Sunday Scaries: Spending Sundays Worrying About Mondays!

Which workers are most likely to experience the "Sunday Scaries"? We surveyed 1,000 professionals across the United States to find out, uncovering noticeable patterns across different age groups, genders, and career levels.

As more companies continue bringing employees back to the office, many workers are reporting higher stress levels, burnout, and lower job satisfaction. One issue stands out in particular: the "Sunday Scaries."

Whether it is checking work emails late at night or lying awake thinking about Monday morning, this growing sense of worry before the workweek has become common for many employees. For some, it has even become a reason to leave their job.

To better understand how Sunday anxiety affects employees in the U.S., we surveyed 1,000 working professionals. The results show how widespread the problem is, who experiences it most often, and how it affects both mental well-being and career choices.

Understanding the "Sunday Scaries"

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the "Sunday Scaries" describe the feeling of worry or stress that appears as the weekend ends and the workweek draws near. People often experience this because they are thinking about upcoming responsibilities, unfinished work, or losing their free time, making it difficult to enjoy the rest of Sunday.

Research published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine also found that anxiety about the coming workweek can interfere with sleep, estimating that as many as 76% of people experience some type of sleep disturbance on Sunday nights.

How the Study Was Conducted

For this report, we asked 1,000 U.S. employees about their experiences with Sunday anxiety, including how frequently they feel it, what causes it, and whether it has affected their mental health or career decisions. Responses were also grouped by age, gender, and seniority level to identify meaningful trends across different groups.

Main Findings

One in seven U.S. professionals experiences Sunday anxiety every week.

More than one-third (36.6%) have thought about leaving a job because of it, while 11.7% have already resigned.

Gen Z employees are the group most likely to quit because of Sunday Scaries.

Men report work-related anxiety more often, while women are more likely to view it as a normal part of having a job.

Entry-level employees report the highest levels of Sunday-related stress.

Sunday Night Worry Continues to Grow

Nearly one-third (31.2%) of American professionals say they experience anxiety on some Sundays, while almost 13% say they feel it every single week. For a smaller group, the stress begins even earlier, with 7% saying their anxiety starts as early as Saturday.

The leading causes of anxiety before the workweek were:

Workload and deadlines (33.1%)

Burnout and exhaustion (23.6%)

Unrealistic expectations (15.7%)

The emotional impact is significant. More than one in three employees have considered leaving their job because of Sunday anxiety, while 11.7% have already done so. At the same time, 42.2% say their job has a negative effect on their mental health, and 15.5% describe that effect as severe.

Even so, many workers believe Sunday anxiety is simply part of having a job. Around one-third (34.2%) say they see these feelings as a normal part of working life, regardless of where they work or what role they have.

Men Report Sunday Anxiety More Often Than Women

Men are somewhat more likely than women to say they experience Sunday anxiety (14.6% compared with 11%), and they also report feeling stressed on Sunday evenings more frequently (35.3% versus 30.7%).

However, although women report the symptoms less often, they are more likely to accept them as a normal part of work. More than two in five women (40.4%) believe Sunday anxiety is simply part of working life, compared with 28.7% of men.

When looking at the reasons behind the stress, women more often point to burnout and exhaustion, while men are more likely to mention upcoming meetings. Even so, workload and deadlines remain the most common cause for both groups.

Regarding career decisions, men are slightly more likely to leave a job because of Sunday Scaries (12.5% versus 10.8%), although the issue clearly affects employees of both genders.

Gen Z Is Changing What Workers Expect from Their Jobs

Gen Z employees are helping reshape workplace expectations, especially around mental health and overall job satisfaction. Compared with older generations, they are more comfortable talking about workplace stress and more likely to act when a job affects their well-being.

Nearly one in five Gen Z professionals (18.4%) say they experience Sunday anxiety every week.

45.9% have thought about leaving their job because of Sunday stress.

One in five (20.2%) have already done so.

Younger employees also tend to feel anxious earlier than other age groups. Around 15.6% say the stress begins as soon as the weekend starts. By comparison, only 7% of Gen X workers and 2% of Boomers report feeling anxious that early.

Gen Z is also the generation most likely to say work harms their mental health, with 71.6% reporting that their job has at least some negative effect on their well-being. That compares with 44.6% of Millennials, 37.8% of Gen X, and only 27.3% of Boomers.

Another notable finding is that fewer Gen Z employees see workplace anxiety as something they simply have to accept. Only 34.2% believe stress is an unavoidable part of working life, compared with almost half (48.5%) of Boomers.

Entry-Level Employees Face the Highest Stress Levels

Employees at the beginning of their careers report the highest levels of Sunday anxiety, with nearly one in five (19.6%) saying they experience it every Sunday. About 12.5% say their stress starts as early as Saturday. As a result, it is not surprising that nearly one in five (18.8%) entry-level employees say their job has a major negative effect on their mental health.

The main causes of stress differ by career stage:

Entry-level: Burnout (25.9%), poor management (20.5%), workload (22.3%)

Mid-level: Workload (27.8%), burnout (26.5%), unrealistic expectations (17.2%)

Senior-level: Workload (41.6%), burnout (23.9%), upcoming meetings (18.1%)

Even with these challenges, many employees continue working in jobs they would prefer to leave. Around 37.5% of entry-level workers say they have remained in a role despite wanting to quit because of Sunday anxiety, compared with 38.1% of senior professionals and 35.1% of mid-level employees.

 

What These Results Show

The findings point to a change in how American workers think about stress at work. Younger employees and those in entry-level positions are less willing to accept anxiety as simply another part of having a job.

As more organizations introduce return-to-office policies and the line between work and personal life becomes less clear, employees are paying greater attention to how work affects their mental health. They are also becoming more willing to make career changes when necessary. For those planning a move, a strong, well-written resume can improve their chances of standing out during the hiring process.

For employers, the message is straightforward. Companies that want to keep talented employees need to make mental well-being a real part of the workplace instead of treating it as a simple policy. Flexible working arrangements, access to mental health resources, and reasonable workload expectations have become standard employee expectations rather than optional benefits.