It’s 6 PM on a Sunday, and you hear the dryer buzz. That’s your cue to start ironing tomorrow’s button-down, but all you can think about is being on a Caribbean beach at sunset, wearing an all-linen outfit that’s supposed to be wrinkled.

Somewhere under the mountain of clean laundry you just piled onto your bed is the laptop you swore you wouldn’t touch until Monday morning. You open it anyway, “just to get ahead.” An hour later, you’re halfway through answering your late-Friday emails, and the weekend feels like it’s officially over.

TAKE THE 60-SECOND BURNOUT QUIZ TO GET YOUR BURNOUT SCORE

American workers never agreed to starting the workweek on Sunday evening. It just keeps showing up early anyway, uninvited, right around the time the dryer buzzes.

Look around the office tomorrow: 76 percent of Americans are experiencing some level of burnout right now, according to the Burnout Survey conducted by Southwest Airlines®. So the Sunday scaries aren’t a you problem. They’re closer to a national default setting — one that gets a lot quieter when there’s a trip on the calendar.


“76% of Americans are experiencing some level of burnout right now1.”

sunday scaries


Now picture that same Sunday, only this time when you open your laptop, a Southwest® confirmation email for your flight to Aruba is sitting at the top of your inbox. You’ve still got laundry to fold, but half of it ends up in your suitcase. Monday is still Monday, but now it’s just one day standing between you and the Caribbean Sea.

Southwest can’t iron your shirt or sort through your spam folder for you, but it can help you get a trip on the calendar. And that goes a long way when it comes to staving off the scaries.

GET YOUR BURNOUT SCORE AND PLAN YOUR NEXT TRIP

With no change or cancel fees2, you can book stress-free as soon as you feel your burnout heating things up. After that, it’s just great service from the best crew in the sky3.

Not sure what’s wearing you down the most, or where you’d go to recover? Head to airplanemode.Southwest.com to take the Burnout Quiz and find some travel inspiration (Montego Bay? Grand Cayman? St. Thomas?). Book the first place that makes you smile. You can always change your mind later. But let’s be real, you and every single one of your colleagues need that beach vacation.

 

1Based on a Southwest-sponsored survey fielded August 17–25, 2026 with 2,001 adults aged 18–64 living in the U.S.

2 Fare difference may apply. Basic fare roundtrip bookings must be canceled or upgraded. Cancel 10+ minutes before departure to avoid forfeiture of travel funds.

3 Southwest Airlines Co. ranked first in Best Cabin Crew through USA Today’s 2025 10 Best. Visit 10best.usatoday.com/awards for more details.