We quit jobs to travel and find purpose – now we’re facing a ‘job-apocalypse’

Two years ago. Joe Wilson, a 27-year-old engineer from Bristol, quit his mechanical engineering job. After spending 10 months travelling around Latin America – which he’d saved for a year and a half to afford – he’s now hoping to make a long-term move to Mexico City to live with his girlfriend, whom he met while travelling.

Unfortunately for Joe, he finds himself bearing the brunt of a job market that’s in deepening trouble: “I’m back home as finding work in Mexico has been difficult; back here I can earn money doing odd jobs and bar work,” he tells me.

“It’s a tricky time, and especially when you’re trying to look for something specific, especially if you’re looking for something remote. I’ve got friends in similar positions that have been looking for months.”

Joe is not alone. Getting a new job in 2026 is not for the faint-hearted, with official figures revealing that unemployment is holding at a near five-year high and that wage growth is continuing to slow. Jobs are also becoming harder to come by as companies decide to make operational cutbacks. Instead of training up juniors or taking on new hires, companies are prioritising automation through AI to plug skills gaps.

A survey by the British Standards Institution (BSI) of more than 850 business leaders across seven countries – the UK, the US, France, Germany, Australia, China and Japan – found that four in 10 (41 per cent) of bosses said AI was allowing them to cut the number of employees. With multiple headwinds hitting, we are heading into what some are dubbing the “job-apocalypse”, and it’s hardly surprising that ”rejection spreadsheets” are popping up across social media as people reframe knockbacks as progress rather than failure.

Last year, I interviewed several twentysomethings who’d quit stable jobs to embark on a “mini retirement”. Then, it seemed like every young person was – or at least knew someone who was – reevaluating their work-life balance, ditching the nine-to-five for an indefinite period of adventure and reflection. Travels have now been ticked off the bucket list, and with a new war raging in the Middle East, which is set to send inflation soaring and interest rates wobbling, reality is creeping back in. Suddenly, a solid nine-to-five job feels infinitely preferable to being unmoored without a stable income to rely on.

George, 29, quit his job in Bristol at the start of 2025 after working for seven years as a civil engineer. Craving a longer break than a sabbatical, he walked out of his comfortable job and booked a one-way flight to Argentina. He used the time travelling to reflect on the kind of career he wanted, then moved in with his parents in Somerset and worked cash in hand to tide himself over. He’s now reaching the one-year mark of official unemployment and is struggling to find a way back in.

“It’s been challenging,” George tells me. He had hoped to move to London for a fresh start, with a job that promised more creativity than his former role in civil engineering, but it has been a struggle. “I don’t have direct experience in the role I’m now looking for in event design and construction, he tells me, “but the whole point of my break was to reassess my direction and explore something new.”

George received an email last week from an international conference venue in London, from which he was hoping to receive a job offer. It is pausing recruitment indefinitely due to a shift in demand/general concern about the economy/war.

It’s not just young adults who are feeling the squeeze, however. It’s an issue that’s felt across the board – from graduates trying to get a foot on the ladder, to older workers who stepped away for a better work-life balance, or were made redundant and now fear their age is working against them in a job market that is as tough as they have ever known.

The rise of AI is a significant factor felt by candidates of all ages. “I think what’s changed is that, because of AI, it’s so easy to apply for jobs now,” Alice Stapleton, a career-change coach, tells me.

”This means so many more are applying for the same role, making competition rife for each vacancy. It’s tough to make yourself stand out. This is even harder if you’re looking to change roles or industry,” she tells me. “Fewer employers are willing to take risks.”

For every role on offer, an average of 22 people are now competing for it, according to Totaljobs, and rising wages in an atmosphere of global insecurity are adding to the nervousness around hiring. “Connections and your network are key,” Alice tells me. “You can’t rely on online applications only. It needs to be a multi-pronged approach.”

Official figures paint a gloomy picture for those out of work. A friend of mine has been out of full-time employment since autumn 2024, and has used their time off to travel and is now tutoring to stay financially afloat.

So, were workers too quick to walk out of a job they feel doesn’t serve them? Were they wrong to believe that the grass is greener? Perhaps they’d have been better off watering the grass they were on by understanding why they were unhappy in a role instead of just walking away from it. Had they just grown bored? Could they have set clearer boundaries or had those hard conversations with their manager instead? By shifting their perspective away from quitting, would they be in a better position now?

Back to my tutor friend. While she’s not in her dream job yet, she’d still rather be doing what she is now than be in the wrong job. Instead of accepting the first role that came their way, she has turned down several offers in different industries across the UK. Why? She’s still weighing up which career path is truly meant to be for her.

Leah Farmer, a life and leadership coach, tells me that when it comes to leaving versus staying, it’s rarely black and white. “Some workplaces are genuinely toxic. In those cases, I tell people to run, not walk, to get out as quickly as they can,” she tells me. “But a lot of people leave for less urgent reasons. It’s incredibly expensive to replace a good employee, so most managers would rather find a way to keep someone than lose them. But many employees leave emotionally before they’ve even tried to advocate for themselves. I often say, if you’re already thinking about leaving, what would it hurt to be honest and ask for what you need?”

Leah tells me that if a client knows they’re going to move on eventually, she’ll encourage them to ask questions such as ‘What could I still learn here?’, and ‘Is there a skill I can build, a pattern I can break, a conversation I need to practice?’. “It might be technical. It might be about communication or leadership. Either way, take advantage of the known while you still have it,” she says. “It’s all part of building your reputation and strengthening your personal brand, even if you’re doing it quietly while planning your next move.”

If you do find yourself nervously checking LinkedIn a little more than you’d like, a practical step which Leah advises to improve your odds and make a successful return is to define your personal values. “Not the kind of values you write on a Post-it and never look at again, but the deep stuff that actually influences your decisions and behaviour,” she says. “A lot of people talk about wanting alignment, but when I ask them to name their top three values, they struggle. Once they get clear, it becomes much easier to filter opportunities and know when something feels off. The clearer they are about what matters to them, the better decisions they make.”

Despite the hardship of finding a job amid a hiring crisis and navigating a long-distance relationship, Joe still believes his mini-retirement wasn’t the wrong thing to do. “I think quitting has given me a great opportunity to learn what I want out of work and life,” he tells me. “I’m feeling a lot more motivated to try and start my own business, and less scared. I’d also love to continue to travel as much as possible – having a fully remote job is still the ideal situation for me.”

How does George look back on his decision to quit? “I’m fortunate that I can afford to live at the moment with little earnings, but in the interest of my long-term happiness, it’s given me a chance to think about the bigger picture for the first time ever.”

Things may be starting to look up for George, who has secured his first interview in London next week. “I hope to be more connected to my colleagues in my next role, feeling more alike to them may lead to more work, socialising and new friendships. Wouldn’t that be a happy ending!”