Is anyone else finding works changed and no one does anything anymore?

[JKDcot]

I am a hard worker. I really care about what I do and try to deliver for my team. I work in an office job but WFH since the pandemic, I don’t think it’s due to being remote. I’ve noticed people just don’t care as much? They don’t reply? I get a lot of “I’m busy sorry I can’t help”. It’s so frustrating and I can’t figure out why everyone seems to have lost their care factor? Anyone else?

Quiet quitting. Another wonderful export from America.

*import 🚚

I’m a teacher and this isn’t my experience at all-we are working harder as we have much less external support, much less money and far fewer resources.

I think Covid and WFH taught a lot of people that they could get away with doing very little and no one would pull them up for it. So why work hard when a) there isn't a lot of reward and b) no one is going to sack you? It's one thing having to give the impression that you're hard at work when your boss is sitting next to you/behind you/can walk up behind you at any moment, but entirely different when you're sitting at your desk at home. Who's watching? No one. You can have your computer on, answer your emails/calls, but have Love Island on. As long as you appear to be present and get the stuff done that you have to do, happy days.

I've never heard of anyone on their deathbed wishing they'd had a bigger house! That just sounds so materialistic. Most people, I presume, wish they'd spent more time with their loved ones.

I'm social services. I've had over a decade of under inflation pay cuts.

I no longer go above and beyond. I do what is required and no more. The government (and the public who vote them in) have clearly decided that my colleagues and I are NOT valuable members of staff.

I'm not entitled. I just want fair pay.

If inflation busting pay rises are good enough for the FTSE 100 CEO's, then why isn't it good enough for the people working to maintain your health and wellbeing?

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/07/ftse-100-executive-pay-rose-23-per-cent-4m-2022

I don’t agree with that at all

I went the extra mile for years and years, until my employer insisted we do face to face teaching in small seminar rooms during the height of the pandemic, pre-vaccine (I work in HE). A few weeks later the gov’t decided against that because it was clear it would increase the death rates. Several of us (many medically trained) told the boss it was dangerous (I just had lost my mum to it), and she simply didn’t care…her remark was ‘My Covid is not your Covid’. With the recent cost of living crisis, our pay raise was 3%. Whoopee.

At that point, I decided to do my job and work my hours, but no more than that. I take all my leave, and then I went part time with the intention of retiring early. If my employer didn’t give a toss if I lived or died, why should I continue to work free overtime?

If they freely acknowledge our pay has been held down for 12 years, whilst the extra money is going for new buildings and dissipating through financial mismanagment (£3 million for software that is not fit for purpose and increases everyone’s workload unnecessarily), why should I put in the extra mile?

I would care more if they cared more about the students and treating staff like humans, rather than just their executive pay packets.

I’ve come to the same conclusion (I work in higher ed).

I have a clinical qualification but a few years ago moved away from hands on work with patients to work in clinical education. During Covid rather than being furloughed I was called back to work on the ward again (all hands on deck needed etc.) this was quite scary as I was out of practice with clinical / ward work and obviously it put me at higher risk of getting covid and infecting my family. At some point during the pandemic I was also called upon to set up a covid bereavement service for the organisation - it was hard emotionak work but I got on with it and caccepted it as my duty of care. Coming out of the pandemic restructuring happened and I was made redundant - no leaving do or card, no recognition of all the work I'd done and no shits given by my 'bosses' whom I had worked with for years.
It worked out okay in the end (but was v stressful at the time). In my current role whenever I find myself staying later or volunteering to 'go the extra mile' I have to have a word with myself and think about what's best for me because I've learned my managers or the organisation are really not going to do that.
So yes, OP you may have a point - attitudes towards work have probably changed for lots of us - there's more to life, a lot more.

And how long do you think you can keep it up?

Hence why there is a teacher shortage.

I’ve worked hard all my life and treat people well and I just don’t get that from my bosses. So I now do less. We can see the £££ companies make and it isn’t coming our way. So very easy to see why lots of people feel like this.

Every firm has lazy people, and always will. But I actually think it’s the culture in firms that mean people are not empowered to excel at their jobs and take more responsibility, and then performance manage those that aren’t productive.
Big firms especially, are just full of bureaucracy. No one is actually allowed to make a decision without committees or reviews by a thousand stakeholders. Everyone with their own little agenda as well so it’s nigh on impossible to make change or efficiency. I think employees see this and think what’s the point? Also the fact you often don’t get paid anymore for taking on more responsibility or pushing hard at work.

Also firms don’t invest much in training and new technology these days so you can get stuck doing the same job the same way for years. What’s the point of getting more done when the firm doesn’t care enough to improve itself? I think we can all see firms often prioritise paying their execs and shareholders over rewarding employees or investing in change, and so the culture of malaise and apathy remains.

I think low unemployment has put more power into the hands of the employees.

Employees are more demanding for work life balance, flexibility, opportunities and pay. If they don't get these they can vote with their feet or coast along.

It's high time the world of work changed in favour of employees.

Thing is though, it’s nice to care and want to do a decent job. I don’t think it has to be about going above and beyond or even the other side just doing the bare minimum. I liked the feeling of a decent job, learning some new skills, making friends with colleagues. Feeling part of something even if you know the business ultimately makes the cash and you just get paid a wage.

what makes me frustrated and sad is that people don’t seem to want to help others or understand that we all need to contribute a bit together. It’s the ignoring of emails, declining a meeting 2 minutes before it starts (or not turning up at all with no excuses). You couldn’t get away with that before so why now?

I think alot has to do with the inability to say much or to actively manage people out of any organise for doing feck all.

Performance improvement plans where people do the minimum to pass and then revert to old ways, abuse of sick leave and mental health issues (and I'm not talking about the genuine cases- there are plenty of those and they aren't an issue). Unfair dismissals getting compensation on technicalities etc.

When it's increasingly difficult to manage the non performers, then people who actually work understandly question why thry are doing their fair share or more and start resenting it.

I am applying for jobs as we speak. I don’t know anyone in real life who wants to remain in teaching for much longer.

Completely agree with this. What’s the point if you can’t afford a decent home for your family, even if you do get promoted? Wages simply haven’t kept pace with the cost of housing or living, so the incentive to work hard has gone. I don’t blame anyone who does the minimum - the writing is on the wall for most employees.

Yes. And there's a massive capability gap too. The amount of people who apply for jobs many rungs above them, or who are in jobs and just don't deliver has massively increased. I think due to skilled labour shortages.

I can't relate to this thread at all. I feel like work got more intense during Covid and then doubled again on returning to the office. I know my admin has increased exponentially over the last year, and there doesn't seem to be any let up.

Yep and then you'll be passed over for promotion then you'll be complaining you're struggling to live... oh wait you already are!

@ElsaMars so did they refuse to let you take the voluntary?

I have been working from home for about eight years now. I have always had more than enough to do until quite recently. I have about three jobs: one is classed as freelance work, one is zero hours and one has recently been made into a permanent contract.

What I have found is that the freelance work and zero hours work is drying up. People are less likely to pay for the service (cost of living crisis), and when work comes in, it will be allocated to permanent staff rather than freelance or zero hour contracted staff. That is all fair enough.

There are also fewer opportunities to take on extra work in the permanent post (equivalent of overtime), and it is harder to claim expenses and so on.

In short, I just think that in some sectors there is less work than there used to be, and employers are finding ways of saving money by reducing overtime and so on.

I also like to work hard, and I have recently found myself looking for other employment or ideas about how to make money

there is a general malaise affecting the country and a lot of low level depression about. The impact of covid will linger for a long time.