When it comes to how work is characterized on social media, the bloom is definitely off the rose. Here’s what leaders can do.
TikTok would suggest that work – in the words of my late mother – ‘is going to hell in a handbasket’! Every day there seems to be a new term to describe the declining experience of employees – an experience that’s neither satisfying for the individual nor helpful to the organization.
Upon closer examination, however, you may find that simply scratching the surface of the trendy terms reveals strikingly similar workplace issues to those found in days gone by. Consider the social media translations that follow.
| ON SOCIAL MEDIA | TRADITIONAL TERMINOLOGY | WHAT’S HAPPENING | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effort recession | = | Psychological contract breach or retiring in role | Employees gave discretionary effort; it wasn’t noticed or returned, so it tapers off. |
| Lily padding | = | Job-hopping for growth | Skill growth, career development, and salary increases only happen by leaving — not by staying. |
| Conscious unbossing | = | Avoiding the Peter Principle | The formally recognized “growth” is too frequently a promotion into management. And that’s looking increasingly unattractive. |
| Doomjobbing | = | Turnover intention | Internal growth conversations and opportunities are rare enough that the job market becomes the default career-development plan. |
| The big stay | = | Golden handcuffs | Stability gets mistaken for engagement. People stay for the paycheck or perks, not because of a positive future. |
| Task masking | = | Presenteeism | Visibility gets rewarded more reliably than contribution, so people learn to make a show of performance. |
| Overemployment | = | Moonlighting | One job isn’t providing enough growth, satisfaction, or income security, so people quietly build a second one. |
Unfortunately, the social media labels appear only to be more quotable expressions of one persistent workplace issue. All the words and phrases noted above — old and new — point to one fundamental problem that’s been with us for decades: employees don’t feel seen, heard, or valued.
And keeping up with the nomenclature is far easier than addressing the core problem reinforced by exit interviews, engagement surveys and public sentiment.
When people don’t feel known by those around them, including their leaders, when their contributions don’t feel valued, when their identity and their brilliance don’t have a home in the work they’re doing, those feelings don’t just sit there. They find expression – not just in hashtag-worthy language but in loss of productivity, innovation, enthusiasm, and ultimately good talent.
The good news is that leaders have the power to change this. It’s squarely within your locus of control to address the core issue driving the trending terms. And it’s easier than you think. No need for grand gestures. Or organizational initiatives. Small actions – actions that fit into the cadence of the conversations and exchanges you’re already having – can powerfully and quickly create the experience of being known, seen and valued that people crave. Start with these.
- Remember the throwaway.
An employee mentions something in passing – a frustration, an interest, an idea. Bring it up two weeks later. Remembering communicates that you registered something, and it was important. - Ask for the unfinished thought.
When someone trails off, gets interrupted, or says, “Never mind,” return to them: “You were going somewhere with that. What were you thinking?”Don’t just give people airtime. Recover the thoughts that almost disappear. - Notice the invisible work.
The obvious stuff is obvious – so look beneath the surface. Not just the presentation – but the way it calmed the client. Not just the deadline – but the colleague they quietly helped meet it. Not just what got done, but what they made possible for others.Recognition gets more powerful when it gets more nuanced. - Let them change your mind.
Nothing says “I heard you” quite like visible influence. When someone’s input changes a decision, direction, or your own thinking, name it: “I was headed toward X. What you said changed my thinking.” Being heard is good. Having impact is better. - Spend some social capital.
Value becomes believable when it costs the leader something. Mention their name in the room they’re not in. Pass along their ideas – with attribution. Recommend them for the stretch assignment. Introduce them to someone who could expand their possibilities.
None of this requires a rebrand of your own leadership style. Long after “lily padding” and “task masking” give way to whatever TikTok comes up with next, the people you lead will still be asking the same question they always have: does anyone here actually see me?
You don’t need a program to answer it. You need the five habits above, practiced consistently, inside the conversations you’re already having. The rose doesn’t need saving from social media. It just needs the ordinary kind of tending it’s always needed, and that’s squarely in your control.