Quiet quitting, rage-applying, and Bare Minimum Mondays took several of the top spots in Workamajig's list of the biggest work trends on TikTok this year.Malte Mueller/Getty Images
- TikTok has become a popular place for employees to vent and share tips for navigating the workplace.
- Data from project management software firm Workamajig revealed the prevailing workplace trends.
TikTok has become a breeding ground for viral workplace trends. Many millennial and Gen Z employees, who are more likely than previous generations to push back on toxic or exploitative work environments, turn to the app to share their tips and tricks for navigating their jobs.
New data from Workamajig, which makes project management software, has identified the most popular work trends on TikTok so far this year, based on the number of views the hashtag for each trend had on the app worldwide as of May 22. Insider has updated the number of views for each hashtag to be accurate as of June 1.
"Quiet quitting and other growing trends emerged post-pandemic as a response to the hustle culture (which glorified overworking)," Esther Cohen, the director of marketing at Workamajig, said in an email to Insider. "These new trends are now most commonly seen among younger workers who are increasingly prioritizing work-life balance over traditional career ambitions and demanding more autonomy, control, and flexibility, aside from more pay and better benefits."
"Considering that Gen Zers also proved to be the generation most likely to quit their job if they are unhappy with their workplace, it's not surprising that they are resigning at a higher rate than older generations and are leading this wave of work trends taking over TikTok," Cohen added.
Together, the top 10 workplace trends on TikTok this year have racked up more than a billion cumulative views. Take a look at what they are:
10. Shift shock: 14,900 views
Shift shock occurs when the reality of a new job doesn't match your expectations. Maskot/Getty Images
9. Resenteeism: 30,800 views
Resenteeism is common when workers fear a recession or layoffs are looming. Todd Warnock/Getty Images
Employees practicing resenteeism are staying in jobs where they're unhappy because they can't afford to quit. Resenteeism is common when the job market is uncertain and workers worry that they won't have job prospects elsewhere if they were to jump ship.
The term itself is a riff on "presenteeism," which refers to showing up to work for optics but not being fully productive. A common example of presenteeism is showing up to work when you're sick instead of taking a sick day.
8. Boomerang Employee: 43,000 views
Boomerang employees are those who return to an employer after working elsewhere. karenfoleyphotography
As the name suggests, boomerang employees are those who leave an employer only to come back later.
Workers may return to their old workplaces for a number of reasons. They might leave their jobs, feel shift shock in their new roles elsewhere, and decide to come back, or they may boomerang to get a raise.
7. Career cushioning: 662,700 views
Career cushioning covers ways to keep your options open in case you lose your current job. VNmockup/Getty Images
6. Bare minimum Mondays: 2.9 million views
Bare minimum Mondays entail not giving your all when you start out a work week. rudall30/Getty
5. Quiet hiring: 5.3 million views
Quiet hiring involves filling gaps without actually bringing on additional employees. Jenny on the Moon/Getty Images
Quiet hiring is the practice of employers filling needs or gaps in the workplace without actually hiring new people.
It commonly takes the form of asking existing employees to do more work for the same pay, and can lead to burnout and resentment. It can also refer to shuffling workers into different roles within a company.
4. Rage applying: 6 million views
Employees may rage-apply for jobs elsewhere if they feel underappreciated or frustrated at work. Malte Mueller/Getty Images
Employees firing off job applications after feeling fed up or overlooked in their current roles are rage applying. They may be motivated to rage apply if they're passed over for a promotion at work, feel underpaid or underappreciated, or are otherwise getting frustrated with their working environments.
3. Quiet firing: 19.9 million views
Employers can use quiet firing to push workers out without having to pay them severance. Malte Mueller
Quiet firing is a way employers push out workers without actually firing them or conducting layoffs and having to pay severance.
It often involves making changes that make work unpleasant for employees in an attempt to get them to leave on their own. These may include excluding employees from meetings, overlooking them for promotions, putting them on performance improvement plans, or doing away with perks or flexibility in work hours or location.
2. Act your wage: 451.1 million views
Acting your wage means putting in effort at work that is commensurate with your pay, nothing more. Tanja Ivanova/Getty Images
Riffing on "acting your age," acting your wage refers to doing your job as written and nothing more — essentially putting in work commensurate with what you're paid.
Workers who have done it say it's a way to set stronger boundaries between work and their personal lives.
1. Quiet quitting: 762.3 million views
Quiet quitting, rage-applying, and Bare Minimum Mondays took several of the top spots in Workamajig's list of the biggest work trends on TikTok this year. Malte Mueller/Getty Images
The top workplace trend on TikTok, according to Workamajig, is none other than quiet quitting, also known as coasting culture.
Quiet quitting means dialing it back at work and just doing what's expected of you — or often, even less. It's a reaction to years of employers squeezing free labor out of workers, Insider's Aki Ito writes, and caught the attention of the internet last year.