87% Of Americans Who Cry At Work Hide It. Researchers Are Calling It “Cry Masking”

Workplace stress is reaching a breaking point for many American workers, with new research revealing the extent to which professionals are struggling to hold it together on the job during Mental Health Awareness Month.

New research from resume.io reveals that emotional strain is becoming increasingly widespread across the US workforce. This has given rise to a new workplace trend dubbed “cry masking.” Simply put, cry masking is when employees who are emotionally overwhelmed at work go to great lengths to conceal it from colleagues, hiding tears, suppressing breakdowns, and performing composure while privately struggling. Gen Z workers are feeling the strain the most.

According to a survey of 600 U.S. professionals, nearly half of workers (48.83%) have either cried at work or come close to crying in the past six months. This includes one in four professionals (24.50%) admitting they have cried at work or because of work in the past six months. A further one in four workers (24.33%) said they felt close to crying at work, even if they didn’t actually cry.

Despite this, the vast majority are suffering in silence, and cry masking is the result. Almost nine in 10 workers (87.07%) who cried at work hid it from their colleagues, with more than half (52.38%) saying they concealed it from coworkers completely.

The data reveals a stark generational divide in how U.S. workers are experiencing emotional stress at work, with younger professionals significantly more likely to report struggling.

Nearly four in 10 Gen Z workers (38.71%) say that they have cried at work in the last six months alone. That figure rises dramatically when looking at broader emotional strain. Almost two-thirds of Gen Z workers (61.29%) have either cried at work or felt close to it in that period, with only 38.71% saying they have never cried or felt close to it at work.

Gen Z workers were also the most likely generation to report reaching a breaking point repeatedly, with 16.13% having cried at work multiple times in the last 6 months. In comparison, only 5.16% of Gen X workers said the same, making Gen Z workers more than three times as likely to have cried at work on multiple occasions.

Gen Z are not alone. The research also revealed that more than one in three Millennials (34.05%) also admit to having cried at work recently, including more than one in six (16.81%) doing so more than once. Another fifth of millennial professionals (21.98%) said that they had come close to crying at work in the last six months.

The contrast with older generations is significant. Seven in 10 Boomers (70.37%) say they have never cried or felt close to crying at work. Interestingly though, while only one in six Gen X workers (16.67%) say they have actually cried at work in the last six months, more than a quarter (26.59%) admit they have felt close to tears which is higher than both Gen Z (22.58%) and Millennials (21.98%). This suggests that while older workers may appear more emotionally resilient on the surface, a significant proportion may simply be better at cry masking.

The research also highlights a notable gender divide in how workers experience emotional stress in the workplace, with women are much more likely than men to report reaching a breaking point.

The data revealed that women are nearly twice as likely as men to say they had cried at work once or twice in the past six months (17.33% vs. 10.33%). They were also considerably more likely to report feeling emotionally overwhelmed without actually crying with almost three in 10 women (29.18%) saying they have felt close to tears at work, compared with fewer than one in five men (18.45%).

Surprisingly, however, the gap narrows when looking at repeat incidents, 11.25% of women and 9.23% of men said they have cried at work multiple times in the past six months.

The findings also suggest that men may be more likely to cry mask in silence. Among those who have cried at work, three in five men (60.38%) concealed it entirely from their colleagues, compared with fewer than half of women (47.87%). Meanwhile, women were almost twice as likely as men to say they were at least somewhat open about crying at work (41.49% vs. 22.64%).

This suggests that while men may appear more stoic on the surface, a significant amount of emotional distress is going unspoken and unseen.

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According to Amanda Augustine, certified professional career coach and resident career expert for resume.io:

“The fact that nearly half of American workers say they’ve either cried at work or come close to it in just the past six months should be a real wake-up call for employers. Those newer to the workforce, in particular, are navigating everything from AI anxiety and economic uncertainty to rising performance expectations and burnout, so it’s not surprising that many are feeling emotionally overwhelmed.

What’s especially concerning is how many workers feel they need to hide their emotions out of fear of hurting their professional reputation or career trajectory. When employees don’t feel safe being honest about stress or mental health challenges at work, it doesn’t just affect their well-being; it also impacts the company’s overall engagement, productivity, retention, and culture.

Mental Health Awareness Month is an important reminder that emotional safety at work isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’ perk. Rather, it’s a critical part of building a healthy, sustainable workplace. Employees perform better when they feel supported, respected, and able to speak openly about challenges without fear of judgment or professional consequences.”