With Harvard Business Review recently publishing advice on identifying burnout culture in a workplace and Forbes offering insights into how managers can better support their employees to combat the phenomenon, burnout remains a pressing subject in the world of work and business at large.
In tech, it has been a critical and more visible subject of discussion since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, with the latest data showing that almost half of female tech professionals are experiencing burnout.
To further explore the picture of burnout in tech, Jefferson Frank, a Tenth Revolution Group company, has collected new data breaking down burnout by age demographic to see how burnout affects the different generations of the tech workforce today.
The data correspondents to tech professionals across Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, and Microsoft 365, Azure, and Business Applications
Gen Z and the new statistics
| Age Demographic: | Percentage that has experienced burnout in the last 12 months: |
| Gen Z (11-26) | 56% |
| Millennials (27-42) | 44% |
| Gen X (43-58) | 35% |
| 59-68 | 25% |
Reflecting on this new data, Jefferson Frank Chairman & CEO commented:
“There’s been some talk recently about Gen Z’s relationship to technology as the first generation to have grown up in the digital age, and particularly about their low uptake of tech careers so far. Seeing that over half of those aged 11-26 who are currently working in tech are experiencing burnout is illuminating and worrying. If those already working in the space are having a negative experience, they are less likely to stay in the space – and their peers are less likely to pursue a similar career path.
“In the context of the digital skills gap, we cannot afford not to be recruiting and retaining Gen Z. It’s clear from this new information that a big part of that is going to be tackling burnout.
“It’s also interesting to see that the burnout rate declines across the older generations currently active in the tech workforce. It seems to indicate that the workloads and expectations placed upon younger employees are unreasonable. At the same time, even 25 percent, the burnout rate amongst Boomers, is still too high. Burnout is a serious issue that affects individuals and organisations as a whole, and it’s vital that we support those experiencing it while working to address the conditions that lead to it.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.