Glassdoor Has a Word of the Year: 'Fatigue'

In a year when many workers felt more wrung out than refreshed, Glassdoor has crowned "fatigue" as its word of 2025. The job review site says mentions of "fatigue" on its community platform jumped 41% this year, reflecting a workforce worn down by politics, economic jitters, and rapid advances in artificial intelligence, reports CBS News.

• In an April poll of more than 1,000 US professionals, 78% said news events were sapping their energy at work—and, Glassdoor notes, that drained feeling "never really went away." Users increasingly turned to the site to vent and compare notes on stresses that bled from the broader world into the office.

• Politics was a big culprit. References to "inauguration" surged 875% year over year, and users described a workplace where partisan talk is hard to escape, even for those who would rather keep quiet. One senior manager said they had to remove an "I Voted" sticker at the office because it kept drawing debate; another worker admitted they avoid starting political conversations but struggle not to intervene when they hear comments they see as "hateful or ignorant."
• Economic unease also loomed large. Mentions of "stagflation" more than tripled compared with the previous year, and posters complained that 2% raises feel meaningless against inflation, as well as that compensation isn't keeping up with the cost of living.

• Then there's AI. As companies raced to adopt generative tools, mentions of the buzzword "agentic" on Glassdoor soared more than 2,200% year over year, with workers overwhelmed by nonstop tech developments and worried about staying employable. One analyst joked that if a resume doesn't mention "agentic AI" or "autonomous agents," it looks outdated already.
• Still, the mood isn't entirely grim. Glassdoor says emoji use on its forums shifted over the year from red flags and shocked faces to laughing, raised hands, and smiley faces, suggesting that amid the exhaustion, people are still finding ways to laugh.
• Organizational psychologist Adam Grant recommends two basic coping tactics: distraction—focusing on small wins—and reframing, or deliberately adjusting how we view the chaos.