What Is an Adult Gap Year? Here’s Why Gen Z Is Quitting Work to Travel and Reset
Burnout from hustle culture is pushing a growing number of young adults to step away from work entirely — not for a vacation, but for an extended break known as an adult gap year. Much like a teenager might take time off before college, adults are using this stretch to travel, pick up new skills, slow down and figure out what they actually want from their lives and careers.
The trend has built real momentum online, where the hashtag #adultgapyear on TikTok has collected thousands of videos from young people pushing back against the pressure to constantly grind. In one viral video, a creator warned that “hustle culture is going to be the downfall of this generation,” while another admitted she once viewed being constantly busy as “an aspirational status symbol.”
What an Adult Gap Year Actually Means
An adult gap year functions as a kind of “mini retirement” — a deliberate pause from career-building that gives young adults room to reset. It can last a few months or stretch across a full year, and it often involves travel, study or simply time away from the demands of a full-time job. For many people considering one, the appeal is less about adventure and more about survival after years of grinding through unsustainable workloads.
The scale of burnout among younger generations helps explain why the idea is catching on. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 74% of Gen Z and millennials report experiencing moderate to high levels of burnout. For a lot of workers in those age groups, stepping away is starting to feel less like a luxury choice and more like a necessary response to how work has been structured.
The Financial Reality of Taking an Adult Gap Year
The biggest question for most people weighing an adult gap year is whether they can actually afford one. AJ Schneider, a financial strategist and the founder of Beyond The Green Coaching, argues that with planning and savings, an extended break is realistic for more people than might assume. She frames financial preparation as a way to give yourself options, not just a path to retirement or homeownership.
“Getting your finances in order is so you can take huge leaps of faith in your life. It is not only so you can retire, buy a home, and make money in your sleep. It’s so you can say, ‘I am unhappy, and I’m safe to leave,’” Schneider told The Post. “Every dollar you save is going to fund you in the future, get excited about what you’ll be able to do with that money, versus feeling like your instant needs are more important.”
As for how much to set aside, Schneider suggests a straightforward approach: “Figure out where you want to go, work with ChatGPT on how much you think it’ll cost you based on flights, accommodations, food, activities and divide that amount by how many months you have to save.”
What Research Says About Extended Career Breaks
Beyond personal anecdotes, there’s a growing body of research suggesting that long breaks from work can pay off. David Burkus, an organizational psychologist and author, began researching sabbaticals in 2015 and has tracked the outcomes for both individuals and the companies they leave behind. He sees benefits that go past the obvious mental-health reset.
“People report better mental and physical health, increased confidence, and a greater sense of purpose after an extended break,” Burkus told Business Insider. He also points to upsides for employers: when someone steps away, teams cross-train, share knowledge and become less dependent on a few “indispensable” people.
A peer-reviewed study published in the Academy of Management in 2022 interviewed 50 professionals who had taken extended time off. Every interviewee said they came back as a better leader.
How U.S. Employers Are Responding to Sabbatical Demand
Paid sabbaticals are still rare in the United States, even as worker interest grows. Society for Human Resource Management data showed that 5% of companies offered them in 2019, rising to 7% by 2023. That’s a slow shift in a labor market where leave benefits routinely rank near the top of employee priorities.
In SHRM’s 2025 benefits survey, leave was the second-highest priority for workers — trailing only health benefits — for the fourth year in a row. The gap between what employees want and what most companies provide is part of why so many people are funding their own gap years rather than waiting for an employer to offer one.
When to Take an Adult Gap Year
DJ DiDonna, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a coauthor of the 2022 Academy of Management study, said everyone he interviewed wished they had taken a sabbatical earlier. The regret was consistent across age groups and industries, which suggests the question for most workers isn’t whether to take one but when.
For more information: Here Are the 7 Best Language Immersion Programs Abroad for Adults and Retirees
DiDonna told Business Insider that the best times for a sabbatical often line up with natural life transitions, like a honeymoon, a newly empty nest or the “twilight career” stage just before retirement. Those windows tend to come with built-in flexibility — a moment when stepping away is easier to plan around and easier to explain to a future employer.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
