The Workforce is Quietly Cracking...

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“Quiet Cracking” has entered the chat

Quiet cracking is the latest “workplace trend” and I think it’s a signal that many are at their breaking point.

I shared this post on LinkedIn but I’ll share it here too because I think it’s really important that we recognize the real issue (video version here!)

***

So apparently "quiet cracking" has replaced "quiet quitting" as the next big workplace trend...you know, where we blame employees for reacting to toxic workplace conditions?

The conversation we should be having is about workplaces piling more and more on their employees until they reach their breaking point.

We could call it "quiet overloading" because that's what's happening.

• You’re given a bigger workload without more pay or resources.

• Your PTO is “approved,” but you’re still expected to respond to emails because there's no one to cover for you.

• Your team shrinks, but your responsibilities grow.

• You’re told to “be scrappy” and "entrepreneurial" but you're not given the resources, training, or capacity to figure out how to do that.

• You’re praised for going above and beyond and delivering results in difficult circumstances, and that then becomes the new normal and the bar continues to raise higher and higher.

And when you finally find yourself overworked and burned out, you're blamed for not being more resilient, not being able to handle pressure, not rising to the challenge, not embracing change, not managing your time well.

Humans are designed to sprint for short periods, not for weeks and months and years on end.

But that's what many workplaces are asking us to do. We're praising the record revenues and profits with leaner teams, attributing the success to "efficiency" instead of to your teams working themselves into the ground.

And then when you disengage, you're "quiet quitting". When you reach the point of complete burnout, you're "quiet cracking". And when you leave, you weren't a "culture fit".

But the real issue is the "quiet overloading" - putting so much pressure and responsibility on people that they reach their breaking point.

And of course with corporate unemployment on the rise, there's no shortage of people who will happily replace you which means there's not much incentive for employers to change these practices. And it also makes it harder for people to step away before they reach that breaking point because as tough as things are, being unemployed is even harder.

We love to slap a label on employee reactions and it's much easier to place blame on the workforce and make people feel like they're the problem.

But the real conversation should be about why so many workplaces have been designed to push people to their breaking points, and then blame them for "cracking".

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So what do you do if you’re at your breaking point?

I’m not an expert here, but a few things I’d consider:

1. Talk to your manager or to a mentor at work
   I have found that every time I discuss feeling stretched with my manager, she is supportive of deprioritizing something, sacrificing quality, or securing additional resources. The people around you may not realize how you’re feeling, and self-advocacy could help. I think often we assume we’re expected to do it all when in reality, those around us just assume that we’ll speak up if we have too much on our plates.

2. Communicate early and often.
   If you have too much on your plate and something else is added, be proactive about saying, “sure, I can work on this but would either need to do this by X time frame, or delay completion on X project, how should we prioritize?” This will also normalize that you have a set capacity for what you can take on, and are going to push back which will help others recognize that they can’t just keep putting more on your plate.

3. Document your workload
   Share everything you’re working on with your manager and walk through projects, deadlines, projected time commitments, and asks you’re struggling to meet. This will help you work from a shared understanding of your workload and position your manager to better assist you.

4. See if you can increase productivity
   Perhaps AI can help here, perhaps your employer will invest in some additional tooling to support you - you never know if you don’t ask!

5. Take breaks
   If you’re at your breaking point, take your lunch breaks away from your desk, take your PTO and fully disconnect, and limit your work to your official work day. This may help you get back on track and even increase productivity when you’re actually logged in, and will hopefully help you feel a bit more balanced.

6. And plan your exit
   If you’re not able to get things back on track, then it’s time to start your search. It’s always easier to get a job when you have a job so put your extra time into strengthening networks and applying elsewhere.

🙋Answering Your Questions🙋

Honestly, the hype cycle is pretty typical with new technology and that’s certainly happening with AI. But personally, I’ve seen enough really compelling use cases that I think there are real productivity gains.

I do think a lot of companies claiming AI aren’t really using AI, I think the valuation of a lot of AI companies is off the charts, as are claims of AI actually replacing workers - many of these companies need to make these claims to compel people to use their products.

But I think we’ve gone through all of that with other new technologies as well.

Personally, as a non-expert, I do think that AI is contributing to a fundamental shift in how we work and we’re better off figuring out how to use it than ignoring it and hoping it goes away.

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