Why Did We Create All These Work Trends?

Executives, senior leaders, and front-line managers are confused of late. They mostly want to have discussions about #work and how work gets done, i.e. general notions of productivity. But the discussions in biz media and on cable have been more about trend terms of the moment, dating back to "The Great Resignation" in 2021 and now a focus on "Loud Quitting" of late. I'm guilty of contributing to that narrative, too.

As for why exactly we have all these terms to describe work nowadays, here's an article from Anne Helen Petersen that does a good job summarizing the current moment:

My general take, and what I told Molla, is that these terms are a means of making a few pretty bewildering years in the workplace into something legible, or at the very least?understandable. That’s what “The Great Resignation” did in 2021: it gave a label to the feeling of?take this job and shove it,?I’m exhausted, even though we now know that the vast majority of people?who actually?did?resign ?(and not just?feel?like resigning) were mothers who couldn’t find childcare, service workers finding?better?jobs, and older workers retiring.

Yep. It gives a label to something that people are trying to articulate. Unfortunately, the rapid shifting of labels -- "Quit-Tok'ing! Quiet Hiring!" -- just creates eye rolls at the higher levels, where they want the focus to be back on the work.

I can see both sides of this. I've been interested in recent years to see how much the anti-work movement has grown. It's very popular online, and people will "out" their bosses or their organization's two-faced behaviors, low compensation policies, or threats about coming in when sick or getting fired. This all started years ago with the rise of Glassdoor and other sites, whereby we got a peak behind the curtain at the culture of some organizations before we decided to work there. It has scaled since COVID. There is a good deal more transparency and discussion of what a culture or a place is really like, and it's interesting to see people wrestle in real time with what they want from their 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond. There is significant rethinking going on right now about the connection between your work and your life.

Personally, I don't think we should draw such a thick line between those two concepts; work is part of life. Some find jobs, roles, and organizations they love, and work fulfills basic human psychological needs, but that's a small minority of people. It's also unfair for companies to expect everyone to dedicate 50 hours/week to work when the compensation levels are not up to par. That creates resentment and feeds the anti-work movement.

Going back to my original point, it's a confusing time for senior leaders because they turn on CNBC and learn five new trend terms that all sound like the younger generations don't want to work (or want to work on different terms), and really what they're asking us on CULTURE PARTNERS engagements is:

How do I get my workforce to really care about the work we're doing here?

The question isn't new, and executives in the 1950s asked that as well. But the approach is new. Especially three years after COVID, employees are looking for:

• Flexibility
• Training and growth opportunities
• A culture that cares about them
• A resilient culture that can bounce back from bad quarters and doesn't sacrifice the team through layoffs.

Of these, the most important today is flexibility. Multiple studies show that employees today would trade compensation for additional flexibility, as life is complicated and most people have several moving parts they're juggling.

If you're in a leadership role right now, even if you yourself work 80 hours/week and are always on because you love it so much, you need to be considering flexibility for those on your team. That's the true talent advantage of 2023 and beyond.

As for the next new trend? I cannot predict that, but I might be on CNN discussing it sometime soon!