New Work buzzwords explained: “loud laborers”

July 29, 2024

New Work is not only taking the working world by storm with its innovative ideas, but also with the New Work buzzword vocabulary it’s known for creating. Critics of the movement might snarkily declare New Work itself as an “empty buzzword” that doesn’t deliver much on its ambitious promises. Yet New Work continually has its eye on workplace trends, and also has a knack for crowning them with attention-getting names: suddenly, terms such as “purpose”, “mindset”, “softskills”, “quiet quitting”, “quiet hiring” – and most recently, “loud laborers” – are on everyone’s lips. So let’s find out what a “loud laborer” is and how to spot one at the workplace.

Who are these “loud laborers”?

A lot of talk without the walk? “Loud laborers” is a buzzword describing a behavioral phenomenon that many at the workplace find truly annoying. The term, coined by André Spicer in The Guardian, describes workers who are more interested in the appearance of productivity rather than actually delivering performance. They spend a lot of time boasting about the great work they do rather than doing the work itself.

Whether patting their own backs digitally on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) or LinkedIn; or heaping praise upon themselves in the presence of management and fellow colleagues – they are undoubtedly masters at getting attention and self-promotion. They always seem to be extremely busy, but nobody really knows what they’re actually busy with. Some consider this conduct as narcissistic, while others interpret this behavior as an overcompensation to cover up feelings of insecurity.

How “loud laborers” fare in New Work environments: do they thrive or are they toxic?

“Loud Laborers” are very communicative and self-confident, and so at first glance, they can appear to be charismatic and successful. However, when “loud laboring” is taking place within New Work teams, it can extremely disrupt an otherwise collegial working atmosphere. There’s always a risk that the “loud laborers” – thanks to their skillful self-posturing – will receive a disproportionate amount of positive feedback and recognition. This can be demotivating for other members of the team who work just as hard (or perhaps even harder), yet don’t receive the same level of appreciation for their engagement. In a study conducted by Nectar, 83.6% of the workers surveyed stated that being appreciated for their contributions had an impact on their motivation. Similarly, 77.9% of the respondents said that their productivity would increase if they were acknowledged more for their performance. With this in mind, it’s easy to understand the detrimental effect of “loud laboring”, which often creates feelings of envy and resentment among colleagues and impairs their ability to work as a team.

The complex relation between New Work and “loud laborers”

Let’s review what’s at the core of the New Work approach: New Work encourages flexibility, individual responsibility and open communication – values, which at first, might seem to suit “loud laborers” well. They exhibit a high level of personal initiative,and they are very skilled at conveying their successes. However, within a New Work environment, there’s always the possibility that tensions will arise due to their excessive self-marketing. The ideals of collaborative work and mutual esteem can be undermined by the egotistical behavior of the “loud laborers” – eroding trust among team members and jeopardizing essential New Work values.

New Work teams: 6 tips for handling “loud laborers”

According to one study, “loud laborers” are not that uncommon: 77% of employees in the USA have reportedly worked with one. Sooner or later, you might find yourself faced with a “loud laborer” – so here are 6 helpful tips for dealing with the situation:

Understand behavioral patterns: Management should thoroughly familiarize themselves with the various working styles of their teams in order to give proper recognition to those “quieter” employees who tend to be modest about their performance.
Build a culture of appreciation: Studies have already demonstrated the important role that recognition plays, therefore, it’s crucial to foster a corporate culture which ensures that all employees feel appreciated. Here is where communication plays a key role.
Maintain self-confidence: Always remember that results speak for themselves. Don’t allow the behavior of “loud laborers” to intimidate you – continually keep in mind the value of your own contributions at work.
Conduct objective performance assessments: Transparent and measurable performance assessment criteria allow the performance of all New Work team members to be evaluated objectively. This prevents good self-promotion from being mistaken for good performance.
Promote a feedback culture: Establishing an open and constructive feedback culture can facilitate honest input regarding the behavior of “loud laborers”, thus allowing them to understand how their actions are perceived by their colleagues.
Emphasize team work: Encourage projects which rely more on collaboration and teamwork than individual performance. This helps to shift the focus away from self-promotion and towards sharing successes.

The dynamic within New Work teams can be significantly impacted by the behavior “loud laborers” display. Even if their self-promotion skills seem impressive at first, it is crucial to maintain a well-balanced working environment where all team members receive the recognition and appreciation they deserve. By implementing a fair and transparent appraisal system,and a strong feedback culture – as well as placing an emphasis on the importance of teamwork – management can assure their staff that New Work values are not only respected, but are actively being put into practice.