The global pandemic has upended traditional approaches to work: it normalized working from home practically overnight, redefined our collective understanding of what “home” and “office” really are, and is completely overhaul what workers value, for better or worse. In any conversation about the “future of work”, it seems critical to acknowledge that most of that future is still being written. Many employers are still deciding what kind of workplaces they want to create – some talk of a return to in-person employment even as they hire dispersed teams. Others, have committed to a full-on pre-pandemic, in-person workplace, even at the possible cost of some high-level talent. What’s more, “quiet quitting” has entered the national zeitgeist, and a shortage of qualified workers seems to be permeating all industries. While, the future of work is still murky, it is absolutely clear that work culture is at an inflection point.
In the 1990s the Coca-Cola company famously launched a new type of advertising campaign for it’s lemon-lime soda, Sprite. Unlike its ads to date, the new ones were self-referential, self-deprecating, and more meta. They depicted, among others, pro athletes making fun of the fact that they were getting paid to shill Sprite, rather than pretending that the drink empowered their super-natural abilities. These commercials were designed for an audience reticent of what they saw as false hype and over-the-top marketing claims. Broadly speaking, the campaign was an acknowledgement from the brand that it knew its audience was smart enough to distinguish reality from marketing speak, even if it was going to keep advertising to them anyway. So what does this have to do with our current org culture predicament?
There are clear parallels between today’s quiet quitters, disaffected Redditors and various other anti-workers, and the Gen Xers Sprite was marketing to 30 years ago. Both segments can sense that they are being lied to. Back then it may have been corny claims about the magic of flavored sugar water, today it is pronouncements that companies are changing the world or that workers are valued as if they were family. Like then, today’s worker’s see through the hype. Most companies are not, in fact, changing the world, and in many cases, workers have been shown to be easily replaced, underpaid, and generally under-appreciated. What’s more, the pandemic has drawn a line between personal life and work, helping many to see the importance of time outside of work.
So what is to be done? On the one hand, business elites can lament the changes society is facing, complain that no one wants to work, blame Gen Z, or all of the above. On the other, leaders can see this time for what it is: an opportunity to redefine organizational culture for the better. They can appreciate that while indeed times have changed, together they can build a more truthful, flexible, and transparent workplace. Back in the 90’s Sprite’s campaign was hugely successful – it inspired an industry-wide shift in advertising tone and led to almost a decade of increases soda sales. While organizational change is hard, to be sure, there is much opportunity ahead. By putting in the work to update their business cultures, leaders may find that it’s not that people don’t want to work, it’s that they are looking for a more honest recognition of their roles and acknowledgment that work is work and life is life.