Touching Fish: A Failure in Leadership

I read an article recently on Quartz, and a similar one on the South China Morning Post, about how young workers in China are rebelling against overtime and lack of rewards by intentionally holding back from giving their best effort, a practice that has become known as “touching fish”. The term comes from a proverb about the ease of catching fish in muddy water, suggesting that one can look for personal gain in times of crisis.

The Chinese blogger who popularized the “touching fish” philosophy reportedly has about a half a million followers. This is a quote from the Quartz article:

It seems, young workers are encouraging each other to “touch fish” at work, which translates to things like taking long and frequent bathroom breaks and avoiding overtime or extra assignments. Of course, this isn’t everywhere. This is, at least in part, a rebellion against the “996” work culture pushed by companies like Alibaba.  996 stands for 9 to 9, 6 days a week. These are the expected work hours for those who want to succeed at tech startups and companies promoting a “hustle” work ethic.  I don’t blame the young workers for rebelling. I blame the leaders who failed to inspire them and failed to reward them for good work.  The workforce is changing, and we should no longer assume that our employees will do what we tell them to do, simply because we are the boss.

If you suspect that members of your staff are “touching fish” or worse, encouraging each other to do so, what can you do to turn things around? First, don’t expect anyone to work 996. It is unhealthy and unsustainable. Second, accept responsibility for your employee’s performance. You hired them. You trained them. You supervised them. You had the opportunity to inspire them and motivate them to give their best effort. 

Nobody is inherently lazy. People want to work hard at something they find rewarding. These young people who are “touching fish” are rebelling in response to either old school command and control management style, or western style “hustle” work culture that demands long work hours and personal sacrifice (less or no time with family and doing things of personal interest). If we want to improve performance, and increase productivity and worker engagement, we have to find a compromise somewhere in between these two approaches to running a business.

Daniel Pink, in his book “Drive”, describes 3 intrinsic motivators that drive high levels of engagement and performance: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. People want to have control over their work (autonomy). Gone are the days when most workers just wanted to be told what to do, how to do it, and when to be done. These young rebellious workers don’t want command and control leaders who dictate or micromanage them. Instead, give them something to do and then let them figure out how to get it done, and how long it should take (within reason) to complete the assignment.

Mastery, as a motivator, is the pursuit of expertise in something. This requires lots of feedback and a sense that they are learning, improving, and growing. Young workers demand the opportunity to try new things, learn new skills. They have grown up in a world where the pace of change potentially makes any current experience obsolete within months. Products, services and companies need to keep up with the pace of change and these young workers are a key to being successful in rapidly changing markets and technology.

And finally, finding purpose at work is the “Holy Grail”.  If you really want to see what people are capable of and be blown away by what they can accomplish, you need to help them find purpose in the work they are doing. This requires true leadership, as distinguished from management. Management is “mechanical”. It is structure with policies and procedures. Management isn’t evil. We all need some structure and people find safety in knowing there are rules, and consequences for not following the rules, but we don’t find passion and inspiration in following rules. A true leader communicates a vision and higher purpose that is far more motivating than the typical reward mechanisms of management (monetary compensation, perks, time off, bigger office, etc.).  Our young workers want to know that what they are doing is important. Where is it taking us? How will the work I do today, make the world better?

Inspired young workers solve problems, come up with creative ideas, refer great people for the team, promote your product within their networks, and may propose new products/services/markets. Being a great leader is about allowing your staff the freedom to pursue the things that motivate them, in a way that motivates them. There is incredible potential in these young workers and their openness about their philosophy of “touching fish” is a cry for purpose and the freedom to work the way they want to work.

If you want to break the cycle and get the best effort from your young workers, you need to be a strong, passionate and compassionate leader. And yes, being such a leader is incredibly difficult. It is much harder than being a manager. If you are struggling to figure out how to be a better leader, I can help. Let’s work together to help you unlock the potential of your teams.