Scott quit his corporate job to be a cleaner. He’s not the only one

Last month, at a networking event in Brighton, a man I was sitting with shared that he used to work as a financial analyst before quitting to take up a job as a cleaner. Our table of nine was stunned.

What? How could he go from working at a high-level corporate job to cleaning? How did such a dramatic switch happen? Was it intentional?

Scott said yes, it was deliberate. He chose the change. “I got so sick of corporate life. I couldn’t do it any more. After 13 years, I felt like I’d snap at the slightest thing.

“Now, I just want a job where I can clock in, clock out, get paid, and get on with my life. I don’t want calls on weekends or on my days off because there’s a crisis at work. The stress, demands, deadlines, and politics of corporate life were nonstop. I was done.”

Scott is not alone. This past summer, I met three other corporate workers who’d made similar shifts: an IT expert turned warehouse pick-packer, a general manager now a truck driver, and a lawyer who became an aged-care worker.

Dissatisfaction with corporate jobs in Australia is on the rise, so much so that some experts are calling it “The Great Burnout.”

“When professionals voluntarily leave for blue-collar jobs, they are trying to escape a perceived threat and source of distress.”

Nicholas Duck, psychologist and career coach at Coachling

A recent report from Allianz found nearly three million workers may leave their jobs due to mental distress, while six in 10 reported experiencing burnout symptoms in the past year.

Nicholas Duck, psychologist and career coach at Coachling, says people’s dissatisfaction with corporate jobs is growing, and that finding work that has meaning makes all the difference.

“People can deal with politics, demands, KPIs and bureaucracy if their work is meaningful. But when your values clash with corporate culture, burnout arrives faster. This is because you need to exert willpower and restraint in every meeting and interaction. Eventually, your brain just says, ‘That’s enough!’ That’s basically what burnout is.”

Duck says leaving a job for another opportunity is one thing, but abandoning the entire industry is essentially a “career sea change”.

“When professionals in high-status careers voluntarily leave for blue-collar jobs, they are trying to escape a perceived threat and source of distress. Removing themselves entirely into a different context strips away the triggers that set off their stress,” he says.

Meanwhile, career coach Jackie Marsterson says that professionals moving into less stressful roles, having studied hard to get into high-status careers, and leaving well-paid positions, are indications not only of burnout, but also of the deep tensions in modern corporate workplaces.

“The high-status careers are often associated with long hours, high pressure, and no work-life balance. Leaving such environments can help reclaim one’s mental health,” she says.

As we sat at the table listening to Scott explain his reasons for the career change, he said one of the things he’d come to detest at his previous job was the meetings.

“I couldn’t stand all the endless, pointless meetings. It got to the point where I would walk into a room, ask what the meeting was about, then do a U-turn and walk right back out. Nobody ever read the minutes of the previous meetings anyway.”

Marsterson says time spent in endless, unproductive meetings leads to frustration, low engagement, and wasted time talking rather than working, which can drive people away from corporate work.

Why, then, do those in corporate careers gravitate towards solitary jobs once they decide they need a change? Duck says, “Good people are often burnt out by the people, not the job. This is especially prevalent when dealing with toxic colleagues and bosses. Which is why solitary roles like truck driving are idealised – they offer isolation from this toxicity.”

While employees are encouraged to pause and check in with themselves, speak up early, set boundaries where possible, and prioritise recovery, Duck says solving burnout requires systemic change.

“Professionals in 2026 have high aspirations about their life and work, and the contemporary workplace is not keeping pace. People are not just seeking more balance, but also to be inspired and supported at work. Organisations need to change much more rapidly or risk becoming obsolete.”

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