Aaron Horwath, director of AI operations at a creative technology company, observed a telling scene on a commuter train: a young professional spent half an hour discussing EBITDAs and business metrics before pulling out knitting needles to work on a winter hat—displaying genuine pride for the first time that morning.
This anecdote reflects a broader pattern Horwath is witnessing among his peers in knowledge work. Professionals across industries are increasingly expressing desires to abandon their careers for analog hobbies like pottery, painting, and crochet. Coffee shop conversations now feature fantasies of “disappearing,” “living on a farm somewhere,” or “going off the grid”—articulated not as idle daydreams but as escape plans born from existential anxiety.
The disillusionment is spreading contagiously. When one person voices doubt about the meaningfulness of their work, others acknowledge similar experiences: declining motivation, emotional distance from their jobs, sleep problems, and fundamental questions about purpose. According to Horwath, the pattern is particularly striking among those usually insulated from economic disruption—highly paid executives and senior professionals with institutional knowledge—who are expressing uncertainty about their careers’ futures.
Horwath attributes this moment to what Derek Thompson described in 2019 as “American Workism”: a cultural trend where knowledge workers seek fulfillment, community, and meaning from their careers as previous generations sought these from religion. Thompson wrote that educated, high-earning Americans “have chosen the office for the same reason that devout Christians attend church on Sundays: It’s where they feel most themselves.”
Traditional vocations—teaching, nursing, firefighting, social work—offer intrinsic meaning through direct community impact. But most young professionals enter finance, consulting, or technology, fields that often lack altruistic purpose. As David Graeber documented in “Bullshit Jobs,” many knowledge workers admit their positions serve no meaningful function: slides for projects that never launch, debates over unused features, administrative processes for moving wealth between the rich.
Workism sustained these careers by providing manufactured meaning to distract from this emptiness. But like religion, it depends on faith overcoming logic. AI’s rapid advancement may be shattering that faith, forcing knowledge workers to confront uncomfortable questions: What are we actually doing? What is the point?
Horwath poses a critical question: What happens to society and its industries if an entire class of workers loses confidence in their careers simultaneously? The answer remains unclear, but the existential angst spreading through knowledge work suggests something fundamental may be shifting.
Key facts
- Knowledge workers across industries report declining motivation and existential doubt about the meaning of their careers
- A young professional on a commuter train displayed genuine pride only when discussing a personal knitting project, not work matters
- Derek Thompson’s 2019 concept of ‘Workism’ describes how educated Americans seek fulfillment and meaning from careers as previous generations sought it from religion
- Many knowledge worker jobs in finance, consulting, and technology lack clear altruistic or social purpose, according to scholars like David Graeber
- Even highly paid executives and senior professionals with job security are expressing uncertainty about their careers’ futures amid rapid industry change