People are hiding. This is not another post about virtual work, although that might apply also See Heigh Ho (January 2025). There are many workers who are hiding in plain sight, at work, according to a Randstad report described by Fortune. Perhaos not surprisingly, the "most likely to be secretive" is the Generation Z (1997-2012). The youngest workers are exhibiting introversion. There is some suggestion that group is inherently tech-focused and somewhat socially distant due to their preferred "digital environment." Nonetheless, they are not alone.
The report supports that "About 62% of workers globally say they hide aspects of themselves at work." That was only 55% last year. The prevalence is higher in America, 70%. Some suggest that this is a trust issue, with the report noting "Only 49% of workers trust their employer to build a working culture where everyone can thrive." Ouch. Well, there may be cause and effect to unpack there.
I have witnessed this in the classroom over the last decade. Some students are reticent about contributing or sharing. When a debate does begin, some avoid joining a side or sharing a perspective, and instead divert their eyes or turn to devices for distraction. The nation's educators have done a poor job of encouraging engagement, freedom of speech, and participation. Too often the academic's mantra of classroom inclusion has merely promoted exclusion. It has not been a free speech or respectful equality mission but a cancel process of predictable and lamentable results.
Fortune notes that contributing factors in the workplace may include a variety of perceptions about the world around us. Whether different generations have differing perceptions of trust specifically or work generally, there are notable differences illustrated in the study responses. In the Gen Z population about 68% "hide parts of themselves on the job," while "of baby boomers," it is only 52%.
Too many of the younger generation have been convinced that the world will be a safe place in which they may cocoon. Those who taught these expectations are to blame. The world is not always a nice place. There are disagreements. That you hold a different one should engender respect, but not necessarily agreement or complacency. Allowing people to pontificate authoritatively on "flat earth" may not benefit them or their adversaries.
Are boomers more secure generally? Or are boomers less concerned about the workplace as their working years dwindle? Are boomers more open generally? Or are they simply more acclimated and habitual in the workplace? Like the Tootsie Pop, the world may never know. See Tootsie Pops Make You Think (August 2021).
The Fortune authors suggest that there are perceptions of heightened workplace tensions generally. They mention employees "fear being judged or discriminated against," but do not invoke the now-familiar "cancel culture" that has been increasingly discussed in recent years. Pew Research noted in 2021 that "the internet - particularly social media - has changed how, when and where" people "challenge each other's views." It conceded that challenging views is not new, but suggested the time, place, and manner have changed.
With that comes the enhanced chances of keyboard courage and the poor outcomes it is associated with. See Keyboard Attacks (October 2024), and the posts cited there.
The Pew report in 2020 illuminated "cancel" when Gen Z (1997-2012) members were eight to 23 years old. Now, this group is 13 to 28, and gaining prevalence in the workplace. It is axiomatic that these workers will tend to be in entry-level positions, or will have recently progressed from them. They are in their formative work years, perhaps evolving into formative management years. They have evolved into their career years with cancel culture prevalent, pervasive, and accepted. The majority may rule in that culture through bullying, crowd mentality, and worse.
Verywell Mind notes an evolution of the use of "Cancel," from a mysoginsitic origin through a broader "disapproval of another person's actions," to a broad exercise of expose, argument, or accountability for those who express different views. Some perceive "positive impacts," but Verywell suggests "cancelling often turns into bullying." Those who are "Cancelled" may "feel ostracized, socially isolated, and lonely. These emotions may be "associated with higher anxiety, depression, and suicide rates." In short, bullying is bad.
Is it any wonder that people are reluctant to be open and revealing at work? The Fortune article concedes that the fear of being open is long-standing. And it points its finger at companies that have elected to treat all workers equally and without discrimination. The equal workplace is derided as unfocused on employee "belonging." The fact is that people have struggled with belonging for eons. People have been different forever. And there has been pressure to conform and fit in as long as my memory stretches.
It is possible that the overall, "global" increase in hiding at work may be attributable in part to the acceptance and encouragement of "cancel culture" and the keyboard bullying that has accompanied it. Those who would point at this or that person, culture, etc. might re-read above that this increase is a global finding, not local.
And, Fortune returns to the generational aspect, highlighting a belief that Gen Z is more "acutely aware of what can happen if they expose too much of their lives at the office." The expressed (endorsed?) belief is that Gen Z has acclimated to cancel, bullying, and backlash. Nonetheless, the fear and impact of these are not generational. I speak to many employees, managers, professionals, and more. There is a near-universal aversion to bullying. The difference may exist in what one would be bullied about, but the aversion remains.
