The Bare Minimum Monday Dilemma: Self-Care or Entitlement?

In the preface to the Dilbert collection This Is the Part Where You Pretend to Add Value, Scott Adams kicks off his compilation with a brazen account of his sixteen-year stint at Crocker National Bank and Pacific Bell:

“If I had to describe my 16 years of corporate work with one phrase, it would be ‘pretending to add value.’ … The key to career advancement is appearing valuable despite all hard evidence to the contrary. … If you add any actual value to your company today, your career is probably not moving in the right direction. Real work is for people at the bottom who plan to stay there.”

Work sociologists are of similar view – the art of slacking off at work is a marginal, if not negligible, phenomenon. At the end of the day, people are eager to be a part of the intensification of work to avoid being the weakest link and potentially losing their job.

In a world where overworking has become a badge of honor, one TikTok creator is shaking things up with the concept of “Bare Minimum Mondays.” But is it a harmless way to balance work and life or a sign of the entitled, lazy millennial workforce?

The Rise of “Bare Minimum Mondays”: A Controversial Workplace Trend

According to Marisa Jo Mayes, who is credited with coining the latest work fad and popularizing it, Bare Minimum Mondays are about doing just enough to get by at work. Instead of pushing yourself to meet unrealistic expectations, you simply do the minimum required to get the job done. It’s about taking care of yourself and not burning out, while still fulfilling your responsibilities.

There’s a lot of debate surrounding the merits of Bare Minimum Mondays. Some people think it’s a way to be lazy and unproductive, while others believe it’s an empowering way to work smarter, not harder.

At first glance, this might seem like slacking off at work or not caring about your job. But is it really? In today’s society, where we’re constantly connected to work through our phones and laptops, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of boundaries. Bare Minimum Mondays is a reminder that it’s okay to prioritize self-care and mental health, even in the workplace.

The bare minimum is survival mode. For younger workers, that means automating emails to send in chunks at various times throughout the day, raising pointless details to drag meetings — or even worse yet, blatantly browsing ESPN or Reddit at work.

“We’re living in a world where hustle culture is glorified, and burnout is almost expected,” rues Alicia Campbell, a part-time business retail contributor. “Bare Minimum Mondays is a reminder that we don’t have to succumb to that pressure. It’s okay to take care of ourselves and not push ourselves to the brink of exhaustion every day of the week.”

Nothing against such bold moves, but for someone who loves their job and enjoys putting themselves out there in new ways every day, the thought of doing just ‘enough’ to get by is scary.

However, it’s important to note that the latest workplace trend has its limits. It’s one thing to take care of yourself and prevent burnout, but it’s another to completely disregard your responsibilities and leave your colleagues to pick up the slack. Companies might interpret this concept as a lack of commitment or an entitlement to a work-life balance that goes beyond reasonable expectations. And that’s where this whole trend get tricky. How do you balance the need for survival with your personal goals and aspirations?

It’s not just about doing the bare minimum. If you’re in a position of leadership, or if you’re regularly performing tasks that require a lot of interaction with other people, then it’s important to take time for yourself and your mental health. This is especially true for those who have children or are otherwise responsible for others’ well-being.

Finding the right balance

The key to Bare Minimum Mondays is understanding the limits. If you don’t have time to do everything that needs to be done during the day, it’s okay to say no and prioritize what matters most. It’s also important not to feel guilty about this approach — after all, it’s better than burning out and being miserable at work.

The concept of Bare Minimum Mondays may seem like a license to slack off, but it’s really about setting realistic expectations for ourselves. We can still be productive and efficient while prioritizing our mental health and well-being. It’s about finding a balance that works for us and our workplace.

The reality is that the latest office trend of Bare Minimum Mondays is a double-edged sword. While it’s important to prioritize our mental health and well-being, we also have a responsibility to our colleagues and employers. It’s about finding the right balance that works for us and our workplace.

As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving world of work, it’s important to remember that we’re not robots. We need breaks and downtime to function at our best. Whether it’s through Bare Minimum Mondays or Quiet Quitting, taking care of ourselves should always be a priority.

Bare Minimum Mondays may seem like a tongue-in-cheek concept, but it raises important questions about the expectations we place on ourselves and others in the workplace. It’s up to us to find the balance between self-care and fulfilling our responsibilities, without compromising on either.

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