Passion, Flow & Burnout

The Modern Work Dilemma

Each generation has shaped its relationship with technology in its own way.

Generation X lived through a major shift. They moved from an analog world to the sudden arrival of digital technology.

Millennials embraced it with enthusiasm. They coded, swiped, and built the first social networks, believing technology would unlock freedom.

Gen Z didn’t adopt technology; they were born into it. They navigated multiple identities, endless content streams, and conflicting demands.

Learning to manage—just not humans?

Today, Generation Alpha isn’t taking the next step. They are living a rupture.

Technology is no longer just a tool. It has become the infrastructure of daily life.

In a world where AI, smart networks, and immersive digital environments converge, it’s not only how we gather information or create that’s changing, but how we work, collaborate, and find meaning.

This generation may be the first to manage AI before managing people. Beyond hard and soft skills, they’ll need what we might now call out skills.

Designing a video game, writing a film, developing software—these already require coordinating dozens of AI models. The human role is becoming that of a conductor, orchestrating diverse AIs, whether proprietary, open-source, European, American, or Chinese.

But this raises an important question: what happens to emotional knowledge when first experiences are shaped not with people, but with neural networks?

Because managing a team isn’t just about combining skills.It’s about sensing what isn’t said—impulses, resistance, silence. It’s reading gestures, glances, hesitation.It’s navigating the invisible forces that shape a team: motivation, tension, hope, and fear. It’s about sensing the invisible where algorithms can’t.

At the crossroads of emotion

Two possible paths begin to emerge.

In the first, a generation emotionally numbed at work becomes equally numb in their private lives. Interactions remain efficient but empty. Emotions fade, leaving behind a diminished sense of humanity.

But another path is possible. We could see the rise of a lucid generation. Exposed early to the risks of hyperconnection and often guided by mindful parents—dumbphones, usage limits, screen-free days—they treat mental health as an asset, not a luxury.

In this context, setting boundaries would come naturally. Work and personal life would remain clearly separate, free from emotional confusion or overflow.

In doing so, they might avoid the pitfalls others have long struggled to manage at the workplace: poorly handled criticism, misplaced tensions, and the blurring of personal and professional spheres.

And perhaps, with the time automation frees, they would choose not to waste it on mindless entertainment but to invest it in self-discovery, growth, and learning to discern what deserves an emotional response... and what does not.

Passion, really?

We’ve glorified the idea: Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. An alluring maxim. And a dangerous one.

This mindset has led to exhaustion. Many have burned out, sacrificed themselves, and lost their way.

Bernard Palissy, a 16th-century French ceramist, is a tragic example. Obsessed with unlocking the secret of white enamel, he spent years pursuing his craft. When he ran out of wood to fuel his kiln, he burned his furniture, then his floor, and eventually sacrificed his own house. His passion was sublime—and destructive. Because without limits, passion doesn’t liberate. It consumes.

Centuries later, the same promise resurfaced in a new form.

In 2019, Li Jin introduced the concept of the Passion Economy—an economy where passion drives professional purpose. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Patreon, and Twitch made it possible for anyone to monetize their creativity. Autonomy. Fulfillment. Freedom.

But the ideal quickly began to crack. Under relentless pressure to produce, to satisfy algorithms, and to stay visible, many creators burned out. One study captured the trend: 90% of creators reported burnout, and 71% considered quitting social media altogether.

Even Li Jin acknowledged the model’s limits: precarious income, the race for attention, and global competition. The Passion Economy soon changed—both in name and in reality. It became the Creator Economy. A more clear-eyed version.

Flow: a path to balance

If passion has led to burnout, it’s because we turned it into an absolute—without nuance.The answer isn’t to abandon intensity, but to channel it differently.

That’s where flow comes in.

Flow, as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a state of deep focus, absorption, and alignment. A balance between challenge and skill. A space where action unfolds naturally, without strain or distraction.

It’s neither euphoria nor pain. It’s precision.

In flow, we don’t lose ourselves. We don’t sacrifice ourselves. We move forward—present, balanced, whole.

But flow doesn’t depend solely on the individual. It requires real skills, meaningful challenges, and a level of autonomy that the modern workplace rarely offers.

Creative fields sometimes allow it. Precarious or fragmented jobs almost never do. Rigid goals. Constant interruptions. Digital surveillance. All obstacles to this fragile balance.

AI: amplify or disrupt the flow?

Could generative AI become an ally in the search for balance?

Personal AI tools capable of adjusting challenge levels, filtering distractions, and supporting learning could act as true flow coaches. They could help sustain this optimal state and free up valuable time by automating repetitive or time-consuming tasks.

But everything depends on the purpose.

If these AIs are designed to strengthen human autonomy, they can amplify flow. If they are built to capture attention or maximize performance for business interests, they will offer only the illusion of flow.

And without real balance, the same trap always awaits:

Too much passion without flow leads to burnout. Too much flow without passion drifts into the mechanical—action without direction or purpose.

By now, it’s clear: the real challenge of the 21st century isn’t choosing between passion and flow.

It’s learning to bring them together.

MD & AF

Aurélien Fenard is an expert in digital transformation and HR innovation. He leads projects combining AI, data, and digital ecosystems. Actively engaged with generative AI, he explores its impact on skills through content and short films. His approach is guided by ethics, inclusion, and data protection.