From micro-retirements to macro engagement: How HR can turn a burnout trend into a culture advantage

Why are some high-performing employees walking away from their jobs for weeks or even months at a time—voluntarily? The answer lies in the rise of "micro-retirements," a career break trend especially popular among Gen Z and millennial workers.

Unlike traditional sabbaticals, which are often employer-sponsored, micro-retirements are self-directed breaks that employees take throughout their careers. They allow individuals to rest, travel, pursue personal growth, or simply take a breather from modern work stress.

While many headlines celebrate this as a savvy lifestyle choice—"retirement fun" while you're still young and fit—there's a deeper workplace truth at play. Micro-retirements are not one-off career experiments. They could be a signal of broken engagement models, outdated workplace expectations, and a mental health support gap too large to ignore.

I know firsthand what it means to take a micro-retirement—because I’ve taken one myself.

My burnout story

At the time, I didn’t realize I was experiencing burnout. The workload had crept up slowly, deadlines became unrealistic, and I often found myself presenting at 7 a.m. after working until 2 a.m. the night before. My focus was gone, my attention span was shot, and I canceled plans and disconnected, convincing myself that powering through was the only option. It took my loved ones intervening to help me see just how unsustainable things had become.

Eventually, taking a break felt like the only path to protect my health. Without another job lined up, I chose to pause—budgeting and planning for it like any other big project. It was a privilege to make this choice, supported by access to state healthcare and a financial cushion I had saved for. But it was also a deliberate reset from an environment that had become impossible to sustain.

What’s driving the micro-retirement movement?

For many young professionals, the idea of waiting until their 60s or 70s to take meaningful time off feels outdated. They expect to work longer than previous generations, and they want to enjoy life now while they can.

That said, burnout could be a major accelerant of this trend:

• 66% of employees report experiencing burnout today.
• More than half of employees believe their employers overestimate how mentally healthy their workplaces are.

Combined with greater acceptance of career breaks and access to gig or freelance work during transitions, micro-retirements have become more culturally viable.

How prevalent are micro-retirements? 

While the term “micro-retirement” was first coined in 2007, they’ve grown in popularity recently, with social media being a big driver of that. So how prevalent are micro-retirements? 

• 10% of employees are considering taking a micro-retirement
• 75% of employees think their employers should offer support for a micro-retirement, such as an unpaid sabbatical

What do micro-retirements look like? 

A micro-retirement can take on a number of different forms. A 2025 article by Fast Company outlined a few common ones: 

• Quitting a job, taking a break, and finding a new one. 
• Coordinating with your employer to take an unpaid break from work. 
• Taking a break from your business as the business owner. 

How did I spend my micro-retirement? 

That period of intentional rest (what would become known as a “micro-retirement”) was spent with friends and family. The time was both necessary and transformative, but I often think about what the organization could have done to prevent it. Even a simple acknowledgement, a check-in, or creating a plan for a more manageable workload would have gone a long way. 

At the time, my therapist (whom I had found through private insurance) was on maternity leave, and my employer offered no alternative support. Mine is a cautionary tale of what happens when employees feel isolated and left to their own devices.

What micro-retirements can reveal about your employee experience

Do you feel micro-retirements are occurring at a higher rate at your workplace? If so, there could be a variety of reasons why. 

Employees might not be leaving simply because they can. They may also be leaving because current systems don’t give them the recovery or fulfillment they need to stay.

Why engagement—not perks—is the real solution

Wellness weeks, recharge days, and other perks are helpful, but they don’t address systemic causes of employee burnout and disengagement.

Lasting engagement stems from:

• A clear sense of purpose
• Feeling valued and heard
• Manager support
• Psychological safety
• Opportunities for growth

As I pointed out in a previous blog post, employees with a strong sense of belonging are 2.5x less likely to burn out. While micro-retirements might not be something HR leaders can specifically address, there is an opportunity to address the reasons employees seek them out in the first place.

Five levers HR can use to turn burnout into engagement

From resignation to reconnection

Micro-retirements may offer valuable insight into what employees really need: more autonomy, more meaning, and more work-life balance.

HR leaders who see these breaks as a signal—not a threat—have an opportunity to transform disengagement into deeper connections that can improve the workplace in ways that go well beyond reducing the need for micro-retirements.

That starts with reimagining engagement from the ground up. By embedding mental wellness, trust, and purpose into the culture, organizations can make micro-retirements unnecessary.