Forget saving up for retirement. They're saving up for burnout.
Workers are increasingly creating 'burnout funds' to provide financial security for extended recovery periods away from the workforce. This trend reflects growing concerns over job security, rising costs, and the accelerating pace of work.
Why it matters
It highlights a shift in personal finance priorities as mental health and workplace exhaustion become significant factors in career planning.
Getty Images; Rebecca Zisser/BI Some workers are creating "burnout funds" in case they have to step away from work. A burnout fund is a savings pot designed to fund a recovery period. These funds have arrived as the pace of work accelerates, job security slips, and costs keep rising. People have long saved for life's biggest milestones: buying a home , getting married, and retirement . Some workers are also putting money aside for something they hope never happens: burnout. Last week, Mary Kane handed in her resignation letter. After six months of feeling exhausted, irritable, and increasingly burned out in her job as a senior marketing manager, the 54-year-old Minnesotan decided she'd had enough. Unlike many workers in a similar position, she wasn't terrified about how she'd pay the bills once she quit.
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