All this social media presence, the necessity to keep up appearances in front of people you don’t know or care about, can be suffocating. At least for people who are not looking to be involved in jobs that require that kind of visibility. Those would be social media influencers, video marketing specialists, etc. But it does seem to be a requirement nonetheless these days, in addition to the constant need to imitate business and engagement and effectiveness at all times. (Which is impossible in healthy human beings, btw).
That’s a cause for some anxiety among younger people, and especially remote workers. Researchers and workplace analysts increasingly describe remote workers experiencing ‘visibility anxiety,’ meaning employees feel pressure to constantly appear responsive, engaged, visible, and productive online.
Endless meetings about nothing, elaborate emails full of false courtesy, and of course, the mother of all corporate hell circles, the ‘circling back’ to issues you’ve already discussed a gazillion times.
No wonder these kids are burned out! According to Upwork/Workplace Intelligence research, 71% of workers report burnout, and a separate 2024 survey found that 51% of employees experienced burnout within the past year. So these stats are not in isolation. And younger workers are disproportionately affected, with 91% of workers aged 18–24 reporting burnout symptoms in one UK workforce study.
Digital-First Professional Identity In Remote Era
If this was a study in the ’80s, having the digital identity as the main source of public opinion would reek of psychopathy. But here we are. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all advocating to get rid of social media altogether, I’m advocating for better regulation and less emphasis on it from the workplace. Because research increasingly shows Gen Z workers are shaped by digital presentation norms, and that’s not the path to healthy self-image and professional skills.
- 53% of Gen Z job seekers check employers on TikTok before applying.
- 40% of Gen Z workers prefer digital communication even in office settings.
- 74% of employees struggle with office small talk, reflecting how workplace interaction itself is becoming digitized.
It says one thing. Online personality is becoming part of professional literacy. Plus, Gallup and workplace surveys show that hybrid and/or remote work changed professional expectations permanently. This is important because by 2025, about 22% of the U.S. workforce was expected to work remotely, and 67% of workers actually prefer hybrid arrangements.
As a hybrid member of the workforce myself, I have to say it’s LIBERATING. Having a family and spending 2-3 hours in traffic daily is no bueno. But hybrid work also increased the nasty side effects that we all remember from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- loneliness,
- self-monitoring,
- digital fatigue,
- pressure to stay constantly available.
Where did this lead us my friends? Ah, yes. The collapse of boundaries between professional and personal selves, which is a weird thing to think about.
Digital Persona DIY
There are tools to get us where we need to be digitally. Ever heard of the Extended Mind Theory? It basically states that the mind does not exist only in our skulls or in the brain and that the thought process itself ‘spills out’ onto the objects that are engaged with that process, especially objects of information storage. I’m not the crazy conspiracy-theory guy, I’m just saying our digital personas are a metaphor for who you are, not the real YOU.
How does that relate to the issue at hand? We have a chance to CREATE our personalities and control how people see us online.
Video editing alone works wonders. Need a video application for a job? Need to make a video montage of a ‘how-to’ instruction manual? Or a marketing video? Install Clideo, go to town. You don’t even have to install it really, it’s a free online browser extension that doesn’t ask for any pro skills from you. Subtitles are easy, color hues are easy, AI features are easy. Aren’t you happy you clicked that ‘Learn More’ button when you had the chance?
Now, if we’re serious, Photoshop for the picture, AI and video editing to present you in the best light, and you’re good to go. That takes care of the persona you present online, but does nothing to the engagement burnout. And it’s big anough to confidently call it a crisis.
Engagement Hits Rock Bottom
Gallup’s 2026 workplace report found that global employee engagement fell to 20%, costing the world economy an estimated $10 trillion in lost productivity. What does that mean? We didn’t all become lazy all of a sudden. It might be the necessity to maintain the nice persona we’ve talked about. The one that’s not really YOU.
The constant upkeep leads to another batch of unpleasant side-effects:
- emotional exhaustion
- disengagement
- workplace performance
Gallup says, that it is costing taxpayer money in one way or another, and I am inclined to believe them.
The answer is not just erasing the digital world altogether, surely, but paying more attention to the results and not how the person comes across might be a good way to start. If a hypothetical 45 y.o. ‘Linda from Marketing’ likes to curse a lot but is a statistical analysis guru, maybe don’t make her sit through an exhausting meeting for no reason, and then write a report on what she took away from it. Jeez. Leave her be and give her enough material to work with. Maybe she doesn’t enjoy small talk with a corporate political correctness overlay.
Oh, and I bet you, 25 y.o. Liam DOES enjoy organizing everyone into retreats and keeping up the corporate culture more than he admits! Maybe it would be best if he did just that and didn’t have to do the tedious analysis that will show the productivity of his every action.
Just be considerate of who your employees really are. In real life. Not on paper or on video. This weird ‘Severance’ universe is not healthy for our Gen Z, and frankly, even worse to the older generations.
P.S. All names are coincidental, don’t sweat it.
