Tag Archives: workaholism

Too Much of a Good Thing?!

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Photo by Дмитрий Хрусталев-Григорьев on Unsplash

How can something basically good turn bad if tested to its limits and beyond? That sounds like an oxymoron.  5 decades ago our respected teacher Mr. Joseph had this to say to his class, “Even a virtue if taken to the extreme becomes a vice. A balance has to be kept.” This insightful remark has stayed with me and I have experienced and followed the counter-productive effects he spoke about then- in more idealistic times.

Working hard and sincerely is a virtue. But in today’s boot-camp culture, this has been stretched to a toxic dimension. Workaholics are sick people and should not be regarded otherwise. But we have hard taskmaster bosses proudly referring to ‘he is always the last to leave office’ or ‘ she attends to emails or calls even on Saturday evenings.’ Employees are now referred to as a Cost to the Company and from whom every ounce of productivity has to be squeezed out. However, it remains a simple truism that a healthier work environment leads to much better results. Work-Life balance matters. Quality time with family and friends and for hobbies and interests is an integral and essential part of life.

One with the same is the perennial review meetings to start and end the day and carried forward into the weekend.  One may ask, where is the time and space to get down to actual work? Effective monitoring is a good management trait but this excess version becomes micro-management. It leads to huge pressure down the line, builds up frustration levels, and ends up in high attrition rates. Meetings properly scheduled and offering updates and solutions, interactions, and motivation are most welcome. Else, ‘meetings are where you waste hours and keep minutes.’

Honesty is a much-lauded virtue and is said to be the best policy. But it has to be refined as per the context; bluntness or plain-speak, even if factual, can backfire. The messaging has to be right. Giving a person ‘a dressing down’ in a Teams meeting is not going to work as a wake-up call. It will only breed resentment as a public humiliation. Scolding, however, justified, at home or offices don’t have to be outbursts. And what’s the harm of a small white lie to save a situation or to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.

Social media has glamorized fitness to unheard-of levels. The six-pack of Salman Bhai fills the big screen; the supreme fitness and stamina of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo over the last 10 years has won him his legion of fans; the Yo-Yo test was first introduced to Indian cricket during Virat Kohl’s fitness-focused captaincy. Kohli personifies physical fitness and has set a sterling example for the Indian cricket team to follow. But these are top-level sportsmen and the average person is not cast in the same mold and is not required to withstand the arduous physical rigors. Grueling gym sessions are not called for. So we have the tragic deaths of Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar, comedian Raju Srivastava, and TV actor Siddhanth Surryavanshi soon after or whilst working out at gyms. To aspire and work out for fitness is a good thing. But a brisk 1-hour walk or 45 mins of cycling or weekend swimming sessions or a 5 K run is all that is required to be in fine fettle. Push it beyond and the average body starts complaining.

The desire to win is another much-celebrated mantra through documentaries, management studies, or Success Gurus. Competitiveness is fine as it defines progress and we look forward to the next batch of leaders and innovators taking the baton forward. But there is a line that should not be crossed. ‘Win at Any Cost’ or ‘Win by Any Means’ should not be the driving principle. Because here is where the overdose kicks in. So we have a drug-powered Lance Armstrong with 7 Tour de France titles and the doped Ben Johnson breaking the 100 & 200 meters records at the 1988 Olympic Games. The German car manufacturer Volkswagen cheated its way through a rigged emission check system to get a bigger share of the US market and become the no 1 car manufacturer in the world.

Social media and the IoT of things have connected the world as never before and the benefits have been humungous. From reconnecting on WhatsApp groups to instant news updates, and digital payments to access to a plethora of products and services. But anything done in excess has a definite downside. The over-addiction to technology has undermined human interaction and activity. It’s now common to see a family of four at a restaurant having a minimum conversation with all busy on their own mobiles. So much time is being spent online that millions of youngsters are missing out on the small joys of playing football or cricket on the playfield or just chilling out with friends. Whilst the practice of Happy Birthdays and Festive Greetings has expanded exponentially the joy of actually talking to a friend has gone missing.

Such is the charm and fascination with Artificial Intelligence and Bots that some of the corporate CXOs I have met would like human involvement at work to be totally eradicated. Lesser costs, absolute efficiency, and no headaches of managing people. Nary a thought for millions without work as the ‘Driverless’ vehicles hit the roads.

Let’s move to the Left and Right Ideologies. Karl Marx Utopian vision of an all-powerful, benevolent State attracted intellectuals, leaders, and comrades in droves. Adam Smith’s treatise ‘The Wealth of Nations’ seminally influenced Capitalist fervor and thought.  It’s been a hundred years since the Russian Revolution which brought the communist doctrine center stage. Over the same period, the USA has evolved into the bastion of capitalism. Two resounding ideas and ideals have dominated the last 100 years. Both have faltered visibly because of excesses in implementation, no checks and balances, and a poor understanding of human nature. Power Corrupts. Two quotes that have come to epitomize these ideologies are- Power flows from the barrel of a gun- Mao and Greed is Good-Gordon Gekko, a character in the movie Wall Street. Communist countries have been characterized by lackadaisical economic progress and brutal dictatorial regimes. The USA has a blemished report card with high-income inequalities and an insidious nexus between Wall Street and the Capitol. Yes, Castro’s Cuba has done well on the healthcare and education front and nations like France, Canada, and the UK have tried to temper out the free market excesses with subsidized health-care, education, and pension plans. But the Left cannot pretend to be human-rights activists and the US is the symbol of the scars and excesses of capitalism.  A balanced approach for the Greater Good has been starkly missing. Ironically, it’s worth noting that China’s rapid economic growth is due to State Capitalism facilitated all the way by the authoritarian CCP (Chinese Communist Party).

Powerful dogmas, philosophies, Ideas, and concepts are successful and relevant within the bounds of reason and good sense. Nationalism escalating into a hyper-aggressive version as in China & Russia is alarming; All religions have to be respected but Faiths controlling public policy and administration is disturbing; wealth creation is good but rising inequalities is destabilizing- despite being a mixed economy just 1% of India’s population controls 40% of the nation’s wealth; subsidies are meant to be supportive welfare measures for the short or medium term.  Reckless subsidies and populist freebies may win a couple of elections but will haunt the nation and its people for years to come. Sri Lanka is in a self-inflicted, acute crisis and, totally dependent on bilateral & international loans to survive. It’s worth adding that protecting an individual’s rights and freedoms is the hallmark of democracy; stretching it as a right to bear arms (the Second Amendment) in the USA is having deadly repercussions with tragically regular mass shootings.

The sense of balance is all-important. Ancient Indian scriptures refer to the ecological balance between humankind and Nature and the Environment. Ayurveda (the traditional Indian system of health and longevity) prescribes how to achieve balance in body and mind.  In the same vein, let’s delve into the ancient Chinese philosophy of Yin & Yang.” Yin, Chinese for the Female, and the Moon also represent darkness, passivity, absorption, and the Earth.  Yang (the Sun and Male) represents light, activity, and the heavens. The balance of yin and yang was seen to influence health and order within an individual, society, and the entire universe.”

Quiet Quitting & Why It is Trending

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The phenomenon of ‘Quiet Quitting’ has to be seen in the right perspective. The first, dismissive take was that an increasing number of the workforce is psychologically detached from their jobs and are doing the bare minimum. But in reality, ‘Quiet Quitting’ does not mean that people are spending a miserable 8 to 10 hours a day at the job. ‘It refers to quitting the idea of going above and beyond and no longer subscribing  to the hustle culture that work has to be your life.’ The 2-year global pandemic ‘was a pause on the constantly running treadmill.’

The Wuhan virus emerged from a lab leak in China. So does the Quiet Quitting Syndrome. There is a great similarity and link to recent trends amongst Chinese millennials such as ‘touching fish’ (mo yu) in which young people chat about how to pass time by drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day or dancing and exercising during breaks in the office. Such Tik Tok videos became the rage in a country where the ‘Factory to the World’ has many labour camps. Jack Ma, the tech billionaire, had publicly pushed for 12-14 hour work days. The founder of the e-commerce behemoth Ali Baba, who has now been side-lined by the Chinese Communist Party, has now toned down to say that tech advancements would help people work for fewer hours and live longer.

There is enough evidence to establish that this has become a global phenomenon. 50% of the US workforce have defined themselves as Quiet Quitters-doing what the job requires, no more and no less. Setting healthy work boundaries and not working outside routine job hours unless adequately compensated. No emailing after work hours, not responding to messages on the weekend and no off-the-clock meetings. In a sense, this acknowledges the global workforce burnout (52% per Gallup polls) and is being projected as the ultimate mantra for work-life balance. Sadly, India has the lowest well-being worldwide, a measly- 11%. (Gallup 2022 State of Global Workplace Report.).

Whilst Companies continue to talk about employee-centric initiatives to help fight burnout, disengagement and overwork, there is enough research to show that people are working way too much in today’s hyper-connected world. Most employees are fed up with a system that insists on taking their personal time without giving anything in return. So they are reclaiming their powers by just doing their job.

This unhealthy, silent battle is essentially rooted in ‘low conscious leadership’ which creates the Us vs Them dynamic. Organisation leaders are not accepting their crucial role in creating a burn-out culture which now pushes their team members to set the work hours boundaries. Such leaders, and unfortunately their numbers are growing, do not empathise with vulnerability, champion open dialogue, welcome diversity of perspective or ideas or encourage self-care or dignity in the workplace. In a way, quiet quitting is a misnomer for 2 words- ‘toxic culture. The participants are not doing anything radical. They are not sleeping at the wheel. They have just drawn the line- going about their business and performing their functions as required during their agreed-upon work timings.

Quiet Quitting is less about a lack of interest in work than about a Manager’s inability to build bonds. Where are the people who invest time in building one-to-one relations with their teams? Where are the leaders who ask themselves, ‘How best can I support my team members?  There are some but their breed is declining. This trend is putting the spotlight on a mechanical work culture where even the manager-employee relations have become transactional.  One of the big reasons for Quiet Quitting is the feeling of being underappreciated or even disrespected. To reverse this crisis, a supportive environment has to be created where the employees feel comfortable in voicing that they are deadbeat or that their bandwidth is exhausted; or in taking time off for personal wellness or family; having fun collaborating with colleagues and coming out with innovative solutions for their challenges.

To be an Advocate for the Greater Good, the Manager has to say ‘NO’ to projects and assignments which are beyond his team’s bandwidth. Mobilise more resources to be more efficient and productive instead of piling even more work on employees who are already sorely stretched. Proactive leaders may free some employee capacity by scrapping unproductive meetings; bringing some flexibility to Work from Home norms; by simplifying and streamlining processes. The leader has to become an example for the team for work-life integration. If she/he is addicted to sending emails during the night or calls during lunch break or reviews during weekends, it’s time to sit back and reset the boundaries.

There are, of course, downsides to this trending trend. There are corporate leaders and HR coaches who simply see it as symptoms of tardiness and laziness.  Some also suggest that such employees lack the motivation to ladder up or grow as professionals. They are also sarcastically compared to the chronic over-achievers in this all-pervasive all-on culture. Some of these Star-employees tend to be loud and morph into Yes-Men for the Boss. Some others manipulate and project themselves into the Boss’s good books. A co-worker who often stays late at the office or responds to e-mails on Sundays gets the attention & appreciation of the Senior Management. The attitudes and choices of these chosen ones quietly become the norm for the workforce. The flip side is that many figure out that there is no point in channelizing all energy into work where there is a lack of career growth opportunities as they have not signed into the hustle culture. If there is no suitable opportunity outside they settle down quietly under the radar.

Yes, every office and workspace has its share of underperformers and even troublemakers. If they do not mend their ways, they have to be shown the EXIT door. There are HR pundits who castigate the entire bunch of Quiet Quitters as people who are missing out on a chance to feel a real purpose in their lives. In polite lingo, they are branded as ‘Slackers’ or ‘Shirkers’. Many corporate honchos call them out as ‘lazy bums.’ The quiet response is that they are trying to locate their sense of purpose and identity outside their jobs- with family and friends, in hobbies and social work, through spirituality and meditation.

Quiet Quitters are at risk of losing their jobs and being passed over for promotions and salary hikes. But corporates regularly pass over deserving candidates for promotions and salary hikes. They also lay off hard-working people all the time because they have to ‘cut flab’ or because of factors like seniority, personal relationships, failed strategy or just to slash costs. Then, there are leaders who penalise and ignore employees in the hope that they leave off their own accord. This is called ‘Quiet Firing.’

The other real concern that psychologists point out is that emotional detachment at the workplace cannot be confined to the workplace alone. It spills over into the other areas of a person’s life. It permeates into home and family, friends and social life. It can lead to alcohol and drug excesses or even addiction. Well-meaning HR counsellors suggest taking a break, re-evaluating career options, upskilling and doing nothing which undermines the professional reputation or the individual resume.

Quiet Quitting has a big downside for the bosses, who have long relied on employees for extra-long work hours and doing work that is not accounted for in their salaries or job descriptions. Companies may be forced to hire more to achieve productivity goals or business targets rather than expecting current employees to put in 12-hour work days without appropriate rewards or compensations. Hence, there are likely to be massive downstream effects for corporates and industries across the spectrum. CEOs will have to mull over and decide whether they can rely on their existing teams to deliver during a downturn or whether they can afford to fire and replace seasoned quiet quitters in a tight labour market.

Interestingly, an AI start-up claims to offer a solution- analysing emails & slack messages to detect the level of engagement, burn-out and turnover risks amongst employees.

Corporates, Industrial houses, large firms and Institutions can only ignore ‘Quiet Quitting’ at their own peril. A more open-minded, engaged and grounded leadership can stem the flow of this malaise and can even turn the growing tide of employee disenchantment.