Bare Minimum Mondays is the new Gen Z, Millennial office trend

A controversial new approach to Mondays in the workplace by Gen Z and Millennials is changing what Mondays look like forever.

A new trend is emerging in the wake of the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting and other workplace movements. It promises to relieve stress, reduce employee burnout and still deliver quality work.

Known as Bare Minimum Monday, the trend’s creator Marisa Jo Mayes explained in a TikTok video that after spending Sundays mapping out her week ahead only to find herself overwhelmed and falling behind on tasks by Monday, she decided to try something new.

“I decide on Sunday what are the bare minimum work tasks that I have to accomplish tomorrow and then I only hold myself accountable to finishing those bare minimum tasks and then I get to decide how to spend the rest of my Monday,” she says.

While not everyone is able to work as flexibly as Mayes, who is a self-employed content creator, exploring more creative ways of working is something experts say employers should look to if they want to retain talented employees.

“When I started out in my career, you did whatever you were told and you were grateful for a job. But the younger generation is much more fixed on their rights, and if they’re not getting paid they won’t work,” Natasha Hawker, the Managing Director of Employee Matters says.

Where once power sat firmly with the employers, Hawker says the pendulum is swinging towards employees in the wake of Covid-19 changes to working habits and spotlighting the need to prioritise mental health.

“Covid blew up the way the workplace and offices are run, and I think a benefit of that is we’ve been able to push through enormous workplace change in record time. In the past, we treated employees like a collective, but now it’s much more individual. What works for one person may not work for another and younger generations are much more confident in voicing their needs,” Hawker says.

Younger people are making new damands of their employers since Covid-19. This includes Bare Minimum Monday. Picture: Unsplash, Cristian Tarzi

According to organisational psychologist and workplace expert Dr Michelle Pizer, a generational divide in workplace expectations explains only part of the growing shift towards different working habits like Quiet Quitting and Bare Minimum Monday.

“It’s just not realistic that people hit the ground running all day, every day and it never has been,” she says. “But where older generations remember an era of work where you could switch off when you left the office, the younger generations are tech natives who are used to everything being on all the time, and so they’re having to learn and create boundaries in a way that is second nature to a lot of older workers.”

But does going into a job interview or workplace with demands clearly laid out risk a person’s employability potential? Not as much as it once would have, Hawker says.

“It’s the tightest applicant market in 28 years and retention is key so you need to be talking about what will make people stay.”

A LinkedIn survey released earlier this year showed that 59 per cent of employees are open to moving jobs in 2023, with 31 per cent saying if they were to leave it would be in search of a better work-life balance. This underpins the fundamental changes currently taking place as the world adapts to hybrid working arrangements and a return to offices.

“We’re working in an environment that’s increasingly dominated by Millennials and Gen Z and they expect innovation, so this sort of approach will appeal to them. Workplaces holding onto traditional practices will struggle to attract and retain those generations and in doing that, potentially miss the best and the brightest, so it’s something they really need to seriously consider,” says Natasha Hawker.

59 per cent of emplyees are open to leaving their job in 2023. Picture: Unsplash, Daniel Thomas

Pizer agrees, saying the caveat for successfully implementing Bare Minimum Monday really comes down to how a person communicates boundaries, ensuring respect and care are taken in the process.

“Employers are much more aware of the importance of well-being and mental health and that’s a real bonus for employees, but at the end of the day, the work still has to get done,” she explains, adding, “when you set boundaries it’s not just a matter of being forceful, you also need to be really good with your interpersonal and negotiating skills. If you’re good at that, people will be put off and won’t want to work with you.

So while catchphrases like bare minimum Monday may initially spook older managers or employers, the underlying basis of these approaches to managing work actually forms a key part of a person’s professional development.

“One of the unfortunate things that people often don’t realise, particularly young people entering the workforce, is that if you don’t set your own boundaries no one else will do it for you. So if you can be reliable, communicate well and be mindful of your impact on others there’s no reason that you can’t work in a way that’s right for you while also satisfying team and employer expectations.”

Hawker agrees, saying, “I think this is something we’re going to be seeing a lot more of.”

Katy Hall is a freelance writer

Originally published as Bare Minimum Mondays is the new Gen Z, Millennial office trend