Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen

Millennials have become a generation identified by their affinity for distraction, their constant drive for self-improvement, and their seemingly inexhaustible energy. For all these traits, however, Millennials are also the Burnout Generation. In Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, journalist Anne Helen Petersen examines how Millennials came to be the Burnout Generation and how this affects their daily lives.

Petersen begins her exploration with a discussion of the rise of neoliberalism. Neoliberalism has changed the idea of what a successful career looks like, shifting focus away from a job for life and towards becoming an "entrepreneur of one's self." Neoliberalism has encouraged Millennials to continually make themselves more attractive to employers, even if it means disengaging from the lives they had before they started working - a cycle of perpetual consumption.

At the same time, Petersen points to the role of technology that has enabled Millennials to work around the clock. No longer do businesses close at 5 o'clock; instead, technology has enabled businesses to remain open almost anytime, anywhere. This has had a direct effect on work-life balance, as well as on the physical health of Millennials, leading to a rise in burnout.

In the face of this burnout, the cultural response has been to adopt the idea of "self-care" as a solution. Self-care is seen as both a reward for working and a way to prevent burnout. Petersen explains that although self-care can be helpful, it is merely a band-aid on a bigger issue.

Solutions to preventing burnout are not so easily solved. Petersen suggests that first, Millennials must demand for better work-life balance - something that businesses must comply with if they want to remain competitive in the market. Secondly, she suggests that Millennials must return to the ideal of working for life and disengage from the neoliberal ideals of "upward" mobility. Lastly, the mainstream conversation must move away from the idea of burnout being solely the responsibility of the individual and towards a discussion of how burnout is affected by broader societal and economic factors.

Petersen connects the individual to the broader idea of Millennials as the Burnout Generation, ultimately presenting a nuanced and thought-provoking exploration of the forces that define the Millennial generation. Her insights draw attention to issues such as the challenges of work-life balance and the need to address the burnout epidemic. In doing so, Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation provides a thought-provoking argument that speaks to the issues that Millennials face today.