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Spending half of your waking time (assuming you have the luxury of a regular sleep schedule) on your survival doesn't sound that bad, right? But add the minutes you spend meal prepping, commuting, and checking your corporate email, and suddenly it's more like two-thirds, which, again, isn't all terrible. However, let's be honest—parts of the daily grind are. And, when we feel overworked and underappreciated, the Instagram account 'Anti-Work Memes' is ready to remind us that there's still someone who gets it. If a silly joke is what you need to survive another meeting, this place has plenty.
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"Workplace satisfaction today boils down to three key areas: flexibility, fair compensation, and culture," Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now—an online platform that provides useful tools and resources to job seekers—told Bored Panda.
"Employees want the ability to work in ways that fit their lives, whether that means remote options or a schedule that allows for real work-life balance. Pay and benefits obviously matter, but beyond that, people want to feel valued. That means having a workplace where they feel heard, supported, and are given real opportunities for growth."
However, according to last year's State of Work in America survey from Grant Thornton, there's a legitimate reason for people to be irritated at—or with—their work.
Fifty-one percent of respondents reported having suffered burnout in the twelve months prior to it, a 15 percentage point jump since 2023.
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Respondents said the top causes of their burnout were mental and emotional stress (63%), followed by long hours (54%).
While worker shortages can contribute to long hours, according to the researchers, the increase in mental and emotional stress as a cause of burnout is a concern because this increase can also be due to factors outside of the business's control.
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Kirsten Kerkhof 9 months ago
YES! I have my annual review coming up next month, but it always feels so meh. I have no big goals, I'm fine in my current position as a full-time teacher, and I just feel like I need to fib.
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Tabitha 9 months ago (edited)
You hit the nail tight on the head. My husband and I own our own company, after years of working jobs where we had to put up with owners’/corporates’ horseshit. We’re approachable people who listen to employees’ suggestions and concerns. We pay well above the going starting wage—-and more than that for experienced hires—-are willing to train the right person, give a generous number of paid personal, vacation, and holidays, as well as a generous Christmas bonus from the profits (calculated to pre-pay the taxes so the net bonus amount is as promised and not less), and do not micromanage. We’re running our company ethically and equitably, and once we can afford it, will start a profit-sharing program. Not one of our employees has quit, or indicated they’re unhappy. We’re also looking into allowing employees who attain a certain level (promotions, seniority) to actually buy in to a percentage of ownership of the company. We don’t have kids to leave our business to, but don’t want to sell out to a company that will treat our people like s**t and cheat them out of making a good living, so having the employees end up as employee-owners sounds like a good plan for when we retire (we would retain a chunk of ownership ourselves as our pensions, then when we’re both dead, those portions will be distributed to the employee-owners. We’re still working out the details, but that’s the basics of the plan).
While the increase in burnout was a major finding, the survey also discovered that:
- 30% assert their financial well-being declined this year, with 32% saying their mental well-being declined;
- 20% report there is little to no transparency in their career path;
- 62% hold a second job or are considering doing so;
- 52% say their organization will increase AI use in the next year;
- 34% cited poor communication as a top cause of work stress;
- 28% believe their role will be reduced or replaced by AI in the coming year.
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And it's not just the US. Many places in the Western world are battling with similar problems. For example, about 45 percent of Australian workers across all generations also report being unhappy.
A new survey found that senior leadership and salary were the top two factors contributing to their dissatisfaction, but stress also plays a huge part, with 41 percent of respondents reporting having problems with it, as well as career progression opportunities (37 percent), and company commitment to social and environmental responsibility (35 percent).
Companies should take notice, because burnout can cause key leadership and top talent to become worn down. When this happens, they consider quitting their roles even amid concerns of job insecurity.
Consulting firm DDI's Global Leadership Forecast 2025 showed that among the 71% of stressed-out leaders surveyed, more than half were worried about burnout and nearly half have considered leaving their jobs as a result.
Known as "revenge quitting," highly talented employees can also abruptly leave their jobs to get back at companies where they felt overworked and undervalued. According to DDI, among high-potential contributors, the intention to quit increased from 13% in 2020 to 21% in 2024.
If you—a regular worker—wish to make your own work-life balance as healthy as possible, Keith Spencer of Resume Now said you should "Set boundaries early and stick to them, but do so with tact."
"The expectation to always be available is one of the biggest threats to work-life balance today. Log off when your workday ends, use your PTO, and be mindful of your workload—but also communicate your limits professionally to avoid unnecessary friction," the career expert and certified professional resume writer explained.
"At the same time, companies have a role to play here—if leadership respects boundaries and encourages a culture that values personal time, employees are far more likely to thrive."
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Shelli Aderman 9 months ago
Hey, @Bored Panda, why do you keep watermarking things you didn’t create? 🤔😡
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Tabitha 9 months ago (edited)
One of the perks of owning your own business is that you don’t have to pretend to be nice to managers you hire who turn out to be abusive a******s. You can have the pleasure of firing them for abusing lower level employees (especially if you yourself have previous experience being a lower level employee having to endure abuse from your manager in order to keep your job, at least until you can find another).
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Peeka_Mimi 9 months ago
Or inviting us to activities outside of work. No Sharon i don't want to go to your baby shower.
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Kathy Brooke 9 months ago
Nobody on their death bed ever said "I wish I'd spent more time at work".
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Colleen Glim 9 months ago
I have an unfortunate eating habit and the grocery store doesn’t take pocket lint and rocks
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Tabitha 9 months ago (edited)
The ones who seem to be getting more annoying are the same ones who always were annoying, but are now emboldened to inhibit those impulses. Throw in the formerly quiet ones who always agreed with the annoying ones, but never felt comfortable mentioning it, but are now emboldened to pipe up and chime in with the openly annoying ones.
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Tabitha 9 months ago
Oh, but they think all you do is a little bit of easy stuff that can be finished in the blink of an eye. They’ll say you’ve only done one thing since they saw you last, when in actuality you have done a countless number of things, only because that one thing was the only thing they asked you to do and you finished it along with everything else—-most of which was time consuming work to put together properly, especially if the computers and internet they provide are slower than molasses in January. Even if they end up having to try to do your job for a few minutes—-usually when you call their bluff about it being so easy—-and they totally crash and burn, get absolutely one of it done, then hand their mess back to you to clean up before you can do any work, proving they can’t do! or even handle, your “easy job any idiot can do”.
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Rick Murray 9 months ago (edited)
That's everybody, given that 90% of what I (and probably everybody else) would like to say would be said to the so-called management and would include much colourful language. But, alas, I/we need the salary because life isn't free...so I keep my mouth shut and try not to roll my eyes when people might see me.
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OneHappyPuppy 9 months ago
A colleague was setting up my new email signature and asked me which title I wanted to put in it. Sales expert? I laughed and laughed and laughed...
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Tabitha 9 months ago
The night before a day off is when I get my grocery shopping and housecleaning all done, before taking a shower and going to bed. That way, the next day/weekend/vacation days is/are totally clear of any responsibilities, so I can do anything I want, including doing nothing at all.
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Rick Murray 9 months ago
Hey, that's me only with slightly longer hair. Exactly the same "I'm done with this" expression though.
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Undercover 9 months ago (edited)
Got fired, Monday I'll start a similar program (inkluding spending a week at my bf's, long distance relationship ). 🖕
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Colleen Glim 9 months ago
The number of times we’ve joked about burning the place down, if there ever really is a fire, things are gonna get difficult
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Tabitha 9 months ago (edited)
Or “a rock star whose only goal is success”, “a team player”, or some such nonsense that only means you’re willing to have no life other than work or going out with your coworkers, and maybe even your boss too, drinking/snorting yourself into a shitfaced haze, and coming into work the next morning wearing the same clothes you had on the day before, only a lot more wrinkled and probably also stained, and both looking and smelling like you died a week ago. Then keeling over from a heart attack, overdose, or cirrhosis at 45.
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Kathy Brooke 9 months ago
Doesn't work. The system is rigged. Only way to make money is to have been born with it, then you just invest and it grows. You cannot work your way out of poverty.
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What do you think ?
lwolf1952 9 months ago
“You are lucky to have a job, you peasant”.--Donnie Demento and the Billionaires.
WonderWoman 9 months ago
And NOW we are taking it away from you, be homeless for awhile and then you will be SO desperate you will be grateful to work 90 hours a week for pennies.
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lwolf1952 9 months ago
“You are lucky to have a job, you peasant”.--Donnie Demento and the Billionaires.
WonderWoman 9 months ago
And NOW we are taking it away from you, be homeless for awhile and then you will be SO desperate you will be grateful to work 90 hours a week for pennies.
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