Work Trends (1 of 5)

The next few posts is going to be a 5-part series where I talk about work trends. These will be reactions to the Business Insider article, Top 10 workplace trends on TikTok this year: quiet quitting, bare minimum Mondays, and more.

It's very interesting that terms were coined for what people feel about the workplace. I actually believe these are all valid concerns. I'll try to list ways on how I would avoid each. Because situations and circumstances can greatly affect the outcome of one's decisions, it's always best to think logically and weigh the pros and cons before coming up with a decision regarding these feelings.

Shift shock

"Also called new hire's remorse, the term refers to the feeling of regret or unhappiness new employees might feel when a job is different than they were led to believe in the hiring process. It can often lead workers to job hop after a short amount of time or boomerang back to their old employers."

I guess I experienced this when I first started working. I started my career in a toxic team, and boy was it unbearable. Of all the people, the team lead was the toxic one. I was criticized and put to shame in front of my colleagues for not knowing something, or even asking. There would be nights that I'd just be really depressed after a long, tiring day of hard work. I can vividly remember the moments I broke out and cried. I only had two friends, who, like me, despised the culture and resented the lead and her gang. I was lucky enough to eventually have a new manager, who would place me into a different team, after 6 long months of torment! I will never forget what he did. I will always be grateful to him. I felt it more in my last role in my previous company, which placed me in an even more toxic

team. People taking sides, and getting into love triangles within the team. Trainings barely made any sense, amid my efforts to try. And I consider myself quick to pick up things. I was unmotivated to work. I'd just go to work and do absolutely nothing. I'd explicitly decline tasks. I only chose to make one friend. But that wasn't enough to help manage the stress. I explicitly showed everyone else that I was looking for another job. No shame. They knew how bad things were. The manager was barely even there. He'd only show up when it was too late, or when the damage had already been done. I also overheard him talking to the shift leads about my misconduct. He questioned and criticized the leads for not being able to properly handle the team, instead of handling things himself. 

I guess I experienced this when I first started working. I started my career in a toxic team, and boy was it unbearable. Of all the people, the team lead was the toxic one. I was criticized and put to shame in front of my colleagues for not knowing something, or even asking. There would be nights that I'd just be really depressed after a long, tiring day of hard work. I can vividly remember the moments I broke out and cried. I only had two friends, who, like me, despised the culture and resented the lead and her gang. I was lucky enough to eventually have a new manager, who would place me into a different team, after 6 long months of torment! I will never forget what he did. I will always be grateful to him.

I felt it more in my last role in my previous company, which placed me in an even more toxic team. People taking sides, and getting into love triangles within the team. Trainings barely made any sense, amid my efforts to try. And I consider myself quick to pick up things. I was unmotivated to work. I'd just go to work and do absolutely nothing. I'd explicitly decline tasks. I only chose to make one friend. But that wasn't enough to help manage the stress. I explicitly showed everyone else that I was looking for another job. No shame. They knew how bad things were. The manager was barely even there. He'd only show up when it was too late, or when the damage had already been done. I also overheard him talking to the shift leads about my misconduct. He questioned and criticized the leads for not being able to properly handle the team, instead of handling things himself. 

Shift Shock is a result of reality not hitting one's expectations. Then I guess to avoid this, you either lower your expectations, or look at the reality as an opportunity to make initiatives for change. If you're not satisfied with what's happening, talk to the people in power and see if they want to join your cause or initiative to make changes too. If they don't want to join you, or if you don't trust them and their values, you can always go higher up. It is very likely that you will meet a linchpin who shares your values, and would want to make changes happen as well.

The least you could do in this situation is to make a friend -- a true connection. At least that way you have someone to rant to, and someone who understands. That will at least get you by and help you tolerate the culture. And if you really don't want to get into absorbing or changing the culture, or if there's nothing you can do, then it really might be better to leave.

Resenteeism "Employees practicing resenteeism are staying in jobs where they're unhappy because they can't afford to quit. Resenteeism is common when the job market is uncertain and workers worry that they won't have job prospects elsewhere if they were to jump ship. The term itself is a riff on "presenteeism," which refers to showing up to work for optics but not being fully productive. A common example of presenteeism is showing up to work when you're sick instead of taking a sick day." I guess I was also practicing resenteeism in the previous scenario. But I guess, now, I've got a solution for that. Linchpin has indeed changed my mindset. I have learned to value producing art that could change people. Once you have this change in mindset, you become more involved. And with that sense of involvement, you kind of forget yourself and get to work. It sort of distracts you from the unhappiness.