Lying flat - is this the end of "work your a*s off" culture?

Do you also have days like this where you just get up and don't feel like it? The day when you will only do the bare minimum because you don't have a) the strength, b) the desire, c) the motivation and d) put here any argument?

If so, you'll probably be interested in the "lying flat" trend that originated in China and, like a coronavirus, is spreading around the world. From this article you will learn what this phenomenon is, what it looks like in Poland and what is its impact on the labor market.

What is the phenomenon of lying flat?

In a nutshell, it's an objection to the cult of busyness / rat race and the conviction that only with hard work will you achieve something in life. After all, we know that success has many fathers/mothers and realistically is influenced by a mass of not necessarily related factors.

Ultimately, supporters of the movement would be most likely to literally lie flat and perform their duties with minimal involvement. Usually such an approach to life is represented by young Z generation and alphas who are just forming their views. On the other hand, this attitude can also be found in millennials (see above – me).

Originally, this trend is called "tang ping" or salt fish in Chinese. What's interesting is that in Cantonese this term is used to describe corpses/zombies. Coincidence? I don't think so. If you don't work, you practically don't exist.

The reasons for the growing popularity of the salty fish approach in life, each one of us explain in their own way. In the USA, they talk about the "Great Resignation" effect, while others blame it on the impact of a pandemic or turmoil in the services market. Other "experts" claim that the young people are simply lazy, while others believe that it is because job burnout or the struggle for a better tomorrow without "junk" contracts behind it.

It is said that one picture is worth a thousand words, so one video is worth ten thousand? I leave the evaluation to you – below is the most popular "educational" material available on this issue:

How does it look like in IT?

We're hearing more and more from IT professionals that they're tired of working conditions like waiting for new tasks/decisions on what to do eventually, or proving to "all the saints" that you really can do much more.

W 2022 IT Community Report among the biggest distractions at work were faulty procedures, poor communication and time pressure.

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With the above in mind, if you're tired of asking for interesting training or just pretending to care about a job you hate with all your heart – be aware that you're not alone.

Writing code is necessary and important, but that's not how everyone envisions their career. If, like 71% of the IT professionals in the Gartner survey, you're carrying around the idea of changing job this year - you know what to do 😎

The impact of lying flat movement on the labor market 

Unlike our grandparents and great-grandmothers, thanks to the Internet we have unlimited access to knowledge, the necessary tools and much more time to learn and form opinions.

Work-life balance, wellbeing, flexible work or scandinavian work model are not just empty slogans, but the result of the changes we are gradually seeing in the labor market.

There is also talk of a market for an employee, as candidates demand transparent employment rules, flexibility, a great corporate culture and interesting projects from employers.

This is confirmed by data from our Report and myths collected about Polish IT, which we presented at a lecture during the infoshare F3 conference.

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What success mean to you?

Answer this question honestly to yourself.

For some, it's getting out of bed and tyiding up their room, while for others it's finalizing a major contract or putting code into the production on which we’ve spent lot of work.

Does your job is satisfying for you? Do you like what you do? Are you comfortable with your current company? Do you seriously have to make such sacrifices to get your dream promotion?

Remember that your dedication, time and tremendous effort is not always worth the supposed success. Watch out for workaholism, don't overload yourself with mental work and listen to your body's signals to avoid job burnout.

Sometimes all it takes is gear down (so-called downshifting) to distance ourselves and objectively look at certain issues from a new perspective. Is it worth to work yourself to the ground, or is it better to join the lying flat people? I leave the decision to you.

My advice to you

Work in such a way that YOU are comfortable, live in such a way that you do not regret your decisions and lost time. 

Will salted fish be my new motto? I honestly don't know, but being titled chief herring in the winter when I dream of a mug of hot tea and a good book sounds proud. 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section.