HR
The world of work has undergone extensive change in the last three years and has evolved from a predominantly in-office model to a hybrid one, that now sees 40% of Irish workers working from home compared to 8% before the pandemic.
While many workers prefer hybrid work for a myriad of work-life balance reasons, many employers are still reluctant to fully get on board with remote work and as a result, a litany of workplace trends have emerged.
1. Productivity Theatre
From camera on Zoom calls that could have been an email, to sending your manager daily WIP reports so every second of the day is accounted for, hybrid workers are turning to productivity theatre to reassure their managers they’re working hard.
This style of micromanagement doesn’t result in more productivity, instead it creates a more hostile hybrid working environment where employees feel like their every move is being monitored and their actual output is being overlooked. The best way to overcome this? Regular check-ins (via instant message or email will usually suffice) to establish what needs to be done daily, weekly or even monthly, and a clear understanding of deadlines and targets.
2. Tiara Syndrome
Do you feel like you constantly strive to do your best, smash your targets and always have a positive can-do attitude to work matters but your efforts are going unnoticed? You probably have Tiara Syndrome.
Originally coined by Carol Frohlinger and Deborah Kolb, the founders of Negotiating Women, Inc. and authors of Her Place at the Table: A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership to describe how many women approach salary negotiations, Tiara Syndrome is linked to imposter syndrome (feelings of profession inadequacy) and the “good girl complex” of always wanting to be liked and not making a fuss.
The bad news for Irish workers? Not speaking up or asking your manager for a clear framework of professional goals you can work towards means you could get left behind.
3. Proximity Bias
Without arduous commuting times or colleagues to chat with, working from home has made many of us more productive than ever. But your boss might not see it that way, and proximity bias means that many remote or hybrid workers are losing out on career progression and promotion simply by being out of sight, and out of mind.
In fact, in a survey of 800 supervisors conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly half (42%) said they forget about staff who aren’t office-based when assigning tasks. Which is probably why the vast majority (72%) shared that they would prefer all employees (remote or otherwise) to work from the office.
4. Slack-splaining
Do you rely on exclamation marks to ensure your colleagues know you’re being friendly? Do you use a smiley face emoji at the end of every work email? Welcome to the world of Slack-splaining, the new way of communicating we’ve all adopted since hybrid work became the norm and instantly messaging replaced in-person conversation.
While Slack and other instant messaging (IM) apps were developed to speed up and streamline communication, a recent study has shown that excessive and embellished messages for fear of being misunderstood is costing the US economy $128 billion (€124 billion).
Knowing the workplace trends to watch out for and how to effectively deal with them should help streamline your 9-5, especially if you’re a fully remote worker or new to hybrid work.
By Aoibhinn McBride