First there was The Great Resignation…
Quickly followed by Quiet Quitting...
Then came Act Your Wage…
And now there’s Rage Applying.
New slogans constantly pop up
on social media to describe employees’ responses to their workplace woes.
And sure as eggs is eggs, there’ll be another trend or slogan next month.
(maybe “playing to the salary” instead of “playing to the gallery”. You saw the hashtag here first)
These slogans are a clear sign that employees are increasingly frustrated with aspects of their working lives.
And if I had to sum up this frustration in a sentence, I'd say this:
There’s a growing mismatch between workplace expectations and reality.
Employees don’t expect to be working unpredictable, unsustainable hours. Especially when they’ve signed a contract saying they’ll be working 9 to 5.
Employees don’t expect to spend
their day working on meaningless, menial tasks. Especially when they’ve been lumbered with a shedload of debt for a prestigious university degree.
And employees don’t expect to land a secure, steady job and be made redundant three months later.
Want to know what I think?
I wholeheartedly agree with these expectations. Something has gone badly wrong with the way the system is working.
And employees aren’t gritting their teeth and toughing it out any more. Those days are over.
Instead,
they’re voting with their feet.
Perhaps some of these things have crossed your mind too.
And perhaps you’re tempted to post a few
#playingtothesalary videos on TikTok to see if you go viral.
Go for it! I’ll be cheering you on if you do.
But if venting your frustrations on social media isn't your style, there’s another option.
Think about the aspects of your working life which are important to you but are missing. Could be more flexibility, more meaningful work or being less at the
whims of other people.
Then start to go after them.
If you’d like a hand with this, I can help. The link is below.
That’s all for today.
Catch you tomorrow.
- Tom
p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me