead to feelings of isolation, which exacerbates stress and mental exhaustion,” Weinstein tells me. “Humans are social beings, and when we’re disconnected from colleagues, it impacts both mood and motivation, which reduces the desire to get up and do things and creates a snowball effect of inaction. Exhaustion breeds exhaustion.” 

While I value my working-from-home days (how good is getting on top of your washing on your lunch break), I do resonate with the decreased motivation and feelings of loneliness.

And now that I freelance two days a week, these feelings have only been exacerbated. 

Time to clean out the conversation cobwebs.

So, what can be done?

In search of some practical advice, I ask Weinstein what she thinks can be done to pull us out of The Great Exhaustion we’re all experiencing. She tells me that, like so many issues we’re facing today, it’s a complex problem that requires more than a sternly worded email to your boss and a post-work face mask.

“Addressing The Great Exhaustion requires a multi-faceted approach involving both organisational changes and individual self-care strategies. The pandemic has led many to reevaluate what they want from work and life. There’s a shift toward valuing well-being, work-life balance and meaning over purely economic or career gains.

"For many, this shift has resulted in setting firmer boundaries, even if that means Quiet Quitting or doing the bare minimum to protect their mental health,” she says. 

This shift has resulted in setting firmer boundaries.

At an organisational level, Weinstein believes employers should consider revisiting workload expectations, offering more flexible work arrangements and providing genuine mental health support.

“Many organisations have trialled four-day work weeks with limited impact on overall productivity and huge gains in worker satisfaction and well-being. Time shifting is another way organisations can better cater for workers by allowing them to start and end early or, if they’re night owls, to start and end late.”

She also highlights the importance of creating a work culture where boundaries are respected, breaks are encouraged and mental health is prioritised, as this can help foster a healthier work environment. 

On an individual level, she says we need to get better at practising self-care, setting boundaries and redefining personal measures of success by “celebrating the small wins and seeing how having better overall health actually allows one to do their job better”.

It’s also crucial that we learn to recognise the signs of burnout, like emotional exhaustion, cynicism and decreased satisfaction, as this can help us take action before we reach a breaking point. “Mindfulness, regular breaks, physical activity and connecting with supportive peers can also be powerful tools,” she suggests.

Ultimately, Weinstein believes that The Great Exhaustion “reflects an urgent need for change, both in how we structure work and in how we define success and productivity”.

If employers and employees alike look at depleted energy levels as a chance to change how we approach work and health, then hopefully, we can create a much healthier and more sustainable work culture going forward.