SEATTLE — The "Great Resignation," "quiet quitting," and "rage applying" are just a few of the terms that global workplace expert Jenn Lim addresses in her lectures.
She’s the CEO of Delivering Happiness, a company pioneering in culture change using scientific happiness to create profitable, adaptable cultures in more than 350 organizations around the world.
She speaks to employers and job seekers who have seen a dramatic shift in culture during the pandemic.
“2020 leveled the playing field and we can choose to make this a positive and have important conversations about the workplace,” Lim said.
The best selling author calls her team “coach-sultants” and said she helps guide companies and their employees to address the modern dilemmas and future growth in an uncertain environment.
“The biggest changes we’ve seen at the companies that are succeeding and actually growing are the businesses that are accounting for not just the company needs but also also what the people need,” Lim said.
She said asking the business and the employees two questions gives the right context to the state of the company.
“We ask the company and the people the same two questions: What’s in it for me? What’s in it for all?"
Lim said companies who aren’t addressing the shifting culture are likely to face the quiet quitting and rage applying trends.
"Quiet quitting” became the term referencing employees who feel unattached from their work on an emotional level.
“It’s just a paycheck and they punch in and punch out."
A Gallup poll in 2022 showed that 60% of people reported being emotionally detached at work, and 84% of people said workplace conditions have contributed to a mental health challenges.
2021 saw the “Great Resignation," a the term associated with the estimated 50 million people who began voluntarily resigning from their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That was just one wave and then the quiet quitting and now the rage applying phenomenon that started on TikTok - and it’s the latest indication that the way we are working isn’t working,” said Lim.
Rage Applying is the new buzz term that came from social media and started when user @Redweez went viral in December. The video states she got a raise of $25,000 through "rage-applying" and even says her new job is a “great place to work.”
The idea is simply playing the numbers game for employees who feel under appreciate and or underpaid.
“I got mad at work and rage applied to like fifteen jobs. And then I got a job that gave me a $25,000 raise,” said @Redweez.
Millions of views and tens of thousands of shares later the term and trend has taken off.
Whether 2023 is a year where you’re looking for work or looking to leave your current job, it’s important to keep your emotions in check.
“The latest trend with rage applying is interesting because it’s a short-term, financial-focused trend. Money is great, but it’s the people and environment you surround yourself with that’s important,” said Lim.
Her ultimate advice is to be strategic about any moves you make and don’t react out of current emotions.
“You don’t have to be happy all of the time,” said Lim.
She believes finding meaning in your day to day is key and the missing piece for leaders, employers and employees to truly come together.
“Be choosy about where you go next!”