how to learn from the anti work movement
why responsible employers shouldn’t fear the Anti-Work movement
The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them
Robert Frost
At the time of writing this, it’s day 802 of The New Normal and everyone is talking about work. Or, rather, its opposite: Anti-work.
The Great Resignation put UK departures at levels not seen since 2009. In the US, an all-time high of 4.5 million people quit in November, plus a further 47 million throughout 2021. Meanwhile, the labour that isn’t dissembling itself is becoming increasingly organised. British industrial disputes are at their highest in five years. Notably, the RMT union just voted to put the country on track for the biggest strike in decades. Similarly, the US has seen waves of action since ‘Striketober.’ There has also been a big increase in people switching firms and others setting up their own businesses.
Given that the furlough scheme and remote work ushered in the biggest, fastest overhaul of the labour market in history, should we be surprised? People are rethinking whether work works for them and in many analyses, it’s coming up short. But is this just another post-Covid blip, or the start of something bigger?
What is Anti-Work all about?
To get to the bottom of this emerging trend, we need to dig into the cultural phenomena that underpin it. So, leave your economics textbooks at home. Today we’ll be journeying into people’s hearts and minds.
Fortunately, social media now gives us a real-time view inside people’s heads, while only occasionally veering into the dystopian territory that prospect suggests. In this instance, we must turn to its murkier corners – specifically, the Reddit message board r/Antiwork. A virtual community formed around the tagline ‘Unemployment for all, not just the rich!’[1]
While Reddit doesn’t have the name recognition of other social networks, it has more users than Twitter, and receives more visits than Instagram and Amazon[2]. It calls itself ‘the front page of the internet’ and in recent years its users have increasingly flexed their collective muscle. Most notably as the origin of the ‘meme stocks’ phenomenon of last year which sent waves through global financial markets.
The site is organised into user-generated communities, ‘subreddits’, where content is socially curated and promoted by site members through voting. r/Antiwork is one such community whose following ballooned during the pandemic from 13,000 subscribers in 2019 to nearly 2,000,000 today.
The group gained notoriety last Autumn for organising a consumer boycott of Black Friday and its active role in the 2021 Kellogg’s strike, during which Reddit users prevented an attempt to replace striking workers by flooding the company with fake applications.
The challenge: late capitalism and its discontents
The current cost of living crisis, the rise of the gig economy, increasing inequality, and the decades-long decline in the connection between productivity and wage increases are the macroeconomic challenges underpinning the mood. With scarce reason for optimism on any of those fronts, it seems likely that the Anti-Work sentiment will only continue to grow.
While r/Antiwork started as a socialist-anarchist philosophy forum – ie, ‘wage labour is slavery’ – its popularity increased as the discussion focused on more ‘achievable’ and relatable goals. The tagline of its sister forum r/WorkReform sums it up well: ‘Food, Healthcare, and Homes: for ALL WAGES.’ It gained 434,775 members within 24 hours of being created. Much of the site’s content focuses on people’s job-related struggles and the nexus of poor pay, lack of respect, and abusive, occasionally illegal, practices that has led to increasing disillusionment with ‘work’. Excerpts from the forum’s top posts give us an idea:
Quit my job last night, it was nice to be home to make the kids breakfast and take them to school today! Off to hunt for a new opportunity, wish me luck :)
People no longer believe working hard will lead to a better life
This sub gave me the motivation to finally quit my abusive job. I may not have health insurance, but I feel so free!
People want to work, you’ve just made it unpalatable to work for you
As a social movement, it is not without parallels. The post-Marxist economic position that drove Occupy Wall Street is echoed by Anti-Work. While the rejection of the labour system draws on David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs and Keynes’ belief that increases in productivity would – should – ultimately reduce the amount of work we have to endure. China’s Tang Ping (lie flat) movement, a rejection of overwork and the 996 working hour system, is an analogous, contemporary cousin.
Fad or future?
As you have probably guessed, Anti-work is a Gen Z and Millennial phenomenon. These are generations that expected to be poorer than their parents, that experienced the financial crash, austerity, and the pandemic before they even attempted to accrue wealth. Is it any wonder they are less likely to buy into the system?
As these generations become the dominant force in political and economic life, we should expect a host of ideas to become more mainstream. Universal Basic Income, the four-day working week, stronger unions and a real living wage are a starter set of policies that would probably win elections tomorrow if they were only for under 45s. Bernie Sanders, Jeremy Corbyn and Jean-Luc Mélenchon all won this age group nationally.
The first ripples of change are already evident. Despite corporate opposition, unions have formed at number of well-known brands. A unionisation victory at Amazon’s 8,300-strong fulfilment centre on Staten Island captured headlines, while 57 individual Starbucks cafés have organised and plans are in place to create the first union at an Apple store, Fruit Stand Workers United in New York.
Certain trends have conspired to enable the unexpected return of the union. Firstly, it’s much easier to organise in the age of social media. Secondly, people are demanding better work conditions, jobs and treatment, and companies that increasingly espouse employee empowerment are struggling to counter this. Lastly, the organisers themselves are changing; these are independent, localised groups run by people on the inside rather than large external organisations.
While the real-world impacts have been largely stateside so far, these firms have an immense global reach. Plus, it’s rarely long before cultural movements hop the pond. When America stubs its toe, the world breaks its shin. Something like that. Anyway…
What are the implications for your organisation?
Firstly, don’t be afraid. Anti-work is anti-bad work. No one is expecting to hang their hat and retire to a life of leisure. They simply want equitable, reasonable workplaces. Good, conscientious employers (and if you’re still reading, congrats – you’re one of them!) should embrace the drive for improvements in worker conditions. It means their hard work will be rewarded in the battle for talent, and ultimately through business success. If you want the best for your people and the best people to work for you (rather than your closest competitor or themselves), consider the following practical steps:
A full-time job should meet people’s basic needs by providing a living wage. Create work that at the very least means people are always fed, watered, warm, rested, and safe.
Not sure how to start? Egremont has helped organisations take out bad costs to implement National Living Wage Foundation standards. We'd love to hear from you.
Build an attractive employee value proposition by looking beyond salary to the wider benefits, skills and environmental and social impact you can offer to attract and retain your A Team.
Committing to a challenging ESG assessment like B-Corp shows your values are more than just the abstract nouns in your annual report.
Dare to provide freedom within a framework. Nail the operational basics and then create space for your employees to use their creativity, ingenuity, and experience to deliver what the customer really wants.
Laszlo Bock built and led Google's people function, he saw this as the fundamental issue: “‘Does your manager trust you?” is a profound question. If you believe people are fundamentally good, and if your organization is able to hire well, there is nothing to fear from giving your people freedom.’
Lastly, when times are tough, remember that cutting headcount is no more a solution than a budget is a business plan. It’s just one step. Work also needs to be redesigned to enable fewer people to deliver it. Simplification is the key. Ask yourself, ‘What is my organisation’s core value chain and what is the Operating Model we need to deliver it?’
Don’t be a poster child for the Anti-Work movement. Now is the time to be pro-active, pro-worker and pro-growth.
[1] If this is starting to sound a little bit conspiracist, well, Goldman Sachs came to the same conclusion.
[2] https://www.semrush.com/website/top/
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More about the author
Alex Devine
Alex freely admits he spends too much time on the internet. He is fascinated by the constant flux of ideas that emerge online and how they filter out into the wider world. He sees the same ideas at play in work, where change starts one person at a time and spreads through an organisation to deliver breakthrough transformation
