Quiet Quitting: the latest craze but perhaps nothing new at all

I think the reason #quietquitting is simultaneously “nothing new” but also “new all of a sudden” is because we have been relying on discretionary effort in the workplace for so long, it has become normalised.

This started after the 2008 crash when redundancies stopped being something that companies were embarrassed about but actually became seen by the market as a sign of strength, decisiveness and of being brave & bold.

Of course the people who paid the price are every single one of us; the ones made redundant, the ones left behind, the ones looking for work and the ones left trying to keep businesses afloat too. I see it in the job market: lots of jobs out there advertised, but in reality, companies seem to be figuring out how to operate with fewer staff, and hiring new people has been an absolute last resort. That creates unemployment and also fear among the employees who are left behind.

I’ve helped out in voluntary organisations for years and sit on committees and boards etc and it’s always amazed me how people came along all gung-ho at the outset, but quit as soon as they got a new job or have to go to work. The busy-culture meant we all got used to being Duracell bunnies but that led to burnout and fatigue at the slightest bit of adversity that comes our way.

Vague and half-hearted attempts have been made to address this, such as banning email being sent out of hours (something that I personally feel is well intentioned, but also insane in equal measure, given that it’s an asynchronous comms channel and supposed to work that way). But in reality people have just been quiet-quitting inside. That sounds like they’re doing something naughty but I think it’s just been a gradual withdrawal of the discretionary effort that became normalised.

So I think “quiet quitting” is probably a good thing to have happened because it’s a chance to reset and make sure that jobs/teams/companies are staffed properly so that once again we can have joy in giving discretionary effort when we want to

… at our discretion.

Post inspired by https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220825-why-quiet-quitting-is-nothing-new

Pressing our buttons

How manipulative communication techniques can harm society and our mental well-being. In the same way that “we are what we eat”, I wonder if as a society, we are “what we consume” from an information point of view. Here are my thoughts on ethical considerations for communicators.

From time to time, I find myself getting angered or irritated by something or other that I read on social media or sometimes even on the mainstream TV news.

Continue reading “Pressing our buttons”

Why you should think about deleting the dissenters if you really want to engage with your fans

Some think social media has become a slightly toxic place to hang out. But I don’t think it needs to be, if only brands, celebs and politicians would start to manage their accounts properly. Here is my six-step plan to dealing with negative comments and trolls.

Social media, when it was launched, was a brilliant tool for democratising communication. It gave everyone a voice and made everyone a publisher. Unfortunately somewhere along the road, something went a bit wrong.

However, I think there are things that brands, organisations, causes, celebrities, politicians could do to make social media more enjoyable again for all of us.

Continue reading “Why you should think about deleting the dissenters if you really want to engage with your fans”

When you don’t know…. communicate uncertainty

If you don’t say something, then people will start to fill in the gaps themselves. Stay in control of your story by learning to communicate uncertainty when there’s nothing to say yet.

Continue reading “When you don’t know…. communicate uncertainty”

Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives: dissecting the new UK Coronavirus messaging

After watching the UK Prime Minister’s address, here’s my analysis of the new three-point messaging and my recommendations on what you should be saying to employees this week

Just finished watching the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson address the nation tonight in what appeared to be a prerecorded address. Since I said on LinkedIn that I felt a blog post coming on, here it is…

Continue reading “Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives: dissecting the new UK Coronavirus messaging”