It feels like a lot of people are carrying quiet exhaustion right now.
The layoffs.
The uncertainty.
The pressure to “be grateful.
”
The full-time RTO mandates after building lives around flexibility.
The feeling that everyone is pretending things are normal when they clearly aren’t.
If you’re struggling mentally, emotionally, or physically from all of this, you are not alone.
A lot of us are waking up anxious, doomscrolling before work, feeling guilty for not being productive enough, or trying to hold it together while watching teammates disappear overnight. It’s heavy. And pretending it isn’t only makes people feel more isolated.
A few reminders for anyone having a hard time:
- Your worth is not tied to your badge access, productivity score, or performance review.
- Fear is an exhausting long-term motivator. Rest is not weakness.
- Staying connected to people matters more right now than acting “fine.”
- Small routines help: sleep, water, walks, sunlight, boundaries, logging off when you can.
- If work is consuming your identity, try to reclaim one small thing that belongs only to you.
Most importantly: check on the quiet people too. Sometimes the people saying the least are carrying the most.
This is a dark season for a lot of workers right now. But I hope we can at least make it lighter for each other by being human again.