Gen Z Employees Choose to Sleep or Cry During Work Hours to Cope with Stress

Increasingly heavy work pressure is reportedly driving some Gen Z and Zillennial workers to adopt unusual methods for managing stress. Some employees even choose to leave their offices during lunch breaks to seek solitude or cry in private spaces.

One viral story involves Ben Sanderson, who spent 15 USD on a premium cinema ticket, not to watch a film, but to sleep on a cinema sofa bed. Upon waking, he claimed to feel rejuvenated before returning to his desk. “I had one of the best naps of my life,” Sanderson said, as reported by Fortune. He described the cinema as a perfect place for a nap in New York, particularly for commuters living far from their offices. His story, shared on TikTok, has garnered over one million views, prompting other users to share their favourite locations for escaping work pressure.

One TikTok user even shared a list of locations in New York deemed suitable for crying privately during work breaks, including various subway stations, the Williamsburg Bridge, and Zara changing rooms in the Soho area. “You can feel safe losing control there,” wrote the account @posch_vip.

While shared in a light-hearted tone, this phenomenon reflects a larger issue. A 2025 survey in the UK found that approximately 40 per cent of Gen Z workers entering the workforce have considered resigning within their first year. In addition to work pressure, toxic work environments are cited as a primary reason for such intentions.

A report released by Fortune noted that over 208 million workplace conflicts occur daily in the United States as of the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, a survey by Resume Now found that 61 per cent of employees admitted to being blamed for mistakes actually committed by others.

Furthermore, the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is increasing insecurity among young workers, particularly Gen Z. A report from April revealed an increase in efforts by employees to hinder the implementation of AI within companies. According to the Fortune report, 29 per cent of surveyed employees admitted to interfering with their company’s AI implementation strategies, a figure that rises to 44 per cent among Gen Z workers. “As many as 29 per cent of employees, including 44 per cent of Gen Z, admitted to sabotaging their company’s AI strategies. Seventy-six per cent of C-suite executives stated that employee sabotage is a serious threat to the future of companies,” the report stated.