At a time when work-life balance is something of a catchphrase but rarely a phenomenon, the blunt admission of one woman for why she quit her full-time gig is going viral.
The woman, whose tale was first seen in a going-viral video, disclosed that she quit her job as she could not, at the same time, take care of her everyday needs and work for 40 hours.
Her openness has galvanized discussions concerning burnout, mental health, and whether the standard 9-to-5 is tenable today.
“So I quit my job because I can’t take care of my basic needs and work 40 hours a week at the same time,” she described. “It’s really hard to say this out loud and put it online, but I know that I’m not the only person going through this.”
A Cycle of Burnout
She explained how she would usually do incredibly well in an initial role, only to burn out soon after.
“I’ve almost been fired from every job that I’ve ever had, and it’s not because I’m not smart; I actually tend to overperform in the beginning. It’s just that after some time, I inevitably burn out once I wake up one day and realize that I haven’t taken a shower in like three weeks.”
Her case is representative of a burgeoning problem at the office: potentially bright and keenly detailed employees yet not quite agile enough to maintain the frenetic pace of a 40-hour work week.
While bright and capable, she professed never quite adequately balancing professional responsibilities with old-fashioned self-care.
Not Just for Discipline
For her, it was not that she didn’t attempt enough or that she was undisciplined.
“It’s really frustrating because I know that I’m an intelligent person and I’ve been able to accomplish a lot of really amazing things in my life,” she said. “But I still can’t manage to take care of myself, and it’s not just a matter of not trying hard enough or not being disciplined.”
She described her regular daily routine as exhausting. rising at 5 o’clock in the morning, pacing up and down with worry, starting to work at 7, finishing at 6, eating a light meal, and going to bed by 8. Having all her energy drained by work itself, her own health was left drained as well.
Picking Herself Over Stockholders
Leaving was not an easy choice. It was “crazy,” she admitted, to give up the security of a regular paycheck, especially in the face of recession fears. But she believes it was her only choice if she was going to preserve a future that she could endure.
“If I actually want to build a future for myself and get there in one piece, taking care of myself has to become my full-time job,” she stated. “I was not born to raise shareholder value. I’m actually meant to live a life, and I need to learn how to be a person in order to do that.”
A Wider Conversation
Her language is echoing far beyond her own narrative. Increasingly, many workers, especially younger workers, are beginning to wonder whether full-time work is sustainable with mental health and with contemporary existence.
From “quiet quitting” to four-day workweek advocacy, the cultural current seems to be moving in the direction of appreciating individual flourishing as much as workplace success.
To her, quitting was not failure. By speaking out so forthrightly, she has given voice to all suffering from the 40-hour work week.
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