A new Gen Z trend is stirring up debate — and even Merriam-Webster is weighing in. The concept of “micro-retirement” has gone viral, but not everyone is on board with the term.
Micro-retirement refers to taking one- to two-week breaks from work every 12 to 18 months to travel, reset or simply recharge. While the trend has been circulating for months, it caught major attention when Fast Company published an article highlighting it as the next big thing in work-life balance.
Merriam-Webster weighs in
Merriam-Webster responded on X with, “Vacations. The word is ‘vacations.’”
The post has since garnered nearly two million views and sparked an online conversation around generational burnout and rebranding.
Before Merriam-Webster even entered the chat, users were already skeptical. Replies to the viral story included, “been doing it for over 30 years, called vacation.”
Another X user said, “Is this for real?? Do they really need to re-brand “vacations”??”
How US leave compares globally
Others pointed out the regional differences in work-life balance. One user commented, “Omg. Do Americans really not have the concept of annual leave?”
The European Union says all employees are entitled to at least 4 weeks of paid holiday annually — America’s equivalent of a vacation. In contrast, the U.S. offers no federally required paid vacation time.
A March 2024 news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found the average number of vacation days after 1 year of employment is 11 days for private industry employees. After 5 years, it increases to 15 days when the average reaches 20 days after 20 years of employment. State and local government employees fare slightly better, but not by much.
The Society for Human Resource Management even found that 48% of American workers say they do not expect to take all of their allotted vacation time by the end of the year.
Burnout in the workplace
One X user pointed to the fact that Gen Z has “been in the workforce for 6 years max and they’re burning out.”
A 2025 study from Moodle, conducted with Censuswide researchers, found that 66% of American workers experience some form of burnout.
Work burnout is a type of stress linked to work that can include being physically and/or emotionally worn out.
Moodle finds the burnout is driven by:
- 24% saying they feel like they have more work to complete than time to do it.
- 24% not having enough resources or the right tools to do their job properly.
- 20% with a perception of a poor economy which is impacting their well-being at work.
- 19% taking on too much work due to labor shortages in their industry.
- 13% worried about how AI will impact their role.
“American workers across most industries are struggling – especially young employees,” Scott Anderberg, CEO of Moodle, said in the study release.
The study further finds 81% of 18-24 year olds and 83% of 25-34 year olds reporting burnout. That’s compared to just 49% of employees aged 55 and older.
“Burnout rates are high and the threat of AI is triggering significant fear about their relevance at work,” Anderberg said. Moodle says a company’s acknowledgement and response to burnout is crucial.
A generational rebrand of rest
Whether it’s called micro-retirement, bleisure, or a micro-cation, Gen Z is reframing how they talk about rest — and they’re not shy about doing so for other common terms.
They’ve also given us terms like:
- Sus (suspicious).
- Slay (doing something exceptionally well).
- Cap (lie or no lie).
So while older generations may call it vacation, for Gen Z, naming it something new gives it permission to exist.
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Author: Alex Delia
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