rat race
Exhausting career scramble
The rat race is the exhausting cycle of working long hours to earn money, often just to maintain a lifestyle that requires more work to sustain.
The phrase suggests futility and monotony, like laboratory rats running endlessly on a wheel or through a maze.
Someone who leaves the rat race typically abandons conventional career pressures for a simpler or more personally fulfilling life.
After twenty years in corporate law, she finally escaped the rat race and moved to Vermont.
Energetic, aggressive action
- commuteRegular work travel
- nine-to-fiveRegular office schedule
- treadmillMotorized walking platform
- hamster wheelRotating cylinder for caged pets
overtime · deadlines · cubicle · rush hour · daily grind · paycheck · workweek · slog
Lacking significance or purpose
- soul-crushingDestroying one's inner spirit
- unfulfillingLacking emotional reward
- emptinessAbsence of substance
- monotonyTiresome lack of change
tedium · trapped · existential · disenchantment · pointlessness · going nowhere · opting out · downshifting
Portable climbing frame
- promotionRank increase or publicity
- climbingAscending by physical effort
- networkingBuilding professional relationships
- office politicsPower dynamics at work
corner office · executive · salary · resume · headhunter · corporate · management · white-collar
Pressure, mental or vocal
- exhaustionState of utter depletion
- overwhelmedDefeated by sheer volume
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- pressureForce upon contact
fatigue · overwork · tension · hectic · frantic · strain · breaking point · worn out
Ruthlessly self-interested competition
- cutthroatViciously competitive or murderous
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- one-upmanshipQuest to surpass others
- keeping up with the JonesesStriving to match neighbors' lifestyle
status · materialism · consumerism · ambition · striving · zero-sum · comparison · outdoing
Large populated area
- metropolisLarge important city
- commutersDaily work travelers
- subwayUnderground transit passage
- trafficMovement along routes
crowded · concrete jungle · downtown · rush · masses · congestion · skyscrapers · bustle
hustle
Energetic, aggressive action
- commuteRegular work travel
- nine-to-fiveRegular office schedule
- treadmillMotorized walking platform
hamster wheel · overtime · deadlines · cubicle · rush hour · daily grind · paycheck · workweek · slog · keeping up
meaningless
Lacking significance or purpose
- soul-crushingDestroying one's inner spirit
- unfulfillingLacking emotional reward
- emptinessAbsence of substance
monotony · tedium · trapped · existential · disenchantment · pointlessness · going nowhere · opting out · downshifting · sabbatical
ladder
Portable climbing frame
- promotionRank increase or publicity
- climbingAscending by physical effort
- networkingBuilding professional relationships
office politics · corner office · executive · salary · resume · headhunter · corporate · management · white-collar · boss
stress
Pressure, mental or vocal
- exhaustionState of utter depletion
- overwhelmedDefeated by sheer volume
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
pressure · fatigue · overwork · tension · hectic · frantic · strain · breaking point · worn out · running on empty
dog-eat-dog
Ruthlessly self-interested competition
- cutthroatViciously competitive or murderous
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- one-upmanshipQuest to surpass others
keeping up with the Joneses · status · materialism · consumerism · ambition · striving · zero-sum · comparison · outdoing
city
Large populated area
- metropolisLarge important city
- commutersDaily work travelers
- subwayUnderground transit passage
traffic · crowded · concrete jungle · downtown · rush · masses · congestion · skyscrapers · bustle · anonymity
- labor idiomsnose to the grindstone, burning the midnight oil, pull your weight, crunch time, work like a dog
- workjob, 9 to 5, jobs, labor, employee
- city lifecity, urban life, traffic noise, downtown, metropolis
- competition metaphorslevel playing field, win-win, front runner, underdog, dark horse
- work idiomsburning out, climb the ladder, glass ceiling, golden handshake, pink slip
- work-life balancework hours, time off, vacation, weekends, remote work
rat raceslow living
Intentional deceleration of daily life
tranquility · the good life · peace and quiet · easy street · relaxation
rat racemeaningful work
Labor with significance
self-actualization · fulfillment · calling · vocation · intrinsic motivation
rat raceretirement
Leaving the workforce permanently
early retirement · financial independence · dropping out · simple living · downshifting
race, rat, rats, racing, racer, rodent, racy, racetrack, ratted