Aug 23, 2022Liked by Rosie Yakob | GeniusSteals.co
Building a bit on Sharon’s comment … I think I see two different motivators for this quiet quit behaviour (and it’s a delight to see something that’s been on my mind for months/years getting a name - makes it feel more real).
I think there’s a big-picture shift in attitudes, especially with younger creative professionals, towards not overworking and overdelivering simply because it feels wrong. On a gut level, it feels like exploitation - and in our hyperconnected world where everybody realises that it’s happening across the entire industry, there’s a natural backlash. And more of a care for, well, self care.
Then there’s the old hands, like me (and, it seems, like Sharon. Hi Sharon!) Those who have given too much for too long and have just had enough. I’ve quit agencies in the past when I’ve had enough of watching my own burnout buy houses for the partners. And I’m about to have a very serious discussion with my current MD about expectations versus reality and what’s tenable for me versus what’s not. Because frankly I’m not being paid enough to give 200% - and that’s literally my current time commitment versus the hours I’m paid for. I’m not sure how many more years I can keep it up for, but there’s still 20 years to go on my mortgage …
Tony, yes!! I like how you've articulated those two different motivators, they both really resonate with me. I hope your conversation with the MD goes well and that the boundary setting helps you carve back some more time for yourself. Thanks for sharing your perspective!
Aug 23, 2022Liked by Rosie Yakob | GeniusSteals.co
Hi Rosie. Loved & completely related to your thoughts of quiet quitting (and my brain works more like yours than Faris's - I'm very envious of people who can organise their thoughts so logically).
After 25+ years working in big marketing depts, ad agencies and research agencies, and doing everything over and above, I eventually broke. I was so burnt out that I could no longer do my job well. The agency, for whom I had won & cultivated hundreds and thousands of pounds worth of business came down on me like a ton of bricks. I left and took time off to regroup and began freelancing and consulting and never looked back.
It was only then I realised how abusive the system is. Those at the top will exploit those below to maximise profits which then translate into their personal bonuses. They cut costs, make people work harder and pat themselves on the back for improving productivity (more bonuses). They emotionally manipulate employees by creating environments that are more cult than culture. If you falter, you are made to feel like a failure. And if you leave, there are plenty more people they can bring in whose insecurities they can exploit for their own financial gain.
I feel like the pandemic quietly pulled the curtain back on the illusion and triggered both the great resignation, and for those without the financial means to step away, this emerging wave of quiet quitting. Quiet quitting on a mass scale feels like the only way non-unionised employees can turn the tide. Companies are complaining at the moment that they are struggling to hire... but perhaps they need to take a step back and look inwards, rather than behave like the victims.
The irony of all of this is that I do believe capitalism is a far more effective way of lifting everyone's quality of life than other systems... but it needs a serious injection of fairness to stay effective.
OK... that's my illogical ramble. Thank you for bringing it up.
Hi Sharon! I agree with so much of what you've written, especially in that it's hard to see how abusive the system is until you actually are outside of it.
I'm hopeful that as you say quiet quitting will be a way for employees to turn the tides, and equally that companies will turn inwards rather than behaving like victims. I'm curious to see how and if we're able to evolve capitalism into an idea that supports the greater good rather than just those at the top. I don't feel like it's working as well as it could be, but I don't know if changing systems is the right answer either -- I just want more experimentation and willingness to try new things (even if we don't get it right the first time, or the 10th time!) from the government and leaders. I worry that capitalism means we only prioritize those at the top continuing to get more money at the expense of others. (Take for example, the trains... In the UK, they are horrible - crowded, not well taken care of, old, etc. And they're all privatized. So it makes sense in some way - that the people at the top want to keep making money rather than making it a more beneficial experience for everyone else. And everyone else has to take trains - they can't just opt out of it, unless they are already wealthy and can afford a short commute, a car, gasoline, etc. But in Spain and Portugal, where the trains haven't been privatized, the trains are brilliant! It's the difference in riding a low cost budget airline (UK) and getting business class on a brand new plane.)
Whatever the way forward is, I can't imagine that stock buybacks and Wall Street's constant mantra of 'maximizing shareholder value' is helping. It's tough too because I don't think that all the individuals within the systems are actively trying to make things worse, it's just that they are in the system themselves, and somewhat trapped by "the rules". Momentum is such a powerful force that I'm sure sometimes the individuals wielding power are unaware that they are doing so in a way that's ultimately harmful -- They are just going about things in the ways that their predecessors have, and so on and so on.
So much food for thought... I could write a whole essay on the stuff going through my mind now.
A couple of points really stand out. A need to be curious about new & better ways of doing things and experiment. And the other is the power of 'the system' or 'the way we do things here', without always giving enough though as to why - and I think this cuts across both public and private organisations.
Building a bit on Sharon’s comment … I think I see two different motivators for this quiet quit behaviour (and it’s a delight to see something that’s been on my mind for months/years getting a name - makes it feel more real).
I think there’s a big-picture shift in attitudes, especially with younger creative professionals, towards not overworking and overdelivering simply because it feels wrong. On a gut level, it feels like exploitation - and in our hyperconnected world where everybody realises that it’s happening across the entire industry, there’s a natural backlash. And more of a care for, well, self care.
Then there’s the old hands, like me (and, it seems, like Sharon. Hi Sharon!) Those who have given too much for too long and have just had enough. I’ve quit agencies in the past when I’ve had enough of watching my own burnout buy houses for the partners. And I’m about to have a very serious discussion with my current MD about expectations versus reality and what’s tenable for me versus what’s not. Because frankly I’m not being paid enough to give 200% - and that’s literally my current time commitment versus the hours I’m paid for. I’m not sure how many more years I can keep it up for, but there’s still 20 years to go on my mortgage …
Tony, yes!! I like how you've articulated those two different motivators, they both really resonate with me. I hope your conversation with the MD goes well and that the boundary setting helps you carve back some more time for yourself. Thanks for sharing your perspective!
Hi Rosie. Loved & completely related to your thoughts of quiet quitting (and my brain works more like yours than Faris's - I'm very envious of people who can organise their thoughts so logically).
After 25+ years working in big marketing depts, ad agencies and research agencies, and doing everything over and above, I eventually broke. I was so burnt out that I could no longer do my job well. The agency, for whom I had won & cultivated hundreds and thousands of pounds worth of business came down on me like a ton of bricks. I left and took time off to regroup and began freelancing and consulting and never looked back.
It was only then I realised how abusive the system is. Those at the top will exploit those below to maximise profits which then translate into their personal bonuses. They cut costs, make people work harder and pat themselves on the back for improving productivity (more bonuses). They emotionally manipulate employees by creating environments that are more cult than culture. If you falter, you are made to feel like a failure. And if you leave, there are plenty more people they can bring in whose insecurities they can exploit for their own financial gain.
I feel like the pandemic quietly pulled the curtain back on the illusion and triggered both the great resignation, and for those without the financial means to step away, this emerging wave of quiet quitting. Quiet quitting on a mass scale feels like the only way non-unionised employees can turn the tide. Companies are complaining at the moment that they are struggling to hire... but perhaps they need to take a step back and look inwards, rather than behave like the victims.
The irony of all of this is that I do believe capitalism is a far more effective way of lifting everyone's quality of life than other systems... but it needs a serious injection of fairness to stay effective.
OK... that's my illogical ramble. Thank you for bringing it up.
Hi Sharon! I agree with so much of what you've written, especially in that it's hard to see how abusive the system is until you actually are outside of it.
I'm hopeful that as you say quiet quitting will be a way for employees to turn the tides, and equally that companies will turn inwards rather than behaving like victims. I'm curious to see how and if we're able to evolve capitalism into an idea that supports the greater good rather than just those at the top. I don't feel like it's working as well as it could be, but I don't know if changing systems is the right answer either -- I just want more experimentation and willingness to try new things (even if we don't get it right the first time, or the 10th time!) from the government and leaders. I worry that capitalism means we only prioritize those at the top continuing to get more money at the expense of others. (Take for example, the trains... In the UK, they are horrible - crowded, not well taken care of, old, etc. And they're all privatized. So it makes sense in some way - that the people at the top want to keep making money rather than making it a more beneficial experience for everyone else. And everyone else has to take trains - they can't just opt out of it, unless they are already wealthy and can afford a short commute, a car, gasoline, etc. But in Spain and Portugal, where the trains haven't been privatized, the trains are brilliant! It's the difference in riding a low cost budget airline (UK) and getting business class on a brand new plane.)
Whatever the way forward is, I can't imagine that stock buybacks and Wall Street's constant mantra of 'maximizing shareholder value' is helping. It's tough too because I don't think that all the individuals within the systems are actively trying to make things worse, it's just that they are in the system themselves, and somewhat trapped by "the rules". Momentum is such a powerful force that I'm sure sometimes the individuals wielding power are unaware that they are doing so in a way that's ultimately harmful -- They are just going about things in the ways that their predecessors have, and so on and so on.
Thanks again for weighing in and sharing!
Thanks Rosie & Tony.
So much food for thought... I could write a whole essay on the stuff going through my mind now.
A couple of points really stand out. A need to be curious about new & better ways of doing things and experiment. And the other is the power of 'the system' or 'the way we do things here', without always giving enough though as to why - and I think this cuts across both public and private organisations.
Thanks for opening the discussion