‘Work wasn’t for me’: Gen Z travellers ditch the 9-5 for a permanent holiday

We’ve all experienced post-holiday blues – that sinking feeling when the reality of everyday life kicks back in.

But for Gen Z, returning home after a few months (or even years) of travelling isn’t just a case of feeling down for a few days – it’s triggering a full-blown identity shift.

Unlike previous generations, many Gen Zers simply aren’t satisfied with the working world in 2025. Just one in 10 want to work in an office, and more than half say they’re lazier than their parents’ generation, according to research by The Times.

Another 2023 study found that 40% believed 10 hour days were unacceptable.

With the cost of homes and retirement age on the rise, it’s no wonder then that the younger generation is swapping the nine to five for prolonged travel.

But all good things come to an end, and once Gen Z return home, they’re getting quite the reality check.

It’s a phenomenon known as ‘reverse culture shock’, and before you cry ‘snowflake’, according to consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, Elena Touroni, it’s a serious mental health phenomenon.

Dr Elena explains: ‘Dismissing these feelings ignores the psychological reality of adjusting to major life transitions.

‘It’s not about entitlement — it’s about learning how to process change, manage shifting perspectives, and coping with the emotional effects of stepping between different worlds.’

‘You come back and no one understands’

Kate Woodley, 25, from London, was just 18 when she set off on a backpacking trip to Indonesia with her friends. Once she began exploring, she found it difficult to stop. 

Even after landing a demanding management consultant apprenticeship, she utilised her (limited) annual leave on travel. 

‘Any chance I could get, I was using it to go to places and take trips,’ she tells Metro. ‘I think I went to 10 countries in one year while I was still working.’ 

Then she discovered her company had a policy allowing career breaks of up to three years after two years of work.

‘Once I finished the apprenticeship, I thought, “I’m getting out of here”.

And so, in January 2021, she set off on a solo adventure across Central America and Europe, returning in November 2022. She spent around £20,000 on the trip in total, which she had saved from her consultant job.

After such a long time away, coming home wasn’t easy. While she was grateful to have her old job waiting for her, she found it nearly impossible to assimilate back into the corporate world. 

‘I was good at the job – I managed to go back to the team that I really liked and I was doing work that I enjoyed, so in that sense, I was satisfied,’ Kate explains.

‘But for me, it was just the loss of freedom that hit me. I really struggled with the monotony of life and working five days a week, eight or nine hours a day, to then live for the weekend and get two days off. They were gone so quickly and you had to do it all again, it was just a cycle.’

She adds: ‘I think I knew even before I’d gone back that it wasn’t for me. I had to give it a go and try it because I was working in one of the best companies in the world, 50,000 people applied for the position I had.’

It wasn’t just the corporate grind that she found difficult either –  navigating her emotions was just as tricky. 

‘You just feel like you’ve experienced so much, and nothing’s really changed at home,’ she says.

‘You can only imagine how much I grew in the time I was away, and how much I learned and experienced. You come back and nobody really understands.’

While her friends and family were excited about her return, the novelty of her experiences quickly wore off, commenting: ‘You have all these stories, but people don’t want to sit there and listen to them. So you feel quite disconnected.’

After just six months, Kate called it quits again – and she’s been full-time travelling ever since, living everywhere from Egypt to California. The amount of time she spends in each place varies.

‘It can be anywhere from one week to a couple of months,’ she explains.

She now runs her own tour company for women, Stay Wild Travel, which allows her to fund her nomadic lifestyle, alongside travel writing and content creation on social media.

Now, her experiences of visiting home feel completely different. ‘I tend to spend at least two months at home every year,’ she explains.

‘I don’t have that feeling of being trapped, or that I’m giving up my freedom,’ she says. ‘It’s this nice experience, and I get to spend quality time with my family and friends.’

‘I zipped up my backpack and burst into tears’

Burnt out from climbing the corporate ladder in his tech job, Joe Probert, 28, left Manchester in June last year, spending ‘every last penny’ he had on a six-month trip around South America and Europe, draining a total of £16,000 from his bank account. 

Even before his flight home, Joe was struggling with the emotions of returning. 

‘I was packing up my stuff and I zipped up the last bit of my rucksack, and I just burst into tears,’ he recalls. ‘I’m not really a crier. But it just hit me.’

‘I felt sad that my freedom had kind of come to an end. The hardest bit of coming back was accepting that.’

In December 2024, Joe landed back in the UK, unemployed, in debt, and living with his parents. He now spends much of his days looking for jobs and taking everything ‘one step at a time’. 

‘There are definitely days where being in debt and having no job is super stressful,’ he admits. ‘It impacts plans for the rest of the year. I can’t make plans, I feel stuck.’

He says the hardest part, though, has been ‘accepting the fact I am going to be glued to a desk again.’

Joe has struggled to articulate his experiences to anyone who wasn’t there with him. 

‘I want to keep talking about my trip as much as possible. I just don’t want to forget anything.’

Despite having a ‘great’ family and support system, and making lots of plans for the year ahead, such as attending his sister’s wedding, he adds: ‘You just can’t compare Rio to Manchester.’

Now, Joe’s searching for a remote job that offers a better work/life balance in the UK. However, he would like to do another long-term travel trip in the future. 

‘My mum and dad haven’t put pressure on me to get a job as they trust me, and my friends have taken me out and covered me for things.

‘I just really don’t want to feel like I’m going straight back into such a strict office environment,’ he says.

And despite his difficulties, Joe ‘would do it all again,’ adding: ‘I don’t regret anything, even being in this situation now, and being jobless and looking for work.

‘Money comes and goes and it won’t be long until I’m back on my feet.’

Why does returning home from travel feel so difficult?

According to Dr Elena, shifting from a ‘traveller identity’ back to regular life can be a huge psychological adjustment.

‘Travel provides a sense of novelty, freedom and adventure – things that everyday life often lacks,’ she tells Metro. ‘When we return home, we lose the constant stimulation and dopamine hits from new experiences, which can make normal routines feel dull in comparison.’

It’s not just the monotony of everyday life travellers struggle with: some find it difficult to slot back into their social circles, as they feel ‘out of sync’ with friends and family.

Dr Elena says that while travel can ‘broaden perspectives, and build confidence’, it can lead to a disconnect back home, where everything has seemingly stayed the same.

Could remote work be the answer?

While in previous generations career breaks might have been the go-to option to satisfy travel cravings, remote work now offers the freedom to balance both. 

According to Mark Edmondson, chief executive at the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, remote work is an ‘obvious solution’ to post-travel depression. 

He explains: ‘For those who want to balance work and travel, remote roles offer an obvious solution. Naturally, employers that offer flexibility have an edge in hiring terms. 

‘The increasing four-day working models also point to the fact that organisations are trying to find the best balance of productivity and employee satisfaction.’

However, according to Dr Elena, long-term travel may not be the answer for everything. Having stable home roots is important. 

‘If someone starts to use travel as an escape from problems or struggles with a constant sense of dissatisfaction when they’re not travelling, it may be a sign of avoidance rather than healthy passion,’ she adds.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

MORE: Commuters confused over innocent tube habit that sounds rather more X-rated

MORE: Frankie Bridge details crippling depression after struggling to leave the house

MORE: ‘Barebackers’ are the commuters plaguing the London tube network