Loud working
My friends and I have been texting about quiet quitting a lot and, per my earlier blog post, we all think it’s dumb. In one of our threads, my amazing friend and colleague Dr. Justine Farrell said, “what about loud working?” This is a truly inspired turn of phrase. What is loud working you ask? Well, (according to my smart lady text thread) it’s when people need everyone to know that they are working. That they are BUSY. We all know these people (we sometimes are these people). No matter what the situation they fill you in on all of the very important things they are doing even when you did not ask. They will spend 20 minutes doing something that could have been done in 5 just to make a point that they “add value” and they are often energy vampires.* From what I can tell, there are two types of loud workers:
1. The ones who talk about how busy they are but a lot of the work is self-created busy work that isn’t important or useful
2. The ones who talk about how busy they are but are actually barely fulfilling their duties and/or doing a whole lot of nothing
I’m not sure which is worse but both of them drive me bonkers. I wish this didn’t annoy me so much but it does and I think it’s because WE ARE ALL BUSY. Just because we aren't bragging about our overloaded calendars, looming deadlines, or jammed inbox doesn't somehow make us less busy. Research shows that some people have an inherent need to be busy (or at least say they are) because busy = important and busy = valuable to the organization. But really, busy is generally a facade.
Maybe it’s not their fault. Maybe they are just not organized or lack time management skills. Studies show that some people are simply more efficient with their time which leads to increased productivity. No matter what the cause, it turns out always telling people how busy you are is potentially harmful to your career and can impact opportunities for you at work. This need to be busy is also bad for your physical and mental well-being. If you're reading this and you are or know a loud worker here are some things to say instead and some suggestions for how to stop.
I’m going to try and be less annoyed with loud workers because it’s not a business competition and if it is I am not interested in winning. I want to do my job (well) and have the opportunity to spend time not doing my job and that’s ok. In fact it’s healthy and makes me MORE productive. So take note loud workers! Spend less time telling everyone how busy you are and more time doing the actual work. You’ll feel more accomplished, you may improve your standing at work, and your colleagues won’t feel drained or angsty after every interaction. Everyone wins!
*Please watch this if you aren’t familiar with energy vampires and their powers. And if you love absurdity I highly recommend What We Do in the Shadows. Vampires + Staten Island? Yes, please.