A millennial woman who spent years building her career has spoken out about the burnout she suffered and why she regrets climbing the corporate ladder.
Throughout her twenties, Breeanna Riordan, 31, worked as a marketing specialist. The role involved long hours, attending events, networking, and never switching off. She saw this not as a burden, but rather as what she had to do to be successful.
Riordan started to feel like her hard work was paying off when she was promoted to a senior marketing specialist, with her path mapped out through bonuses and promotions.
But eventually the burnout hit—and left her wanting to climb back down the corporate ladder.
Riordan, of Sartell, Minnesota, told Newsweek: "I'm definitely the millennial stereotype as I felt a strong need to be successful in my career, and I would say yes to any opportunity that helped me achieve that. Early on, I was surrounded by intelligent and hardworking women in leadership and executive positions, which motivated me.
"I started to feel the pressure of the corporate ladder when I was a senior marketing specialist. A lot was expected of our team, and the weird thing was, I liked the pressure and the challenge of all the work that needed to be done."
The millennial wanted to be seen as hardworking and reliable, so she always went above and beyond to get everything done to the best of her ability.
Eventually she climbed to the top, and became the director of marketing for a manufacturing company. Riordan thought that all those years of graft had finally paid off and she could be happy, but in fact she became burned out and started to crumble under the constant pressure.
Finishing on time was merely a pipe dream, and lunch break wasn't even in her vocabulary during those days. Even when she was at home spending time with her husband, she couldn't help but think about work.
"I didn't really struggle with the workload and pressure until I accepted the director of marketing position. Leadership roles come with higher stress because you're responsible if goals aren't hit or if sales numbers are down," Riordan said.
"I felt like everything was fine until it wasn't. Burnout hit me like a wall—my creativity and passion were gone. It was an accumulation of high expectations, constant deadlines, and balancing my work and personal life. I had always been striving to do my best, but over time, it became harder to maintain the same energy and enthusiasm."
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped, which occurs when a person experiences too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long. It isn't a medical condition, but in 2019 the World Health Organization identified it as an occupational phenomenon.
It can look different for different people, and it can often be confused with stress. But the website WebMD suggests that the typical signs include exhaustion, alienation from activities, reduced performance, self-doubt, loss of appetite, or insomnia.
If it is caused by work, it can be good to speak with a supervisor and find a more manageable workload, get more sleep, try a relaxing activity such as yoga, and find support such as a therapist.
Stepping Back Down the Corporate Ladder
Riordan's burnout manifested as severe anxiety, bad moods, and being difficult to be around. For a while she tried to work through it by exercising, going to therapy, and trying to clearly separate work from her personal life. Working out helped her de-stress and calm her mind, and she could always speak to her husband about any work issues she was dealing with.
She told Newsweek that she "held on for as long as [she] could," but there was only so long she could manage for.
For so long, she'd been driven by career goals and life came second. But after reaching her thirties, Riordan decided to stop defining success by her job, and focused on her happiness instead. "Plot twist—I'm no longer climbing the corporate ladder," she said.
Following months of deliberation, she plucked up the courage to quit her job and finally put herself first. Now she's running her own business offering fractional marketing management and operational services to small businesses.
She regrets letting the burnout control her for so long and consume so much of her life.
"What I did was quit, offered my company a proposal to become my first client on a contractual basis, and built out my plan and processes for my new business. Let me tell you, I am happier than ever," she said.
"I don't feel the burnout anymore, and my passion for marketing and happiness has returned. Going back to what I thought success was—big office, important title, great salary—none of it matters. If you aren't happy, none of it matters. What do I think success is now? Happiness, flexibility, working from home, and hand-selecting the clients and the work I do."
As her own boss, Riordan has the freedom to decide what each day looks like for her and says nothing can possibly beat that.
The Social Media Reaction
After making the decision to stop climbing the corporate ladder, Riordan posted about her experience on TikTok (@bxriordan), signing off as "a burned-out millennial." The video explained that she'd become the director of marketing by the age of 30, but "the stress isn't worth it" and she wanted to step back.
The post went viral with more than 3.4 million views and over 197,600 likes on TikTok already, as internet users praised her for being so transparent.
She told Newsweek: "I want to be the person that helps others feel less alone, and I base a lot of my content on that. I was hoping other people felt this way too, and I wanted to create a space where people could talk about their feelings safely with others. All anyone ever wants is for their feelings to be validated, and I was hoping to do that.
"I believe it's a common experience, especially based on the comments I received. It's insane how many people felt the exact same. Millennials have such a hard time with work-life balance and are often pushed to their max in all aspects."
Of course, making such a major life decision is undoubtedly difficult, but Riordan says it's completely worth it.
With over 5,500 comments on TikTok so far, Riordan's post has encouraged many social media users to share their similar experiences.
One comment read: "I'm with you. I left the corporate world 4 years ago and I don't miss it one bit."
Another TikTok user wrote: "I feel you. I moved up the corporate ladder. The title, amazing. The stress and 16-hour workdays. Not worth it."
And a third added: "I feel this! Just stepped down from leadership role! It's not worth my mental peace."
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