Tesco
Can’t Even
Book

Can’t Even

How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation

Anne Helen Petersen
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020

Read offline

Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Background
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Millennials have a reputation for being lazy and entitled; seasoned writer Anne Helen Petersen argues the opposite is true. Millennials are stretched to their breaking point – working more than previous generations for less reward, fewer prospects and no job security. The irreconcilable demands of employment, parenting and home life, along with political and environmental concerns, doom millennials to burn out. The good news: “It doesn’t have to be this way.” Expanding on her viral BuzzFeed article from 2019, Petersen calls for systemic change to counter millennials’ perennial exhaustion.

Take-Aways

  • Many millennials are on the verge of burnout. 
  • For many millennials, the prospects for future success began in childhood.
  • Companies have taken advantage of millennials’ desire to do work they love.

About the Author

A former senior culture writer for BuzzFeed, Anne Helen Petersen now writes her newsletter, “Culture Study,” as a full-time venture on Substack. Petersen received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, where she focused on the history of celebrity gossip. Her previous books, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud and Scandals of Classic Hollywood, were featured in NPR, Elle, and The Atlantic. She lives in Missoula, Montana.

Comment on this summary or 开始讨论