Mini-vacations are on the rise among Gen Z—but can they cure burnout?

After giving quiet quitting and early retirement a shot, a burnt out Gen Z workforce is now resorting to mini-vacations. Are these breaks as transformative as they appear, or do they only offer momentary relief? 

Before they’ve bought a dining table, most Indian Gen Z professionals have booked a flight—multiple, actually. Forget the once-a-year blowout trip—today’s burnout economy is powered by several long weekends and mini breaks. Travel isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a coping mechanism. 

According to a report by India Travel Trends 2024, there’s been a 25 per cent hike in people taking more than three trips a year since 2019. A Skyscanner survey revealed that over 81 per cent of Indian Gen Z start planning their first international holiday soon after they receive their first paycheck.

Call it ‘micro-cationing’ or ‘soft living’—but this new ritual of escape says more about workplace exhaustion than wanderlust. Bite-sized travel is having a moment in India, and it’s not just a symptom of rising disposable income. 

“My work doesn’t come with fixed hours; I’m constantly on the move, whether it’s for films, shoots, or brand commitments,” says Ananya Panday, actor and founder of the mental health community, So Positive. While she is passionate about her work, “I don’t think the actual work ever burns me out, but being in the public eye all the time, even on social media, can get emotionally exhausting.”

For many young professionals, mini-breaks—or micro-cations—are less about leisure and more about just getting by. When burnout hits by year two of your career, three-day weekends begin to feel like a lifeline. But are these fleeting escapes as restorative as they seem, or simply a pause before the next crash? We ask psychologists and professionals navigating the modern-day work spiral.

What’s behind the increasing prevalence of burnout among Gen Z?

First came quiet quitting. Then rage-applying. Bare minimum Mondays, micro-retirement, and now: quiet vacations. The common thread? Burnout dressed up in a new vocabulary. 

In 2023, Deloitte found that nearly half of Gen Z employees—46 per cent—and four out of 10 millennials (39 per cent) experience stress or anxiety “all or most of the time.” The numbers have barely budged since 2020. Meanwhile, a 2025 report released by Blind—an anonymous employee forum linked to Reddit for professionals—found that 72 per cent of Indian IT professionals routinely clocked more than the legal 48-hour workweek. One in four is logging over  70 hours e per week. The result? Eighty-three per cent of employees say they are burnt out. 

Burnout isn’t just exhaustion—it’s emotional resonance. And it doesn’t wear the same face for everyone.  

Abhimanyu Jakhar, 27, founder of Jakhar Hospitality, describes burnout as regression. “When I’m physically present but mentally and emotionally drained to the core, I stop enjoying what I do. It’s the worst thing that can happen to you—and it happens more often than people admit,” he says. “Burnout kills you emotionally and mentally. You’re not in love with your work anymore. Physically, you’re doing the tasks, but mentally, you’re disconnected. You’re not in the space to perform, and it shows.”

Gen Z has often been accused of weaponising burnout—of turning mental health into a shield against accountability at the workplace. But their entry into the workforce is also marked by a time when hustle culture was at its peak, armed with far more awareness around mental health than the previous generations.The pressure, then, isn’t necessarily lower—it’s just more digitised, more relentless, more insidious.

“They’re [Gen Z] navigating constant performance metrics, digital surveillance, blurred work-life boundaries, and hustle culture dressed up as ambition,” says Chandni Tugnait, psychotherapist and founder of Gateway of Healing. “Add to that the anxiety of unstable economies, climate fear, and comparison through social media, and it’s not hard to see why burnout hits early.”

Carina Kohli, 30, founder of femtech company HUMM, agrees, “The term ‘burnout’ is now more commonly used than before, and there’s less stigma around sharing how one is feeling, as compared to before. I feel that everyone at all ages is susceptible to burnout—it’s just that now there’s more awareness about mental health, and younger employees may tend to be more vocal about how they’re feeling.” For her, it doesn’t arrive as a crash. It creeps in slowly. “Waking up tired, even when I’ve had a full night’s sleep. It shows up in my weeks as missed workouts, coupled with insomnia and exhaustion.”

The boom of mini-vacations to beat burnout

According to Skift Research’s 2025 Travel Outlook Report, vacation bookings are expected to jump by 24 per cent as compared to last year. Between 2022 and 2023, domestic travels to offbeat destinations surged by 30 per cent in India, with most of the trips booked  within a week of travel dates. Concepts like ‘blesiure’ and ‘quiet vacations’—that blurry middle ground where work meets rest—are gaining traction. In one survey, around 92 per cent of Indian respondents backed the “work-marries-view model.” It’s a telling sign: Vacations are no longer just about escape; they’re becoming strategic resets for young professionals to cope. 

“For millennials and boomers, the script was different,” says psychologist Utkarsha Jagga. “Stability, loyalty, and silent endurance were valued. Burnout wasn’t something you named—it was something you lived with. Taking a break, unless it was a medical emergency, was often viewed as a luxury.” That’s changing, she notes, thanks to an increased awareness, a degree of privilege, and a generational shift in how mental health is discussed. “That’s why so many young people today are choosing mini-sabbaticals, extended breaks, or even early retirements. It’s not escapism—it’s a deliberate attempt to reset before reaching a point of collapse.” 

Psychologist Sanam Devidasani agrees, “Many young professionals feel they’re on a treadmill they didn’t sign up for—one that rewards constant output but not well-being. Mini-sabbaticals or breaks are attempts to pause, reflect, and reconnect with who they are outside of their productivity.”

For Panday, despite travelling profusely for work, vacations provide respite. “Work trips don’t count as vacations because you’re never really switching off,” she says. “But the short breaks I take with friends or family—those moments to just be—genuinely help me reset and come back with more clarity and energy. In an industry that runs on hustle, these pauses are what keep me going, and showing up as the best version of myself.” Jakhar echoes this sentiment. “Travel gives me that zoomed-out view of life. My routine is broken, my thoughts realign, and I feel like I’ve rebooted. It cures me.”

Younger professionals are also prioritising experiences, well-being, and personal growth over traditional markers of success like job titles or long tenures, points out Tugnait. “They’re questioning, ‘What’s the point of earning if I’m too drained to enjoy it?’” 

Research backs the trend: Studies show that perceived stress drops significantly by day 15 of a short vacation, with recovery lasting until day 30. For many, the impact lingers for over 45 days. Not bad for a four-day break. 

Frequent vacations are great—but may not be a sustainable cure for burnout 

However, a weekend in Goa won’t undo years of being overworked. Burnout isn’t cured by mini-vacations, it is only paused. For many, such quick breaks offer a breather—but once Monday rolls round, the same pressure awaits. 

“Think of it as a pause, not a permanent fix,” says Tugnait. “A break offers rest, reflection, and emotional distance from daily pressures. But if they return to the same high-stress environment, with the same habits and expectations, burnout often comes back.” Real recovery calls for deeper shifts: setting boundaries, reevaluating goals, adjusting workloads, and sometimes shifting environments altogether. 

Emotional wellness coach and therapist Esha Bhardwaj agrees—and adds that the intention behind the rest matters. “Traveling for work is often mentally and physically exhausting. It’s bound by timelines, performance, and logistics. A real vacation, in contrast, must be designed as soulful spaciousness: digital detox, nature connection, creative expression, and rest—without guilt. It’s not the location that revives, but the intention.”

Even the most restful, work-free vacation can feel performative when it’s reduced to the idea of content. The pressure to curate an “aesthetic” feed on social media means you’re always looking for the next post-worthy-shot—mentally elsewhere, rarely in the moment.

Make-up artist Athira Thakkar, 26, observes, “I’ve seen a lot of people my age take vacations to ‘fit in’ digitally—many start flexing online as soon as they are on a holiday even though you wouldn’t see much of their online presence for the rest of the year. I might be one of them too. Traveling around the world might have been on my bucket list since I was a kid, but the pressure of seeing random people in your age group living what looks like a better version of your dream? That’s also very real.” 

Of course, not everyone can afford to travel often. Economic and familial limitations make frequent getaways unrealistic for many. According to India Employment Report 2024 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), over 82 per cent of India’s workforce is employed in the informal sector—without contracts, paid leave, or job security—where taking time off means losing income, not switching off.  

For women, the barriers cut even deeper. Cultural expectations around caregiving mean women continue to shoulder the domestic load—even while clocking the same office hours as men. On average, they spend 140 minutes a day on unpaid caregiving, more than twice as much as their male counterparts. 

As a freelancer managing household expenses along with medical care for her parents, Thakkar says that months without payments can be mentally draining. “Amidst all this, planning a holiday can not only feel selfish but also ambivalent,” she says. “However, travel does provide downtime to bounce back; since my job isn’t a conventional 9-to-5, I’m away in a true sense, and not attending work calls or meetings remotely.” However, the logistics aren’t always a breeze. “Whether it’s a two-day getaway or an international holiday, it always starts with an intense budgeting session with my partner, with whom I usually travel.”

Sustainable recovery, Jagga suggests, demands more than an out-of-office reply. “That could mean shifting your relationship with work, building in more rest as a lifestyle, and learning to regulate your stress response—not just managing your schedule.” 

For Kohli, being an entrepreneur in a space where switching off isn’t really an option, the reset isn’t about checking out but about slowing down, deliberately.  “Escaping doesn’t fully help with tackling the systemic issue or everyday work-related stress and fatigue. Smaller, conscious efforts go a long way and would compound to a more significant overall impact on one’s health and well-being. And lastly, spending time addressing how you’re feeling at therapy—where you find tools that work for you—to manage fatigue and burnout is very effective.” 

Kohli also notes a shift, albeit gradual, in how Indian workplaces are approaching employee well-being. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are becoming common—but the cultural gap between policy and practice still lingers. 

At Filter Coffee Co., a digital agency with a largely Gen Z workforce, founder Anuja Deora Sanctis encourages short breaks and long weekends as part of the company’s work culture. “Even when employees don’t say it out loud, you can sense the fatigue,” she says. “Many of them plan their time off strategically, slipping it in between lighter work phases. I actively support that—it’s good for them, and the work too.”

She adds, “We need to move past the idea that rest is a luxury. It’s not. It’s a rhythm that needs to be baked into how we work.” Filter Coffee Co. has introduced one recharge day per quarter—no meetings, no deadlines, no guilt—as well as clearer work hours, focused sprints with a wind-down period, and designated no-call days to protect employees’ space. 

Devidasani adds that while there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, even small amounts of intentionally—spending time in nature, cutting back screen time after work or carving out a few minutes for quiet reflection can interrupt burnout’s momentum. But the work is internal. “In the longer run, therapy can help identify the core patterns that contribute to burnout—like chronic self-criticism, saying yes too often, or not knowing when to rest,” she says. The reset, she suggests, isn’t always about stepping away from work. It’s about examining what’s fuelling the fatigue—whether that’s pressure, perfectionism, or simply never being taught how to stop. “Rebuilding your relationship with yourself is key. That might mean redefining success, making room for joy, or learning how to ask for help. It’s not just about more time off—it’s about more time with yourself.” 

Yet, mini-vacations shouldn’t be mistaken for a solution—they’re a coping mechanism, and one not available to everyone. The ability to ‘pause’ assumes you can afford to, both financially and culturally. For many in India, rest remains aspirational. 

Micro-cations might offer momentary relief, but the deeper shift lies in the quiet refusal to equate productivity with purpose.

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