- Nearly half of Gen Z office workers have cried due to workplace stress
- Gen Z employees nap or cry in public spots like theaters and subway stations
- 40% of young UK hires considered quitting within their first year of work
Gen Z and zillennial employees are slipping out of their offices during lunch breaks to nap or cry in secluded spots, movie theaters, subway stations and fitting rooms as workplace stress takes a toll. According to a report in Fortune, nearly half of Gen Z office workers have cried due to workplace stress. The report highlighted the case of Ben Sanderson, a New York resident who paid $15 for a movie ticket, then used the theater's recliner seat to nap for 90 minutes instead of watching the film. Sanderson called it one of the best naps of his life and described movie theaters as an ideal napping spot for commuters.
Sanderson's social media post drew over a million views, prompting other users to share their own preferred break locations. One user listed spots across New York to cry in private, including subway stations, the Williamsburg Bridge and a Zara fitting room in Soho.
The trend reflects a broader sentiment that most Gen Z workers see traditional office jobs as draining. A 2025 UK survey found approximately 40 per cent of young new hires seriously considered quitting within their first year.
Additionally, a report found that over 208 million instances of workplace hostility occurred daily in American workplaces in the first quarter of 2025, while a Resume Now survey found 61 per cent of employees said they had been blamed for others' mistakes at work.
Gen Z Sabotaging
In April, a report found that a growing sense of job insecurity due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, particularly among Gen Z workers, was prompting them to sabotage the rollout of the technology in their companies. While 29 per cent of the general workforce hindered these rollouts, the figure climbed to 44 per cent among the Gen Z demographic.
"29 per cent of employees, including 44 per cent of Gen Z, admit to sabotaging their company's Al strategy. 76 per cent of the C-suite say employee sabotage poses a serious threat to their company's future," the report highlighted.
Among those who confessed to sabotaging the company's AI technology, 30 per cent did so out of concern about their job. The sabotage by Gen Z workers includes entering proprietary data into unapproved or public AI tools as well as outright refusal to use the technology.
