January 8th 2024.
Shireen sits on her couch, feet up, exhausted. Despite her seemingly successful career in law, she feels disillusioned and disconnected from the job she once dreamed of.
"I was told in meetings I needed to improve, but not supported in the transition from my old job to my new one," she tells The Agency. "I was constantly compared to my more senior colleagues which made me feel inadequate and made me stop caring."
When Shireen realized she was being missold the type of job she was doing, she stopped doing the minimum expected of her and began to take back control in her own way. She started sleeping during the day, pretending to work from home, and doing whatever she felt like.
It's not just Shireen who is feeling the impact of such a toxic workplace culture. Research has shown that British workers are taking a record number of sick days compared to a decade ago. In a survey of 918 organisations, representing 6.5 million employees, more than 76% reported stress-related absences in their organisation in the past year.
The hybrid working model that has been implemented in many places has only made some workers feel more isolated and resentful. Mandatory office days can fuel resentment, when staff know they can get the job done at home without the costs of a commute.
Many workers have resorted to "taking back control" by calling in sick, wasting company time, and using up company time to do non-work related tasks. Unfortunately, these techniques do not make anyone feel any better and do not tackle the root cause of burnout.
Maya, a secondary school teacher from London, is an example of this. She noticed her alopecia and psoriasis flaring up, as a result of the high demands and long working hours in her job.
"My body is so tired, so overworked, so burnt out," she tells The Agency. When her burnout became too much to handle, she had to call in sick.
Another worker, Zara, a software engineer from London, has also resorted to time theft. Despite being promised a promotion and pay rise after six months of hard work, she was told it was being pushed back to January. Since then, she has been quiet quitting - filling up her diary, showing up to do the bare minimum, and taking extended lunch breaks.
It's clear that the increasing levels of stress and burnout in the workplace are having a detrimental effect on workers. The struggle to find a balance between employees and employers is still ongoing.
Shireen, a 33-year-old lawyer, was feeling disillusioned with her job. Despite her above-average salary, she was dealing with a toxic work culture, a lack of support, and constant comparisons to her more senior colleagues. All of this had caused her to slowly stop caring about her job and she felt as if she was being missold the type of job she was doing.
"Being a lawyer is everything I know and now, thanks to how they treat me, I have no idea what I'm going to do," Shireen said. "I was constantly compared to my more senior colleagues which made me feel inadequate and made me stop caring."
It seems that Shireen is not the only one feeling overwhelmed with their job. According to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, British workers have been taking a record number of sick days compared to a decade ago. Before the pandemic, the average number of sick days was 5.8, but now it has jumped to 7.8.
76% of respondents to a survey of 918 organisations reported stress-related absences in their organisation in the past year. Other common reasons for absences were general poor mental health, musculoskeletal problems, and Covid.
It's becoming clear that the traditional office-based model is not sustainable for both employees and employers. Working from home can lead to feelings of isolation, but many employees feel resentment when they are required to come into the office to get the job done.
This has led to frustrated workers finding creative ways to take back control of their work, such as calling in sick, quiet quitting, and time theft. As for Maya, a secondary school teacher, her work-related stress led to her autoimmune conditions flaring up and she had to call in sick due to burnout.
Zara, a software engineer, has also resorted to time theft and quiet quitting - showing up to do the bare minimum and filling up her diary so people can't contact her - due to her employer's delay in giving her a pay rise and promotion.
It's clear that something needs to change. Workers are feeling the need to take drastic measures, such as time theft and calling in sick, in order to cope with the stress of their jobs and the lack of support from their employers.
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