Just saw this data about tipping fatigue hitting different states harder than others, and honestly it makes sense. California's apparently where people are pushing back the most on tips — averaging only 17.8% compared to other places. Washington and Connecticut aren't far behind either.

What's wild is that this tipping fatigue thing isn't just about being cheap. The study looked at how much people actually earn versus what they're expected to tip, and it turns out the states with the lowest tips also have the highest burnout over the whole tipping culture. Like, people are genuinely tired of being asked for gratuity everywhere — coffee shops, retail stores, even places where tipping used to be unheard of.

I think what's happening is we're all just hitting a wall with it. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans apparently feel like tipping culture has gotten out of hand, and I get why. You get hit with a digital payment screen asking for a tip even when you're just buying a coffee. The fatigue is real.

The interesting part though is figuring out when you actually should tip versus when it's fine to skip it. Like if you're at a full-service restaurant where the server depends on tips for their paycheck, yeah, throw something in. But if the service was terrible or it's just some random transaction? You're not obligated. That's the thing people are starting to realize — tipping fatigue is making everyone reconsider the whole system.