According to a new poll on the Glassdoor website, more than half of U.S. workers (53 percent) of the 1,300 professionals they surveyed say they've paused their job search. Why? To protect their mental health.
It's a figure that captures something economists rarely quantify: the exhaustion tax. The psychic cost of a labor market that demands constant hustle while delivering, for many, almost nothing in return.
Glassdoor explains the reason: The structural backdrop helps explain why. Then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave the condition a name last September: the "low-hire, low-fire" economy. The St. Louis Fed has since quantified it: As of late 2025, the hiring rate had fallen to 3.3 percent — just 0.5 percentage points above the all-time low recorded during the depths of the Great Recession in June 2009.
The firing rate, meanwhile, sat at a historically low 1.1 percent. Workers aren't stupid. They know that there's nowhere to go right now.
According to Glassdoor, most employers don't recognize the signs of employee burnout. They can include the following:
Chronic exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix.
Growing cynicism or detachment from work.
Small tasks suddenly feel overwhelming.
Irritability and emotional volatility.
Loss of motivation or professional pride.
Physical symptoms with no clear medical cause.
Withdrawal from colleagues or work activities.
Despite the pressure of having to feel like you're "always on," resting isn't quitting, according to Stacia Doss, senior manager of content strategy and optimization for Glassdoor. She writes that "it's part of staying effective. As we approach what's normally considered the 'ease of summer' and with Mental Health Awareness Month upon us, the healthiest job search strategy right now may be the one with boundaries. We're exploring what it means to engage in a 'paced job search,' a sustainable approach that keeps you visible without overextending yourself, preserving the focus, confidence and follow-through you need to land the right role."
Gen Z workers are finding the job hunt to be significantly more challenging than millennials did, according to Fortune magazine, as they face longer search timelines and higher rejection rates. But the reality is that it's not just young workers who are feeling the strain; job search fatigue is hitting everyone hard.
"One of the biggest signs of exhaustion is noticing a lack of emotional regulation — you're more irritable, more anxious and more frustrated," said Jade Walters, TEDx speaker and founder of The Ninth Semester. "It can start to reflect on your applications and how you're showing up in interviews, or you can start comparing yourself to others. You have to set boundaries, because if you keep chugging through and you're feeling burnt-out, you're just going to keep hitting a wall."
Walters writes that knowing when to pause is as important as knowing how to keep going. "Remember: Pausing isn't the same as stopping. It's about regulating your emotions so you can return stronger."
