A young Australian woman has spoken out about quitting her ‘dream job’ and revealed why she was happier living off welfare.
Alicia, aged 30, posted a video to social media earlier this month explaining she suffered ‘extreme burnout’ after five months in what she thought was her dream job.
Recognising the job did not align with her ‘identity’ and ‘core values’, she quit to live off welfare payments before finding a job with more flexible terms.
‘I quit my dream job, I’m completely burnt out and need to re-evaluate what is going to make me happy and, importantly bring me the security I need,’ she said.
‘I’ve worked since I was 18 years of age to get to this point and to reach this job. I’ve decided that my values are worth more than monetary gain or a career position.
‘I am also experiencing severe burnout like countless people are, where for so many years we’ve been managing so many roles above what our job description covered.’
Young Australia woman Alicia (pictured) has explained why she quit her dream job due to being burnt out at 30. Alicia says she now is focusing on work that aligns with her core values and beliefs
For two years, Alicia said she worked on average 14-hour days, five days a week.
‘I feel like so many of us, especially when you come from marginalised collectives, we see success on the west or on the white man scale of what it means to be successful,’ she said.
‘Turning 30 and being in this job, I had to sit back and think this is my moment where I choose what world I wanted to work in.
‘And I can’t choose a job or an institution that is going to cost me my identity and, most importantly, my core values and my beliefs.’
Alicia said she previously worked for community organisations before she took on her dream role at a private company, and said that was ultimately a mistake.
‘I am so drained, tired and exhausted. To have to now scale things back and reconfigure and think about what I want the next ten years to look like is not easy.
‘But in saying that it is so exciting thinking about what I want to do.
‘When I was on unemployment benefits or single parent benefits, I was happier than I was the entire of last year.
‘Particularly for the five months where I was at that job where I have resigned from had drained me of my happiness.
Alicia said her dream job drained her of her happiness
‘Having a job where you are dreading having to provide your insights for them to be knocked back is not the job that I want to live.
‘I’ve decided to focus on having a job that provides the flexibility my life requires, especially with having a daughter with additional needs.
‘Furthermore, a role that doesn’t require me to compromise on my morals and obligation to my community.’
Social media users threw their support behind the mum, many saying they have experienced something similar, she explained.
‘100% just did this, quit my job, now just doing me,’ one person commented.
‘Good on you for staying true to yourself and your community. You’ll be a force for change no matter which way you head,’ another said.
‘I support you 100%. Colonial expectations of productivity and capitalist success are antithetical to human wellbeing,’ a third wrote.
Why Gen Zs and millennials are giving up their day jobs in their droves
Many millennials and Generation-Z workers are suffering from what is being termed the ‘Great Burnout’, prompting them to quit their jobs despite struggling to pay their bills as a result.
Young workers claim they are overworked, underpaid and feel unable to deal with responsibilities outside their jobs.
Many complain they are sick of ‘working all week and having nothing to show for it’ while others complain they ‘can’t afford a holiday, let alone a home’.
This has led to criticism from Boomers and Gen-Xers who slam the younger generations as ‘lazy’ and ‘entitled’.
The millennial co-hosts of the Two Broke Chicks podcast, Sally and Alex, claim the younger generations aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch.
They have shared research showing 50 per cent of ‘prime’ Australian workers, those aged between 25 and 55, are ‘exhausted’.
The millennial co-hosts of the Two Broke Chicks podcast, Sally and Alex
On top of that a third are thinking of quitting because they are overworked.
‘Half of them are feeling, not tired, not a little bit overworked, exhausted,’ 30-year-old Sally said in the clip which was posted on Friday.
The quick clip divided their listeners.
Many older viewers in the comments were not sympathetic and quick to take aim at young workers telling them to ‘harden up’.
‘Breaking news, people get tired,’ one man quipped.
‘That’s the norm, isn’t it? You just keep on keeping on, it’s called living,’ said a second viewer.
‘That’s crazy because I’m exhausted from the constant whinging!’ complained a third.
Some were more sympathetic.
‘I am 60 and the demands are a joke now while executives take the big money. The young ones at my work are also exhausted,’ someone added
Most millennials and Generation-Z considered the research data ‘accurate’ with many agreeing their jobs are leaving them feeling drained.
‘Companies are cutting jobs, but still expecting the same results with less staff,’ one woman replied.
‘We aren’t working for anything worth it in return. Work all week, can’t afford a house, holiday or anything that makes it worth it. Just bills,’ another said.
‘We are exhausted. Had enough. Working out a**es off for nothing. While the wealthy take in loads of money while they sit back and do nothing,’ a third said ranted.
The mass exhaustion across Australian workplaces has been referred to as The Great Burnout.
A 2023 study from the University of Melbourne surveyed 1,400 workers and found the workers increasingly feeling unmotivated, exhausted and unable to concentrate in the post-lockdown era.
It was also revealed prime-aged workers are twice as likely to feel like they don’t have enough time to complete tasks outside their jobs like life admin and housework.
Since the lockdowns, which forced many people to look for new jobs, many workers are now increasingly prepared to change jobs repeatedly until they find something suitable.
According to The Conversation, in Australia however, workers were not so much quitting their jobs but wanting to continue working from home, and being reluctant to take on unrewarded extra responsibilities.
Families had added pressures of juggling working from home while looking after kids as schools and day cares shut down resulting in poorer mental health.
More workers were also taking sick leave, putting more pressure on their co-workers to pick up the slack.
Careers expert Sue Ellson said workers are now struggling to adjust to the higher-paced lifestyle that came from the pandemic and figure out how to slow down again.
