'Bare Minimum' Is The New Workplace Trend
Work, but not as hard.
“I work but do not extra or overachieve.”
Do you do enough to get by and be off your manager’s radar? After Covid, many had trouble taking breaks or separating home vs. work. Result? Stress and burnout.
People don’t want to stress themselves out. They do the minimum.
Choosing personal well-being before productivity is happening more and more. Who wants to work 14-16 hours? Your carpals hurt, your back suffers, and your overall health quality declines.
Is the bare minimum a problem? It depends. It is definitely a trend to consider.
Why do people do the bare minimum?
Employees are not engaged. They don’t find their jobs meaningful or fulfilling. You can have the best culture on paper, but what the reality is? Do many fake it?
You have people who are not motivated at work. They function. They deliver. But they don't care. Some of my friends secretly hope to be fired. Three months’ free salary that allows them to travel is much more appealing than feeling safe at work.
The second big reason to consider is the daily dose of negative emotions which has been the highest in the past years. WOW!
If stress, worry, anger, and even sadness guide your days, you need a change. Inevitably. Some shift to mindfulness and personal development. Others resort to passive approaches, gossip, or excuses.
Source: Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report
Rules of coming to the office twice a week or mandatory after-hours pizza parties might not be the best option for improving employee well-being.
Sorry about that!
What is the bare minimum?
It is a steady and manageable workflow. Many companies got used to squeezing employees' capacity to the edge. Instead of hiring enough people, they wanted 120% chargeability. (Every manager knows what this means).
Milking high performers results in burnout and motivation flopping.
Years ago, I stayed in the office until 8 pm. Some people, though, left at 4 pm. They did the bare minimum and were tolerated. Inconsistency in leadership created a lot of tension, as you may imagine.
Here is what the bare minimum can look like:
Do just enough in the office to keep up
Leave work on time
Mute their communication channels like Slack or Teams
Mute their email notifications
Invest the first two hours of the day in sorting tasks
Do not take calls or accept meetings after 3 pm
Friday is dedicated to self-development
Is it really wrong to leave on time and not always be available? It might be time to review your standards.
Should you fight it or accept it?
Difficult. Especially for managers who breathe for their work and work insane hours are all they have.
See both sides of the coin before calling people ‘lazy’. Empathy will be a good guide for you.
People have priorities. As long as work is done, and you can rely on your coworkers, what is the problem? The bare minimum is a response to:
Overtime that is not paid.
Unnecessary stress created by overload.
The toxic culture that tolerates underperformers and milks talents.
Threatening will not motivate people.
Before you judge them, talk to them. Find out what it is. It's possible that some people are bored, lazy, or going to work for money. Others might feel underappreciated or overused.
Either way, you should be in touch with the people you work with. Especially if you share a team or a project. Don’t be passive or aggressive. Everything is communication.
So what now?
You may think that if others do it, I will do it too.
But the truth is that your (mental) health and a sustainable way of working should drive you. Don’t just ‘survive’. Find a way to make it work without the neverending ups and downs.
The bare minimum can help you reflect on your long-term working strategy. As someone who burned out in the past, I can tell you, it is worth it to take care of yourself. This is true even if you love your job.
Approach others with the same understanding, and 'the bare minimum’ won’t be an issue at all.
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