Nash Equilibrium Shows How Millennials are affected by Burnout Culture
https://medium.com/s/buy-yourself/were-optimizing-ourselves-to-death-d41a3e7cc25a
This article discusses how Millennials are burnt out due to their wish to be at optimal working efficiency, and how their never-ending quest to excel in their work will lead to future inefficiencies. The author takes a modern day, working class spin on Nash equilibrium, referencing the famous Prisoner’s Dilemma to explain his argument. He believes our culture’s obsession with work is a rigged game in which every time millennials play, the outcome only gets worse for their wellbeing.
The author references the fact that both players (millennials) within the Nash Equilibrium would like to be at optimal payoff, being able to work harder. Thus, both players dominant strategy is to consistently work, as their belief is that work provides a better payoff for the future, as opposed to doing nothing. The logic is that a payoff of 1, (1,1) or both players working, would still be preferable to something like (10, 0) or (0,10) meaning that one of the players is simply relaxing, while the other does work. The reasoning behind this is that both players, instead of choosing to relax (8,8), would want to work, as they see it as the best thing to do for future improvements, even when it’s not efficient or optimal for payoff in any way.
Most people who are working behave like their extra time and effort working will lead to growth and improvements within their life. However, as the Nash Equilibrium shows, their time trying to work more, actually develops into burnout—which complicates their life and adds additional stress.
The Nash Equilibrium provided in the article is supposed to replicate services that big tech companies like Google use in order to make sure their employees get enough time to relax and optimize their time for productive work. Rather than take on these services that are provide by these technological companies, employees instead feel that working nonstop is more productive than resting.
This false sense of productivity is contributing the burnout of these millennials working and ultimately, is why the author makes the argument that workplace depression is rampant, despite the fact that working harder should lead to increased salary. He concludes his argument saying that the lives of these millennials do not get any better in terms of their happiness and even when opportunities for relaxation and services for comfort exist, we sadly will not chose to take them, due to the culture and inner psychology of our brains telling us to work at optimal efficiency.