From the world of viral media, apparently, Bare Minimum Mondays are trying to become a thing on social media. Before we get too deep into this, this is the worst of social media, without a doubt. The people who put out this content are ignorant at a level I can’t comprehend. Because it’s not tongue-in-cheek humor, they are serious.
To make this matter worse, you have a legitimate media outlet covering this story like it’s real news. So, now we have two stupid people involved. One person who creates the content and one person who believes they are a journalist giving it air to breathe.
Here’s the original video:
@itsmarisajo #BareMinimumMonday ♬ Summer Background Jazz – Jazz Background Vibes
Okay, let’s steelman this video from an employee’s point of view:
- Why give more when you are surrounded by other employees getting paid the same who do less than you?
- If I don’t kill myself on a Monday, I’ll actually be fresher for the rest of the week, and maybe my skills will be needed more later in the week than today.
- Prioritizing your physical and mental health helps you be more productive long-term for your employer.
Okay, that’s all I have in the steelman argument! It’s hard to support this side!
The “good” folks at Fortune decided this was newsworthy:
“Bare Minimum Mondays” are a version of the Monday blues, with potential ramifications to employee productivity and the employer-employee equation. It’s a practice where employees show up to work to only do the bare minimum on a Monday, often starting the day late after a productive morning of self-care rituals.
This term has been popularized by Marisa Jo, a TikToker, who describes it as a way for her to quell the work pressure and hold herself accountable to “completing the least amount of work necessary to get by that day.”
Is there a professional business mentor in the house?
It seems like this young lady doesn’t have any business role models to help her understand this strategy doesn’t end well for her career. Look, I get it. Maybe she had a hard-charging Mom or Dad who always worked and missed her field hockey games. She probably had to take an Uber to catch her flights to Barcelona for the summer. I mean, that has a significant psychological impact on a kid!
Look, here’s the thing.
Even if your career aspirations don’t include running a Fortune 500 company, doing the minimum is just a sh*tty way of going through life. I’m not saying you have to be the most productive, type-A person in your company. You don’t have to worship at the altar of Hustle Culture. But tell me, what’s wrong with just being a solid B player? Being that employee that others look up to and appreciate.
Also, this is why C-suite executives hate remote work. This is what they believe is actually happening with their workforce. Their belief is at least if they are in the office, maybe we’ll have a shot at ensuring they do slightly more than the bare minimum.
Being a bare minimum employee. Being a bare minimum person. Is an awful way to go through life. What’s the Animal House quote?
“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
I am not saying she’s fat or drunk! I am not! She is stupid for giving the bare minimum.
AMAZING. Thank you for sharing, I’m lucky enough I haven’t heard of this nonsense.
The bigger issue here is what is driving this. My suspicion is that it this is really an attempt to feel control of oneself. There has been a silent tug of war raging for many years, but certainly amplified by the pandemic. We see it manifested most obviously in the work from home/get into the office debate with employees asking for freedom and companies demanding control. Secondly, particularly with more visible layoffs in the last several months, the lack of transparency and another situation that can drive feelings of no control.
The OP’s video is sophmoric at best, however it is a symptomatic sign of a larger issue that the collective “we” of leaders and employees refuse to engage honestly on.
Everything about that video was cringeworthy. And YES – it confirms my executive’s assumptions that people who WFH are barely working. We don’t need to be grinding all the time, but let’s at least be proud of having a solid work ethic.
Great post!
Curious just how many people caught you movie reference at the end. Still a classic and quotable today.