Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
Starting your first job can be both exhilarating and overwhelming. While you may be eager to apply your education and make your mark, you might also feel pressure to perform. With a third of Gen Z workers experiencing burnout, it’s worth considering how to protect your wellbeing from the start.
While workplace factors contribute to burnout, you can take control and navigate this important transition period feeling energized rather than depleted by following these three tips to motivate, focus, and manage your effort wisely.
Tip 1: Stay Motivated by Connecting Work to Purpose
Finding personal motivation in our work impacts our success. Not only does it drive performance, but it also drives our effort. Motivation explains over 80% of what drives our performance, and it naturally pulls us to act and feeds our energy.
Don’t wait for your employer to create this connection to your work. Finding personal motivation requires looking inward.
Reflect on how this position connects to your broader vision for your life. Consider how the role aligns with what you value in work and which aspects genuinely interest you. This reflection creates meaningful context for your daily work.
Connecting to purpose is especially meaningful when it comes to motivation. Not only do the majority of us seek this out (86% of Gen Zs, according to Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey), purpose is also linked to success.
Morten Hansen, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote Great at Work: The Hidden Habits of Top Performers and found, in his research, that purpose trumps passion for successful workers.
Purpose doesn’t have to come from your company or be lofty. You can simply answer: How can I meaningfully contribute and make an impact to my organization and those around me?
For example, contributions could be offering valuable insights in meetings. Or looking to make a customer’s experience smooth and enjoyable. Or bringing fun and humor into the workday.
But do ask your manager to help you connect and understand why your work matters to others. According to research by Adam Grant, hearing such stories and making that real-world connection can increase motivation by up to 400%.
Another area to own is your personal growth as a recent study showed that 65% of Gen Z employees are motivated by professional development.
Even in this first month, don’t wait for your manager to direct your learning. Proactively seek feedback to understand expectations, course-correct quickly, and demonstrate your commitment to improvement.
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Tip 2: Stay Focused by Clarifying Priorities From Day One
Your first month at a new job will demand a disproportionate amount of your focus — accept this reality and plan your personal priorities accordingly.
Think of it as a temporary sprint phase. This doesn’t mean giving yourself over to work entirely, but strategically reducing other commitments while you get up-to-speed.
While you may want to prove yourself quickly, pacing yourself and prioritizing tasks will keep you energized. Remember, your first 30 days is about orientation — learning the organization, culture, team dynamics, systems, and your role.
Work with your manager to clarify expectations and document priorities, revisiting them weekly to stay aligned. Identify an early “quick win” to build confidence and demonstrate value.
Learn to manage commitments by honestly assessing your capacity before taking on additional work. When uncertain, discuss prioritization with your manager.
Finally, in this age of remote and flexible work, don’t neglect building relationships with your manager and team members — these connections are essential support systems for your success.
Tip 3: Manage Your Energy to Prevent Burnout
Making life at work sustainable requires effort management. Why? Because just like time, effort and energy are finite. And as humans, we go between states of using our energy and needing to restore it.
Start a practice of being discerning about where you direct your effort. Recognize that not all projects and tasks require equal effort and levels of precision. Consider what truly deserves and requires your hardest work.
Also watch perfectionist tendencies, and challenge yourself, asking, “Is this good enough?”
A helpful frame around restoring energy is to consider that a career is an endurance event, and sustaining ourselves requires intention. Create a personalized sustaining plan to help you restore, protect, and support your energy.
A plan can include activities such as:
- Take regular breaks throughout your day — short pauses improve attention, creativity, productivity, and reduce exhaustion, yet half of knowledge workers rarely take them.
- Schedule activities that fully disconnect you from work — active pursuits like sports or taking a creative class provide better recovery than passive screen time.
- Invest in face-to-face relationships, as social connection remains vital to our well-being even in hybrid work environments.
Finally, set boundaries early while being adaptable. Establish norms around work hours, communication expectations (e.g., use of messaging apps and email), and focused work time.
Discuss these habits with your manager and team to understand existing norms while setting your own, building mutual respect and avoiding surprises.
Your first month establishes important patterns for your career. By consciously motivating, focusing, and managing your effort, you develop practices that will serve you long beyond the first days on the job.
These self-management skills not only prevent early burnout but position you as a resilient professional ready to thrive in today’s fast-changing workplace.
