Burnout has become the monster under the bed for many workers. It’s always kept just barely at bay but is never too far away, and employees are in search of coping methods.
In comes Bare Minimum Monday, the work strategy that has become popular on TikTok and has resonated with users to help them mitigate stress on the job.
You remember you used to stay up late on Sunday to delay the work week as long as possible—you’d sleep in as long as possible and when you get out of bed, you’d feel like you’re already behind. You’d make a to do list that was way too long thinking you could overachieve your way out of the stress. But you never did.
This is how one TikToker describes life before implementing the strategy, which has allowed her to ease into her day as opposed to attacking it.
“My take on Bare Minimum Monday is that it’s an extension of our acceptance and understanding that we need to focus more on our mental health and self care,” executive and career coach Brooks E. Scott told ESSENCE. He often works with clients to refine strategies on how to win in their professions, even if that means tackling their personal habits first.
He added: “Since COVID, and the start of the Great Resignation, people are focusing on finding therapists, reclaiming their mental health and setting boundaries. And so this is a part of that movement in our culture where people are saying ‘I’m gonna value myself more. I’m not gonna give more and do more than what people appreciate me for, particularly at work.”
Although the practice has its merit, like with any popular movement with momentum, the pendulum often swings the other way.
Other users on TikTok who’ve come across the trend roll their eyes and cast it off as willful laziness that will cost the practice’s most loyal evangelists their jobs.
“Bare Minimum Monday is the latest workplace trend hitting productivity in the gut,” a TikToKer that goes by the name of AWellMadeWoman said in a video response to finding out about the practice. “So what’s next? Tired Tuesdays? Why are we here Wednesday? I’m through with Thursdays? And Thank It’s Friday?”
Scott said the cynical sentiment isn’t surprising and even encourages those who are fully embracing the trend to be reasonable about the practice.
“With the TikTok videos, a lot of those are intended to spark humor, so that’s why a lot of the Boomers are rolling their eyes because Bare Minimum Monday is not just showing up in sweats and not getting ready for work. It’s deeper than that. What I think Gen Z has figured out collectively is that hard work is no longer enough to help you get ahead.”
Brooks continued: “By no means, please don’t lose your job in the name of self-care,” he said. “It’s great to ease into Monday if that’s an option for you, but is Bare Minimum Monday going to make your Tuesday to Friday even worse? If it is, then Monday is not the problem. Maybe the problem is you for not setting appropriate boundaries in the workplace with your manager and allowing unclear directives to be given that lead to harder work than necessary.”
He advises people to get clear about their jobs so there’s no room for misinterpretation when caring for themselves.
“If we don’t have clarity in our work, clarity in our role, if our job description is not even written, that’s going to make Monday to Friday very difficult for you if you don’t even know if the work that you’re doing matters in the first place.”
This advice is even more important for people of color, who are notoriously underrepresented and often disadvantaged in the corporate climb. While self-preservation is important, Brooks said it’s key to be realistic as well, particularly as a Black person working in America.
“As a 43-year-old Black man, I was taught that hard work will get you ahead,” Brooks said. “Especially being underrepresented, we think that coming in early, staying late, putting in an extra hours will lead to deserved recognition but it doesn’t always. And what has happened, we’ve done all these things and it still doesn’t help us progress as fast as the next person who is from a majority group. So while this may be true, giving your bosses or clients even more reason to cast you off isn’t going to help, but you should still carve out some time to care for yourself and make it make sense for your life.”
Brooks said the trend is an important reminder, particularly for the Black community to work smarter, not harder.
“We’re now realizing that getting ahead is also about building relationships and who you know, and having allies to sponsor you and talk about your name when you’re not in the room,” he said. “And so now that we’re realizing that hard work is what our parents generation needed to do to get ahead, we’re not doing that anymore because the world doesn’t reward that alone anymore. It’s really an awakening and it’s about time.”