- Gen Z workers are adopting a workplace hack called "managing up" which has gone viral on TikTok.
- Career gurus believe it's key to getting your boss to accommodate your needs and ambitions.
TikTokers are encouraging Gen Z workers to take back control of their work lives by channeling an age-old hack called "managing up" which has gone viral on the platform.
"Managing up" is a workplace strategy that can be defined as "managing the relationship that you have with your boss," to get the most out of your job, Andy Molinsky, a professor of organizational behavior at Brandeis International Business School previously told Insider.
The hashtag #managingup currently has 5.5 million views on TikTok and career gurus on the platform are touting it as key to making your job suit your needs and manage your boss' expectations.
One TikToker Amy posted a managing up scenario on what to do if your boss is asking you to stay late and overwork. She says it's essential to "push back but in a smart way."
In the video, she explains that if you're completing all of your work within your paid hours and still being asked to stay longer, it's best to discuss with your manager and bring examples of all the work you're doing.
She said: "The goal for you bringing this back up with your manager is saying 'Hey I want your advice. I want to understand. Can you help me understand if you think I should be doing anything differently?"
Amy advises being "reasonable," and "emotionally neutral" to avoid an argument and reach a mutually beneficial agreement instead.
In another video with almost 500,000 views, TikToker @cecexie shared the "invisible rules of starting your first corporate job," in which she says: "Managing upwards will make your life infinitely easier and also help make sure you don't cancel things because of work."
TikToker Marie Carmen Pizzaro said she was given advice by a mentor about managing her boss years ago in which he said: "'Managing your boss is about creating a strong relationship in which I could express my ideas, my needs, my team's needs, including my desires for my future in the organization.'"
Brandeis said that managing up helps "cultivate" the impression your boss has of you and also inspires respect for your confidence and abilities.
It can potentially even fast-track one's career progression because it's a sign of "emergent leadership," an associate professor of organizational behavior at Trinity Business School, Wladislaw Rivkin also told Insider at the time.
However, some TikTokers are not so convinced that managing up is healthy, arguing that it signals a toxic environment.
In a video with over 63,000 views, one TikToker explained that there's a power imbalance when employees have to manage up because it's work they're not paid to do.
She says in the video: "I'm sick and tired of the phrase 'managing up.' I am tired of the idea of managing up being offered as career 'advice.' And the reason this irks me to my core is that it is not the responsibility of someone's direct reports to wrangle them and push them to be a better manager. "
One user commented in agreement: "I've had to manage up a lot and it feels like babysitting someone who doesn't know what they're doing but they're my boss. Just pay ME."
Although managing up could be a hassle for already-stressed employees, Gen Z are known for having greater demands for flexibility and work-life balance.
The newest generation at work are keen to shape their own future in the workplace and managing up is a sure-fire way to get their bosses to support their ambitions and needs.