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B C B U S I N E S S . C A
J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 2 5
After seven and a half years running
the HR department for a Vancouver-based
media company (no, not this one), Pan-
gilinan knew she needed to make a change.
But instead of finding another corporate
gig—or any gig, for that matter—she quit
with no concrete plan. At least, other than
to reconnect with herself.
Pangilinan, 30, is part of a growing num-
ber of Gen Z and millennial workers who
are embarking on micro retirements. These
self-funded career breaks are being seen
as a way to combat corporate burnout,
offering people the chance to travel, spend
more time with family, work on hobbies or
figure out their next move. (And, unlike a
sabbatical, they generally take place when
someone has saved up enough to leave
their current job and not work at all, or
work sparingly, for months at a time.)
"Mondays used to be my favourite day,
and then the moment came where I was
like, 'Oh, I don't really like Mondays any-
more,'" says Pangilinan. "I still love HR, but
I kind of lost that spark. I needed to find
that again, and really take the time to see
what was important for me."
Pangilinan left her job in December
2024 and has spent the last number of
months rediscovering her passions. She's
training for a half marathon, and loves
being able to go for runs during the day,
without worrying about rushing back to
the office. She's baking and cooking more,
experimenting with homemade pasta and
from-scratch cakes. She went to New York
to look after a friend's dog, because why
not. She is putting together a plan for her
own HR consulting firm. She's also spend-
ing more time with her family, including
her toddler nephew and her parents.
"Family is important to me, but a lot of
times you have to work around your work
schedule," she says. "I really wanted to
embed in it a little bit more and put more
focus on that."
The concept of micro retirement was
popularized in 2007's The 4-Hour Work-
week by American author and entrepreneur
Tim Ferriss. Still, it seems to have taken
on renewed energy over the last couple
of years, as people continue to struggle
with burnout. An October 2024 study by
Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
and Mental Health Research Canada found
that approximately one in four Canadians
experience burnout, and that nearly 70
percent of Canadians experience pre-burn-
out symptoms such as fatigue, irritability
and lack of motivation.
KLARYSSA PANGILINAN
LOVED HER JOB. THAT IS,
UNTIL SHE DIDN'T.
MICRO RETIREMENT
