'Bare Minimum Mondays' And Other Trending Workplace Buzzwords Of 2023 To Know
Bare Minimum Mondays? Here's the rundown on the biggest office buzzwords of 2023 — for now
First it’s quiet quitting, the next moment it’s quiet hiring, and then it’s all about conscious quitting. Is it just us, or does it seem like a new work-related buzzword pops up nearly every other week?
While some catchphrases might seem OTT (that’s over-the-top, for those of you who are late to the game), some experts believe that these buzzwords can help people make sense of their career experiences, especially in times of great uncertainty, like a pandemic or mass layoffs.
With so many trendy slang terms that spread like wildfire through platforms like TikTok, it can be hard to keep up with the latest lexicons in the workplace. It’s a good thing that no one is quiet quitting here, for we’ve gathered some of the most trendy work buzzwords to help you keep track of them.
Quiet quitting
The idea of ‘quiet quitting’ created quite a buzz last year when the term went viral. No, it doesn’t mean to literally quit – quiet quitting refers to doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.
Quiet hiring
Hot on the heels of quiet quitting is quiet hiring, where employers fill in workplace gaps without actually hiring new full-time employees by training and giving existing employees more work, or hiring contractors to cover certain roles and responsibilities.
Conscious quitting
Literally means quitting your job.
The Great Resignation
A trend that started in 2021 in which employees were voluntarily resigning from their jobs en masse after the pandemic.
The Great Regret
When the people who quit their jobs are now second-guessing their decision.
Copycat layoffs
A term that rose from the mass layoffs, mostly within the tech sector, in 2023, which followed after the job cuts that started in the second half of 2022. Coined by Stanford University professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, some see the copycat behaviour as an explanation for the en masse firing.
Rage applying
Similar to rage applying (but replace the rage with worry), career cushioning refers to when one keep tabs on various job opportunities and seriously consider them whilst still being employed in your current position.
Goblin mode
The Oxford word of the year for 2022. It is defined as “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations”.
Bare Minimum Mondays
On Mondays, we do the bare minimum. As its name suggests, Bare Minimum Mondays is all about doing the least during the start of the week. It’s a way to reject the Sunday scaries and the pressure that most workers get at the thought of having to hit the ground running every Monday.
Text: Cheryl Lai-Lim/Her World