The job market is changing rapidly, as are employee attitudes, especially as one generation follows another (we've written several times  about the differences between Gen Z  and other generations). Among the new developments is a trend that the New York Times, in a new article, calls "micro-retirement . "

The term is used to describe the decision of some employees who are not yet of retirement age, but, instead of waiting until they reach it, find another solution. They take a break from work to regenerate their energies, while at the same time thinking about how they can move on to another phase of their career.

This choice implies that this decision comes after we have created enough savings to stay unemployed for a few months. Otherwise, there are those people who are increasingly choosing the method called "silent resignation" . This decision involves slowing down the pace at work to avoid excessive fatigue and to create a healthier balance between career and personal life.

Micro-pension and its impact

Returning to the “micro-retirement,” one of the young workers who made this decision is 27-year-old Isabel Falls, who quit her job in New York and began traveling the world. The New York Times article found her in Mexico City, still wondering what she would do with her career.

Another woman, 30-year-old Marina Kauser, resigned in December 2023 and took three months off from work to focus on other things she had neglected as a result of focusing on her career.

"For the first time in my adult life, I didn't have this black cloud of work over my head," she said.

Another woman, 35-year-old Sandra De La Cruz, chose to take a four-month break from the job market in 2015. She believes her current job, as an analyst, is a result of that period, which gave her the confidence to manage uncertainty in her field.

Source: Marie Claire