“This cannot be my life,” writes a burnt out 22-year-old employee: How monotonous work is draining a whole generation

It’s 9 a.m., and another day of targets, reports, and check-ins begins. By evening, the goals are achieved, the boxes ticked, but tomorrow, it all starts again. For millions of young workers, this is daily life in entry-level roles across customer service, operations, and sales. The monotony, the endless pressure, the quiet sense that progress never really sticks—it’s a cycle that is slowly wearing them down.

One Reddit post sums it up in four words: “This cannot be my life.” The post, written by a 22-year-old employee, has resonated with thousands who feel the same early-career exhaustion.

Work that keeps restarting

One thing that stands out in the Reddit post is the sense of going in circles. Every quarter, new KRAs, check-ins, and targets pile up. When you finally meet them, the next day feels just like the last—no real change in your role, responsibilities, or pay. For many early-career employees in customer service, operations, or sales, this is normal. The work itself may not be overwhelming, but the constant cycle of effort with little visible progress can leave anyone feeling drained.

Research reflects this pattern. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report, only about 21% of employees worldwide feel engaged in their work, meaning most workers are either disconnected or actively disengaged on the job. At the same time, stress levels remain high: around 40% of workers reported experiencing a lot of stress the previous day, and younger employees under 35 show slightly higher daily stress than older colleagues.

When hard work stops feeling meaningful

The post also questions a familiar idea: that putting in the effort now will eventually make things easier.

For many young workers, that promise feels uncertain. Salaries often cover basic expenses but leave little room for savings. Promotions are slow. The pressure to constantly “perform” remains, regardless of experience.

Deloitte’s Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey finds that work‑related stress is now one of the top concerns for younger employees. Around 40% of Gen Z respondents say they feel stressed or anxious most or all of the time, and a significant share cite job‑related factors—long hours, lack of recognition and work/life balance—as contributors to that stress. Many also say they struggle to see how their day‑to‑day tasks connect to long‑term career growth or stability.

It is not that this generation dislikes work. Rather, they are uneasy with work that feels disconnected from outcomes.

Rethinking the idea of moving up

Another telling moment in the post is the hesitation around career progression. The Reddit poster notes that moving up may simply replace individual targets with responsibility for a team’s performance.

The worry is quite justified. Research at several workplaces have revealed that middle managers end up working more hours and gaining higher stress, all without a proportionate increase in control or job satisfaction. So, when young professionals see their superiors going through these problems, the conventional ladder doesn't seem very enticing to them.

Location, effort, and unequal returns

The post also touches on a quieter, but very real frustration: where you work. For many young professionals, putting in long hours in a developing economy while saving for months just to take a short vacation is exhausting. And then there’s the awareness that similar roles abroad pay far more for the same work.

With remote jobs and global salary data becoming more accessible, it’s hard not to notice the gap—and even harder not to question whether the effort feels fairly rewarded.

Burnout is a signal, not a failure

Mental health experts emphasize that burnout, especially early in a career, is not a personal failure. According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a workplace phenomenon caused by prolonged, unmanaged stress. Seen this way, the Reddit post is not a personal breakdown—it’s a warning sign. At 22, the writer isn’t asking for an easy path. They are questioning whether constant pressure, limited rewards, and repetitive work should be accepted as normal. For many young professionals reading it, the post doesn’t feel extreme—it feels familiar.Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!