Gen Z are expected to account for more than 30% of the workforce by 2030, and workplace trends like “quiet quitters” and “lazy girl jobs” are gaining traction on social media. As a result, employee engagement has never been a bigger challenge for leaders. Now, another trend affecting job engagement has emerged, according to Joe Galvin, chief research officer at Vistage. “Loud laborers” are employees who spend more time talking about their work than actually doing it. According to a new Monster.com poll, three out of four American workers (77%) say they have worked with a loud laborer with 42% insisting they think loud laborers are unaware of their behavior. But is it really that big of a deal working alongside a loud laborer? The answer from the survey was a resounding yes. Key findings include the following:
- More than half (52%) of workers would quit if they had to work closely with a loud laborer
- 22% of workers would even rather work with an ex than a loud laborer
- 63% say it impacted their ability to focus on work
- 54% agree it contributed to creating a toxic work environment
- 53% confirm it negatively impacted office culture
- 44% say it decreased their productivity
- 42% say it reduced their morale
How Leaders Can Deal With ‘Loud Laborers’
According to the Monster poll, the solution to how to deal with a loud laborer isn’t clear among workers. Only 23% would speak to a loud laborer directly about their behavior, while 25% of workers would bring the issue to a manager or direct supervisor. Another 29% of workers would not do anything if they worked closely with a loud laborer.
With the rise of digital collaboration tools like Slack and Teams and work-related social media platforms like LinkedIn, Galvin believes it has become even easier for loud employees to publicly boast their “prowess.” He told me by email how employers can prevent workplace loud mouths from killing morale. “Beyond being annoying, loud laborers can be destructive to the workplace and the company as a whole, due to losses in productivity and negative impacts on overarching employee morale,” Galvin asserts. “Workplace engagement issues spread through offices like wildfire, as under-engaged or under-performing employees often put an unfair brunt of the workload on their colleagues, leading to an ongoing cycle of burnout throughout the organization.”
He says the way to prevent loud laborers from souring the workplace, business leaders must re-calibrate how they measure employee performance. “It should be focused on actual output, not hours logged,” he insists. “A foolproof measurement process with frequent checkpoints helps to weed out those who are all talk, no results. To eliminate loud laborers, leaders must put emphasis on employee engagement—the degree to which employees are invested in, connected with and committed to their work, colleagues and the company’s growth. To accomplish this, it’s important to first understand the evolving desires of employees.”
Other experts say it’s important for leaders to be vigilant for loud laborers before their toxicity spreads. That way, leaders can address the problem before it escalates. Galvin recommends getting ahead of the curve by streamlining employee communication and trust and boosting employee engagement. With the rising class of Gen Z and millennials, he says that workers today want to feel like they are contributing to a greater cause or purpose, rather than simply ticking off a list of to-dos. “They want to understand and see the larger value of the tasks they are assigned to. Further, employee engagement thrives when employees feel heard—in today’s workplace, everyone must feel they have a voice and place at the table, from intern to C-Suite.” To drive engagement, he advises employers to ensure every employee, regardless of title, is aligned with the organization’s goals and understands how their daily outputs are making an impact outside of company time. “It’s important to understand each employee’s unique needs, expectations and motivating factors, as well as any challenges they might be experiencing,” he notes.
10 Positive Ways To Get Noticed
We all want to be noticed for the hard work we do. But the loud laborer trend has made recognition a challenge that requires a thoughtful strategy. Studies show that you don’t have to be loud and obnoxious to get noticed by your employer. Although it takes extra time and effort to maintain visibility, the payoff is well worth the effort. Here are 10 steps you can take to make sure your hard work gets noticed:
- Brag on your colleagues instead of on yourself.
- Develop a personal “visibility strategy” with ways to get noticed.
- Make sure all of your projects keep moving.
- Lend a helping hand to colleagues when they get behind with work.
- Take care of small details.
- Speak up and offer new ideas.
- Go the extra mile.
- Volunteer your time.
- Set boundaries and say no.
- Focus on solutions to problems instead of the problems.
Sustaining your visibility isn’t always easy, and keeping a visible team takes extra effort, especially if you are a remote or hybrid worker. Yet, it’s hugely important for career advancement. Still, showboating for the boss’s attention is not the way to go about standing out because it harms productivity and morale. If you want to be seen and heard effectively, finding the right role that matches your personal set of skills and a visibility strategy that puts you in the spotlight is the ticket to advancing your career. “Largely, creating an environment in which people want to work is key to keeping staff engaged,” Galvin concludes. “Company culture remains a crucial component of employee satisfaction, as well as employees’ ability to feel connected to their work. A strong culture can prevent employees from becoming loud laborers, increase productivity, boost retention and as a result, improve business performance.”
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