“Technology has spoiled me – high salary, free food, remote work, gym membership, massages, and more,” 31-year-old Jean Kang told Business Insider. However, when she realized she was working hard for a job, she chose to resign.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, prices continued to rise, and people seem more eager than ever for a high-paying job, especially young people.
According to a recent report by Zillow, the income needed for homebuyers in the United States has to increase by 80% compared to before the pandemic. According to a new survey by financial services company Bankrate, an annual income of over $186,000 is needed to achieve financial security. Currently, only 6% of American adults can earn that much money.
However, while a six-figure salary may be enticing, it may also come with extremely heavy workloads and increased risks, to the point where in some cases, employees have to choose between a high salary and mental health.
Business Insider interviewed three high-income individuals who were eager to make their mark in their industries at the beginning of their careers but quickly became disillusioned due to the “hustle culture” in the workplace. Ultimately, they all resigned from their six-figure jobs due to mental health issues.
31-year-old Jean Kang worked in various positions at a major tech company and initially enjoyed the perks that came with a six-figure salary.
“I was spoiled by the tech benefits of each position – high salary, free food, remote work, gym membership, massages, and more,” she told Business Insider. However, the “hustle culture” in the workplace made her feel immense pressure, where she had to exceed tasks and outperform competitors to “survive.”
Kang said that when she realized she was working hard for a job that only aimed to make the big corporation more money, she struggled.
In 2023, after experiencing a large-scale layoff, Kang chose to permanently leave the $300,000 salary job at the major tech company and became a full-time content creator and career coach working remotely.
“I now work 30 to 40 hours a week, sometimes even on weekends, but not because I have to, but because I want to,” Kang said. After working for herself, her previous anxieties and ‘Sunday scaries’ disappeared.
28-year-old Eric Yu told Business Insider that in his first two years working at Facebook, he was an optimistic recent graduate excited to be in a technical job.
However, as the novelty wore off, it was replaced by anxiety. Not only did he have to nervously code during long workdays but also stay up late to complete assignments. Despite this, he couldn’t escape the harsh criticism of the engineers.
In the end, he was overwhelmed, and panic attacks began.
“I was at the lowest point in my life, every day felt like torture: I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t know why I had to work anymore,” Yu said. It wasn’t until his boss severely questioned his work that he decided to resign from his technical job.
“I know leaving a $370,000 annual salary job sounds crazy, and working at Meta for life could ensure financial security, but I knew it wasn’t right for me,” he said. He now earns passive income through house hacking and uses the extra time to explore the life he truly wants.
A former McKinsey employee, who chose to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, told Business Insider that he knew his assistant position would be tough. However, he was willing to persevere to sharpen his analytical skills.
However, he didn’t expect his job to be so mentally draining: lack of guidance, extremely high standards, harsh colleagues, all accompanied by dreadful 16-hour shifts.
“And the job intensity was huge – I never left my desk, forgot to eat,” he said, “I almost don’t remember going to the bathroom,” and his weight dropped sharply.
A year later, he was on the verge of a breakdown. “I just couldn’t continue,” he said, even though his salary was as high as $200,000, he eventually decided to resign from McKinsey, focusing on his mental health.
After leaving his job, he found it difficult to take care of himself, and even going outside was challenging, showing how serious his condition was.
A year after resigning, his mental health improved, and he’s ready to re-enter the workforce. But this time, in job hunting, he is “looking for companies that care about employees, value inclusivity, and respect everyone.”