You need a long break now more than ever… here’s why mind

The UK has a pervasive overwork culture, and Gen Z is feeling the burnout effect. So how do we truly achieve that work-life balance? Here, we get a therapist's opinion on what the new generation's ‘macro break’ technique can do for our wellbeing.

Forbes ‘30 under 30’; a teen influencer CEO starting a million-pound business; and the incessant churning out of new industry wunderkinds… it’s all a bit tiring. The new frontier of success – and the futile pursuit – has turned us all into self-proclaimed failures. Our socials are filled with different extreme versions of ‘making it’, and our desire for success as soon as possible means we have all put a self-timer on our lives, with no second to waste as we drop everything to achieve this mysterious ‘goal’.

Social media has widened our exposure to these digital ‘success’ stories and changed the IRL social fabric. The UK already has a pervasive overwork culture due to unpaid roles, excessive workloads, pressure to blend social and professional life, and societal expectations of success. The “wake up and grind” and “CEO boss” mentality framed millennial work standards, and it would seem Gen Z’s job style, too.

Sub-branches of this culture have resulted in a mental health crisis (chronic stress, for example), a loneliness epidemic, and generational burnout. Social conditioning would tell us that you haven’t made it until you reach the same heights as the few and far between seen on your social media screen – but it just isn’t feasible. Working nonstop without considering your wellbeing and taking time to rest and reset will end in nothing but exhaustion. 

Although career trajectory may dictate that some fields require an early start to climb the ladder and reach top positions later on, and personal ambition can naturally affect our own work ethic, it’s important to remember that success is subjective. Not only can it happen at any age, at any time, and in any place, but it looks different to everyone. Striking a balance between ambition for success and wellbeing is proving to be crucial in avoiding burnout and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 

That’s where rest comes into play. The importance of allowing your brain and body to recharge helps improve focus, productivity, and creativity, reduce stress, and perform tasks better. Micro breaks have been a well-favoured method of resting for a while now, which can be seen as taking 2-3 seconds or 10-minute rest periods in your working day. Whilst this is a proven effective method, Gen Zers are quietly ushering in macro breaks, which range from a day, a week, a month, to years of rest – and don’t revolve around work, but instead let work revolve around rest.

A lot of the new generation take mental health days, a long weekend getaway, a month travelling as a sabbatical from work, or even years away to rest. The drive to achieve has shifted from career goals to achieving a true sense of happiness for many. Though dubbed the ‘snowflakes’ for their desire to escape the workplace, perhaps Gen Z is the first to get it right. With more third spaces being taken away, and ways to socialise and take a restbite dwindling, a forced long break could be the answer. 

“Rest is really important as we are humans and not robots!” says our mind specialist as part of Wellbeing Places. “The problem is that rest is perhaps not valued in our society, hence a lot of burnout. If people are promoting rest online, whether it is short or long, hopefully it can only be a good thing.”

Sharing the 7 different types of rest, she points to Dr. Dalton-Smith’s 2017 book ‘Sacred Rest’ with the findings that individuals lack rest in physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, and creative areas. 

Each style of rest addresses a different aspect of our wellbeing, helping us recharge. Physical can look like yoga or stretching; mental as quiet time; emotional in practicing self-compassion techniques; sensory as avoiding screens; creative as indulging in art or music; social as recharging alone or spending time with friends; and spiritual as finding meaning beyond the daily, such as connecting with faith, nature, or meditating. 

“Rest is not just sleep,” says our therapist as part of Wellbeing Places. “Arguably, cellular rest is important too, like a detox. Both long and short rest is very individual, and a combination of both is good. A lot of what I do in my work is through the Polyvagal lens, so looking at our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).  We hope to have a good ‘window of tolerance’ and not sit for prolonged periods in our stress response (fight, flight or shutdown) but rather feel safe and connected. ‘Rest’, whether short or long term, is a way we can connect with ourselves and hopefully improve how we navigate our ANS and spend less time so we don’t get stuck in our stress response.”

It would seem work culture is moving towards being more tolerant of rest, and individuals are feeling less guilt around prioritising their wellbeing. There are hundreds of studies in various aspects of the mind and body that point to the life-saving results that rest can have on our wellbeing. 

As our therapist points out, though, taking this rest should not be seen as another thing we have to do or compete in per se, but rather a trend that promotes true self-compassion. “Rest is a wonderful act of self-compassion,” she concludes. “It is hugely lacking in a lot of people who find themselves struggling.”

As Gen Z turn to macro breaks, we, as a whole in society, are looking to find time for ourselves and allow substantial periods of rest and relaxation. Essentially, any form of rest (micro or macro) will help us reset. Longer and more strategic breaks allow the mind to disengage from stressful things happening in your life, providing mental refreshment, improved productivity, personal development, and even a shift in holistic perspectives on your life. 

The key is being balanced about your approach, which is something we are all for here at Balance. As part of our dedication to wellbeing, and fostering a community where we can help individuals strike that all-important balance, we are curating experiences for our balanceclub members to take a break. With various methods and themes explored in our pieces, we want to give our members the chance to experience these first-hand. This month, all balanceclub members will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a luxury wellness experience worth £500 for Ragdale Hall Spa. Whether you choose a spa day or an overnight stay, you can indulge in a macro break with us. Because after all, what better way to experience true rest?