This Economic Crisis is SELF-inflicted

In recent weeks, I’ve had conversations with individuals across various corporations, and despite their different industries, the issues they face are similar. These issues have become defining characteristics of the corporate world in 2024, and they reveal a system that is working against itself, creating inefficiencies that are driving today’s economic crisis.

Let me share a few of these stories:

Employee 1: The Sales High Performer

A top-performing salesperson is about to exceed his sales quota. Yet, instead of celebrating and pushing forward, he’s actively delaying further deals and asking customers to refrain from sending POs. Why? Because if he goes beyond his target, his quota for next year will skyrocket to unrealistic levels. He will then underperform next year and potentially end up on a PIP.

Incentive Misalignment: This employee is being punished for bringing in more revenue. The system discourages overachievement, incentivising him to make less money for the company to protect his own career.

Employee 2: The Loyal Veteran

After 35 years with the same company, another employee realized something shocking—after adjusting for inflation, his salary has barely increased. Comparing himself to peers who job-hop every few years, he notices they’ve seen far greater career growth, both in terms of salary and advancement.

Loyalty Penalty: This employee is punished for staying loyal to his company. Meanwhile, those who leave for competitors—and potentially share insider knowledge—are rewarded and they even get a party on their last day.

Employee 3: The Silenced Expert

A project manager sees an upcoming project destined to fail due to a regulatory roadblock her VP is unaware of. But instead of speaking up, she stays silent. Why? Because past experience has shown that her VP, with his oversized ego, doesn’t like dissent, and challenging him could come at the cost of her career. He already admitted that her "big mouth" was an issue in previous roles.

Ego Over Expertise: The corporate culture here punishes employees for speaking up and using their expertise to save the company from costly mistakes. As a result, millions may be lost, but the employee remains safe—ego wins, revenue loses.

Employee 4: The Overachiever's Curse

Consistently performing beyond expectations, this employee has watched as promotions pass him by, only to go to individuals he once mentored. Frustrated, he’s now decided to do less—to avoid the "curse" of overachievement, which, ironically, has left him stuck in his current role.

Devaluing Excellence: Instead of rewarding exceptional contributions, the company creates a system where overachievers are overlooked, leaving them to dial back their efforts. The message is clear: providing too much value isn’t valued.

The Broader Impact

These examples are not isolated. Across industries, employees are incentivised to deliver less, stay silent, or even sabotage their own potential growth—all to protect themselves from systems that reward mediocrity, punish loyalty, and elevate ego over expertise.

These misaligned incentives and corporate dysfunctions are not just internal matters—they have far reaching effects that contribute to wider economic stagnation. Companies are killing innovation, limiting their own potential for growth, and in doing so, they are fuelling the very economic crisis they complain about.

The Solution?

There is no easy solution. Once values are upside down, the whole system must be reset. Small changes won't cut it anymore. Many in the newer generations aren’t even starting their careers by choice. Meanwhile, older generations are opting for early retirement and leaving the corporate world behind for good. In between, millions are stuck in quiet quitting mode—mentally disengaged from their work just to survive and preserve their mental health.

Quiet quitting represents a full emotional disengagement from work. No one chooses it willingly; it’s a way of acknowledging that the company doesn't truly want to make money, doesn’t want to perform, and doesn’t want to be successful.