The latest Gen Z buzzword at the workplace is Quiet Quitting. The phrase has been popularised by TikTok creator Zaid Khan, who in a video that got millions of views explained that this means not outright quitting your job, but “quitting the idea of going above and beyond”. Gen Z revolt at the workplace is real, and pervasive all across the globe. Younger employees are deciding to do their job and refuse to stretch an inch beyond that, no volunteering, no extra duties, no added responsibilities. 

If a feeling of burnout is leading to a state of disengagement, then remote work is fostering this feeling. Gallup’s 2022 State of the Global Workplace report reveals that only 21 per cent of employees are engaged at work, and only 33 per cent are actually thriving in their overall well-being. Additionally, 44 per cent of employees reported they felt stress throughout their workday. Organisations have a big problem on their hands.

Shadowing the leader

At Amazon India two selected B-school students got a chance to shadow Akhil Saxena, Vice President, Customer Fulfilment Operations, APAC, MENA & LATAM, for an entire workday as part of its ‘ADayAtAmazon’ initiative. The initiative enabled the students to get a first-hand experience of Amazon’s workplace culture by being part of different business meetings and visits to an Amazon fulfilment centre. To select the students, Amazon ran a 5-day online competition across B-schools in India wherein students had to create a one-minute video sharing their views on leadership and what they would like to learn at Amazon. Riya Mehta from IIM Bangalore and Gokul V S from SPJIMR Mumbai, were selected for the opportunity.

Decisions on paper

A new research published in the Harvard Business Review by Maferima Toure-Tillery and Lili Wang says that decisions made on paper tend to be more virtuous than those made digitally. They conducted a series of studies with over 2,500 participants across the U.S. and China to explore the impact of the medium used to make a decision, with a particular focus on decisions with some sort of moral component, such as whether or not to make a donation to a charity, or whether to choose a healthy or unhealthy entrée at a restaurant. Participants were asked to use either a paper or a digital tablet to make these choices. They consistently found that people who used paper made more-virtuous decisions than those who used a digital device: For example, participants who read their options and made a selection on paper were significantly more likely to give money to charity, choose a healthy entrée, and opt for an educational book rather than something more entertaining. The researchers say this could have ramifications at the workplace too.