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If we only feel alive when we’re offline, work-life balance has failed us.
The “micro-retirement” phenomenon is a symptom of something larger and more nefarious… but what exactly is it? Along with a lot of other questionable advice (like “you should read less” and “outsource social interaction to your virtual assistant”) the term was coined by Tim Ferris in his book The 4 Hour Work Week back in 2007.
In 2025, it’s being given a fresh coat of paint and wheeled out for the Gen Z rebrand. These micro-retirements – according to recent reporting by Fast Company – involve “taking a one-to-two week break every 12 to 18 months.”
So, in other words… A holiday?
It’s safe to say this is a phenomenon currently unique to America, where a two-week break is still considered a radical employee perk on the same level as bringing your dog to work or actually taking maternity leave.
That being said, the desire to give a catchy name – involving a word as significant as “retirement” – to the simple concept of earned time off reveals something important: Our work-life balance is broken.
Luckily, L&D is well placed to help with this – and in this blog, we’ll explore what exactly that help entails.
On the surface, the idea of a “micro-retirement” for those under the actual retirement age might sound appealing. What’s not to love about some proper, dedicated time off? Relax on the beach with a pina colada; take up oil painting; sit in front of the TV and watch reruns of Pointless… you know, do whatever retired people do.
But it’s not that simple.
When employees feel like they have to quit their jobs to take a break (and give the break a special name, as if it’s a novel phenomenon that needs its own marketing campaign), something is seriously wrong.
Rather than normalising rest, micro-retirements highlight the fact that people don’t feel able to take time off within the roles they already have. Burnout is so baked into the system that the only escape is to hit “eject” entirely.
According to The Burnout Report by Mental Health UK, 91% of UK adults experienced high or extreme stress last year.
Ninety. One. Percent. That's more than the 60% of adults who read or listened to at least one book in the last year. (That’s a separate issue for another blog… one thing at a time.)
It’s no wonder people are walking away to preserve their mental health. But they shouldn’t have to.
The real issue isn’t Gen Z reshaping and redefining the world of work. It’s that organisations view rest as something to earn, something to apologise for. Not the normal, necessary part of working life that it actually is.
Learning and development teams have a unique opportunity here. Not to glamourise and rebrand burnout breaks, but to create a culture where taking a holiday isn’t seen as a risk.
Here’s where we start:
… not the exception!
Instead of letting people burn out and leave, build a culture where regular time off is normal. It starts by modelling it from the top (yes, that means switching off after hours and not dialling in from your holiday rental), but also encouraging managers to respect downtime and call out overwork.
Use your internal comms or learning platform (or I don’t know, maybe you have something really excellent that does both?) to push out training that makes it clear: rest is not a weakness. It’s how you stay sharp… and avoid fatigue-induced mistakes like posting a personal Slack message about how exhausted you are in the #general channel instead of a DM.
We’ve all had our social media feeds algorithmically poisoned by vertical videos of men talking about how they hustle so hard, they manage to fit three days into one. (That is not an exaggeration; it is a real video in which a man in a muscle tee claims to bend the rules of time by taking some naps.)
But just because this attitude is becoming more pervasive in our culture, doesn’t mean your learning culture needs to reflect it. If your L&D content centres around maximising productivity and working smarter, that’s great – but make sure you’re also encouraging people to set firm boundaries and rest. (And we mean actually rest, not take several naps so they can divide their day into productivity triads.)
Train your managers to support healthy workloads, creating a culture where burnout is prevented before it has time to take hold and the sentence “I need a break” is met with support rather than suspicion.
Micro-retirements are often used as a reset button because people feel stuck or directionless. They’re a solution to a problem that doesn’t need to exist, so empower employees to explore their interests and passions without needing to leave. That might mean cross-functional moves or even just more open conversations about their career goals.
(And if you need an LMS that supports clear career development and skills progression, we know a guy.)
Along with this, support flexible working that goes beyond just location. Give people real control and autonomy over their learning, their time, and their pace.
If people don’t feel safe taking their annual leave, or worry it’ll hurt their reputation, you’ve got a deeper problem. Work with HR to address this head-on. Build awareness through learning experiences, create space for conversations, and make rest a regular part of wellbeing discussions.
Micro-retirements might sound modern and rebellious, but they’re really just a workaround for a deeper cultural flaw. The answer is to stop burnout in the first place, and that starts with the basics.
Let people take a proper holiday. Help them set boundaries. Show them that downtime fuels progress. That’s the role L&D can and should be playing – no sabbatical required.
If you want to start building wellbeing into your workplace culture but don't know where to start, check out Thrive Content. We have hundreds of resources on topics just like this.
Explore what impact Thrive could make for your team and your learners today.
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If we only feel alive when we’re offline, work-life balance has failed us.
The “micro-retirement” phenomenon is a symptom of something larger and more nefarious… but what exactly is it? Along with a lot of other questionable advice (like “you should read less” and “outsource social interaction to your virtual assistant”) the term was coined by Tim Ferris in his book The 4 Hour Work Week back in 2007.
In 2025, it’s being given a fresh coat of paint and wheeled out for the Gen Z rebrand. These micro-retirements – according to recent reporting by Fast Company – involve “taking a one-to-two week break every 12 to 18 months.”
So, in other words… A holiday?
It’s safe to say this is a phenomenon currently unique to America, where a two-week break is still considered a radical employee perk on the same level as bringing your dog to work or actually taking maternity leave.
That being said, the desire to give a catchy name – involving a word as significant as “retirement” – to the simple concept of earned time off reveals something important: Our work-life balance is broken.
Luckily, L&D is well placed to help with this – and in this blog, we’ll explore what exactly that help entails.
On the surface, the idea of a “micro-retirement” for those under the actual retirement age might sound appealing. What’s not to love about some proper, dedicated time off? Relax on the beach with a pina colada; take up oil painting; sit in front of the TV and watch reruns of Pointless… you know, do whatever retired people do.
But it’s not that simple.
When employees feel like they have to quit their jobs to take a break (and give the break a special name, as if it’s a novel phenomenon that needs its own marketing campaign), something is seriously wrong.
Rather than normalising rest, micro-retirements highlight the fact that people don’t feel able to take time off within the roles they already have. Burnout is so baked into the system that the only escape is to hit “eject” entirely.
According to The Burnout Report by Mental Health UK, 91% of UK adults experienced high or extreme stress last year.
Ninety. One. Percent. That's more than the 60% of adults who read or listened to at least one book in the last year. (That’s a separate issue for another blog… one thing at a time.)
It’s no wonder people are walking away to preserve their mental health. But they shouldn’t have to.
The real issue isn’t Gen Z reshaping and redefining the world of work. It’s that organisations view rest as something to earn, something to apologise for. Not the normal, necessary part of working life that it actually is.
Learning and development teams have a unique opportunity here. Not to glamourise and rebrand burnout breaks, but to create a culture where taking a holiday isn’t seen as a risk.
Here’s where we start:
… not the exception!
Instead of letting people burn out and leave, build a culture where regular time off is normal. It starts by modelling it from the top (yes, that means switching off after hours and not dialling in from your holiday rental), but also encouraging managers to respect downtime and call out overwork.
Use your internal comms or learning platform (or I don’t know, maybe you have something really excellent that does both?) to push out training that makes it clear: rest is not a weakness. It’s how you stay sharp… and avoid fatigue-induced mistakes like posting a personal Slack message about how exhausted you are in the #general channel instead of a DM.
We’ve all had our social media feeds algorithmically poisoned by vertical videos of men talking about how they hustle so hard, they manage to fit three days into one. (That is not an exaggeration; it is a real video in which a man in a muscle tee claims to bend the rules of time by taking some naps.)
But just because this attitude is becoming more pervasive in our culture, doesn’t mean your learning culture needs to reflect it. If your L&D content centres around maximising productivity and working smarter, that’s great – but make sure you’re also encouraging people to set firm boundaries and rest. (And we mean actually rest, not take several naps so they can divide their day into productivity triads.)
Train your managers to support healthy workloads, creating a culture where burnout is prevented before it has time to take hold and the sentence “I need a break” is met with support rather than suspicion.
Micro-retirements are often used as a reset button because people feel stuck or directionless. They’re a solution to a problem that doesn’t need to exist, so empower employees to explore their interests and passions without needing to leave. That might mean cross-functional moves or even just more open conversations about their career goals.
(And if you need an LMS that supports clear career development and skills progression, we know a guy.)
Along with this, support flexible working that goes beyond just location. Give people real control and autonomy over their learning, their time, and their pace.
If people don’t feel safe taking their annual leave, or worry it’ll hurt their reputation, you’ve got a deeper problem. Work with HR to address this head-on. Build awareness through learning experiences, create space for conversations, and make rest a regular part of wellbeing discussions.
Micro-retirements might sound modern and rebellious, but they’re really just a workaround for a deeper cultural flaw. The answer is to stop burnout in the first place, and that starts with the basics.
Let people take a proper holiday. Help them set boundaries. Show them that downtime fuels progress. That’s the role L&D can and should be playing – no sabbatical required.
If you want to start building wellbeing into your workplace culture but don't know where to start, check out Thrive Content. We have hundreds of resources on topics just like this.
Explore what impact Thrive could make for your team and your learners today.
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