According to the institute's research professor, Jari Hakanen, working life in Finland is facing challenges posed by four negative trends. Workloads have increased, resources have declined, expectations for the future have become more uncertain, and at the same time, workers are increasingly getting burnt out.
Most afternoons, I came home to an empty house, let myself in with my own key, and figured it out-homework and snacks. There was inherent trust from my parents that I'd figure it out, and everything would be alright. You learned fast. If you got stuck, you improvised. If you were scared, you got practical. If you needed help, you decided whether it was "worth" bothering anyone. And if you were the oldest-if you were parentified-you were given responsibilities without guidance, expected to "just know."
Loneliness and burnout-deeply interwined in the workplace -are hitting American workers (and companies) hard. In 2025, global healthcare firm Cigna found that over half of all employees surveyed felt lonely. Around 57% admitted to feeling unmotivated and stagnant, while two-thirds of full-time workers say they experience burnout on the job, according to a 2025 Gallup study. The financial toll is jaw-dropping. Harvard Business Review reports that loneliness costs U.S. companies up to $154 billion annually through lost productivity, increased burnout, and employees resigning.
People with ADHD often face deficits in executive functions. Planning, organizing, or simply remembering to act upon certain responsibilities are some very common issues that make the day-to-day of individuals with ADHD more difficult. One notable environment in which this impacts life is the workplace. Deficits in executive functions tend to predict not only job performance but also burnout and stress levels.
For years, innovation has centered on speed. Faster processing. Faster decisions. Faster communication. But as artificial intelligence reshapes the modern workplace, a quieter truth is emerging from neuroscience and behavioral psychology: as technology accelerates, people are slowing down emotionally. Across industries, employees report rising cognitive fatigue, decreased trust, and a growing sense of isolation despite being more digitally connected than ever before.
Like clockwork, 5 p.m. on a Sunday, flashes of unread emails and notifications for tomorrow's upcoming meetings start. Your shoulders tense, your stomach knots. You have a case of the Sunday scaries. This unsettling feeling is a form of anticipatory anxiety that creeps in as the weekend draws to a close and Monday looms with the responsibilities of the week ahead.
The behavior has gained cultural visibility. On TikTok, the hashtag "hyper-independence" has racked up millions of views in videos tagged "hyper-independence is a trauma response" and "signs of hyper-independence." For many viewers, the content is striking because they assumed this was simply how success was achieved, not a survival strategy with hidden costs. That viral visibility makes it even more important for workplaces to recognize the pattern and promote healthier interdependence, rather than rewarding the unsustainable behaviors it reinforces.
TikTok has been abuzz with the workplace trend " task-masking "-that is, making yourself look busy so that your boss thinks you're hard at work. Cue behaviors like pounding hard on the keyboard, always keeping your status to "active," or walking around the office with your laptop and looking like you have somewhere to be when you don't. "It's all show. It's all performance," one TikTok user posted. "They could be typing a thousand words a minute, but really be typing nothing," posted another. Some argue that it's backlash against return-to-office policies: "Many of these employees, especially Gen Z, feel like their presence doesn't equal productivity," a TikTok user said. And crucially, "it's not just about laziness," wrote another, arguing the pressure to look busy "could actually be a sign of overwhelm."