Generational Us vs Them: Reflections on Being Interviewed on Gen Z and Burnout
- Nitin Deckha
- Dec 18, 2025
- 2 min read
Idea 37 for 2025
Last week, I wrote an article on why Gen Z were reporting higher levels of burnout and what to do about it in the Conversation.
I have been astonished by the responses. Sure, there’s the fact that there’s been over 56000 reads, which is 10x more than my previous piece in the Conversation!
I also received far more comments than I expected, on the site and in my inbox. Some of these shared detailed personal experiences with burnout and the stark realities of everyday economic precarity of younger workers. Others lambasted or critiqued Gen Z for their lack of resilience, unpreparedness and unrealistic expectations.
When the media came calling (I have done 10 interviews, all for CBC or Corus radio shows, interestingly), I tried to present a nuanced view and have a larger dialogue. If you’re interested, you can hear the latest one of these here:
Of course, given it’s a radio, it occurred to me that I likely wasn’t reaching many members of Gen Z. Curiously, I was being very anthropological: talking about the “other” like a ventriloquist without the other being able to talk back.
What also occurred to me was how divided our generational cultural worldviews seem to be (to use another anthropological term), and how stereotypes and misunderstanding are festering in this division (sound familiar?)
Anyway, as you get together with friends and family across the generations, while having an opportunity to rest and relax after a tumultuous year, perhaps you might broach a conversation with someone across your generational divide and listen.
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