Podcast Summary: "Why Gen Z Feels Burnt Out and CEOs Are Sending Emails Like Elon"

Work with Erika Ayers Badan
Host: Erika Ayers Badan
Date: July 28, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Work with Erika Ayers Badan takes a candid and humorous look at the workplace zeitgeist: Gen Z’s relationship with burnout, multi-generational dynamics at work and home, and the increasing trend of CEOs, like Elon Musk, making bold moves on workplace policies. Erika is joined by colleagues Jessica Rose and Summer Nelson, and together they discuss everything from managing stress and career advice to whether “partner” or “girlfriend” is the right word in modern office talk. As always, Erika blends unfiltered commentary, real-life stories, and actionable work advice.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Real-World Work Stress

• Erika and her team open with a relatable, behind-the-scenes look at prepping for a big event—acknowledging high stress levels, planning anxieties, and the juggling act that defines modern office life.
• Notable banter about stress, self-care routines (including earwax cleaning), and the challenges of workplace headcount stress.
  • Quote (Erika, 02:22):
    “Anybody tired of people fucking bitching at me and asking me for headcount? Which if there’s anyone who works here who listens to this, don’t ask me for a headcount. Literally had a freak out last night about that.”

2. Personal Reflections: The Danger of the “Old Yardstick”

• Erika digs into the tendency to measure present performance (at work, in health, in life) against outdated personal benchmarks—something she sees as especially common for women and parents feeling pressure to be their "old selves."
  • Quote (Erika, 05:52):
    “It’s really hard when you are wishing you were thinner or stronger or, you know, making less mistakes or more successful... It’s almost like I’m defeated before I start because I’m holding myself to a person I was a long time ago... your old yardstick isn’t how you shouldn’t use that to hang over you for where you are now.”
• Encourages listeners to redefine their standards and have compassion for their current selves.

3. Current Events: Gen Z “Rat People” and the Burnout Rebellion

(Start ~09:35)

• Discussion of the so-called “Rat People” in China’s Gen Z—a subculture rebelling against burnout by spending most of their time in bed.
• Erika relates this to her own son’s complaints about exhaustion and critiques how “burnout” is understood by younger generations.
  • Quote (Erika, 11:21):
    “Burnout culture is a funny thing where the people crying burnout actually have very, very little comprehension what burnout is. Even people in white collar jobs or me...really can’t complain that much about burnout.”
• Exploration of whether today’s youth are “quitting before they begin,” and the implications for future family dynamics—multi-generational living, “Eastern-style households,” and generational dependence.
  • Jessica Rose (12:45):
    “That is sad. And it’s very Eastern like parenting and lifestyle… people live with multi-generational... families.”
  • Erika (13:17):
    “Maybe we’re getting back to that type of community where it’s family community, multiple generations… that’s actually not a bad thing.”

4. Burnout: A Word That’s Lost Its Meaning?

(~14:59 and 33:59)

• The “B-word” of the workplace: how burnout has entered the everyday vernacular for even high schoolers—but should it be so casually used?
  • Jessica Rose (14:20):
    “The funny thing to me is like, I did...I don’t even think I knew the term burnout as a freshman high school kid...”
  • Erika (33:59):
    “Burnout is going to be Kleenexed... burnout kind of becomes a catch all for being dissatisfied and tired, when in reality, it’s actually a pretty serious situation.”
• Recommends not using “burnout” lightly—save it for when you’re truly burnt out, and seek help if needed. Don’t conflate tiredness or discontent with actual burnout.

5. CEO Memoranda & Return to Office: Elon Musk’s Mandate

(~15:05)

• Erika highlights Elon Musk’s internal email requiring Tesla employees to return to the office, interpreting it as “old school, harsh, but passionate” leadership.
  • Quote (Erika, 15:05):
    “Elon Musk sent an email out to Tesla employees...the subject line read, to be super clear, everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week. Moreover, the office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo office. If you don’t show up, we’ll assume you’ve resigned.”
• Discussion expands to how companies handling return-to-office policies signals a clash between employers and Gen Z, and how this will shape employee satisfaction and corporate culture.

6. Ageism in the Workplace: Challenges for Young Women

(~19:55)

• Spotlight on a new study: nearly 50% of women under 30 feel age negatively impacts their work, with Erika pondering whether ageism is worse for young women than young men.
  • Quote (Erika, 20:22):
    “There is a stereotype and a prejudice that young women are ditzy or spacey or not to be taken seriously... I actually think there’s ageism on both sides of the spectrum.”
• Notes that industry and workplace culture make a significant difference.

7. Summer Nelson’s Intern Perspective: Internships, Burnout, and the Work Ethic

(Interview starts at 20:30)

• Summer Nelson, content and social intern at Food52 (and formerly Barstool, TMZ), shares her experience stacking multiple internships and why she values workplace experience.
  • Summer Nelson (21:41):
    “Being able to get in the workplace the younger you are... is, in my opinion, the only way to be able to, like, land a good job post-grad.”
• She admits burnout is possible, but she thrives off work:
  • Summer Nelson (22:14):
    “You can do burnout for sure... but I think I just have this fire to work a lot. Like, I love working.”

8. Navigating Work, Life, and “Party” Balance as Gen Z

• Summer shares insight into the “work hard, play hard” campus vibe, the drive of women at UCLA, and the changing norms in dating and self-identification.
• Lively discussion on modern relationship labels (“partner” vs. “girlfriend”), inclusivity, and generational communication.
  • Jessica Rose (25:22):
    “It’s a PC culture thing… it’s become part of the vernacular where it’s like, it’s safe…”

9. Intern Pay, Access, and Life Lessons

• Reflection on the evolution of internship pay and why unpaid internships are outdated and exclusionary.
  • Erika (26:28):
    “When I was your age, the internships were unpaid... if you needed money, you had to choose waitressing...versus a job that could further your quote unquote career.”
• Summer and Erika agree getting both experience and income is critical for modern students.

10. Favorite Work Project Stories and Home Tours

• Summer recalls how she heard of Erika, attempted to join her “book chain,” and chased down a copy across states.
  • Summer Nelson (28:13):
    “I’ve actually known who you are for a long time because I’m very inspired by you, girlboss... I tried to be part of the book chain…”
  • Engaging stories about home tour productions and learning on the job.

11. Teaching Segment: The Charisma Wheel

(32:12)

• Erika introduces the “Charisma Wheel”—a tool for workplace presence and connection.
  • Tips include:
    • Remember & use people’s names
    • Mirror body language
    • Ask real questions, say meaningful things
    • Speak more slowly, own pauses, tell short stories
    • Match energy (though Erika remains skeptical: “Sometimes when people come in angry... you being calm... can actually be a better way.” [32:59])
    • Plant your feet when presenting
    • Compliment details
    • Smile genuinely

12. Strategery: Redefining Burnout

• Final advice: Reserve the label of burnout for situations of chronic stress; don’t use it as shorthand for everyday tiredness or dissatisfaction.
  • Erika (34:45):
    “If you are just feeling unfulfilled, unsatisfied, or stressed and tired, in a lot of ways those things are very solvable...you’ve got to solve [them] within yourself or you’ve got to solve [them] where you work.”

13. Parting Wisdom: If Not This, Then Something Better

• Closing on a positive note: accept new norms for yourself, and remember you can always seek something better if you’re unhappy with your current situation.
  • Erika (End):
    “If not this, then something better... If you don’t want to do this, you can go do something better. If this doesn’t work out, there’s something else out there.”

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On stress at work:
  • “Anybody tired of people fucking bitching at me and asking me for headcount?... Literally had a freak out last night about that.” — Erika, 02:22
• On burnout among Gen Z:
  • “Burnout culture is a funny thing where the people crying burnout actually have very, very little comprehension what burnout is.” — Erika, 11:21
• On ageism for young women:
  • “There is a stereotype and a prejudice that young women are ditzy or spacey or not to be taken seriously...” — Erika, 20:22
• On love of working:
  • “I think I just have this fire to work a lot. Like, I love working.” — Summer Nelson, 22:14
• On being good to yourself:
  • “Set new standards and accept where you are and where you want to go...” — Erika, Closing

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–05:41 | Prepping for the event, stress, and personal stories
• 05:52–09:35 | Tips & tricks: Letting go of the “old yardstick”
• 09:35–15:04 | Gen Z “rat people” and understanding modern burnout
• 15:05–19:55 | Elon Musk email, CEO culture, and return-to-office wars
• 19:55–20:30 | Early-career ageism for women
• 20:30–26:12 | Interview: Summer Nelson on internships, burnout, and balance
• 26:12–32:11 | Home tour stories, career advice, and passing on inspiration
• 32:12–33:59 | Teaching segment: The Charisma Wheel
• 33:59–End | Strategery: Burnout redefined, parting wisdom

Episode Tone

Candid, irreverent, supportive, and real—Erika and her guests blend straight talk and humor with thoughtful commentary.

Takeaways for Listeners

• Don’t hold yourself to unrealistic or outdated standards—recalibrate and move forward.
• Recognize the difference between true burnout and everyday tiredness; don’t diminish the meaning of the word.
• Stay open to change—when one opportunity isn’t right, something better is often ahead.
• Connection, substance, and presence trump almost everything else at work.
• The work landscape is evolving, and generational differences are both a challenge and an opportunity.

For future advice, workplace inspiration, and more, visit erikaayersbadan.substack.com.