Employer Demand Versus Employee Expectations: Can Bare Minimum Mondays Help Employers to Manage Workplace Stress?

What are ‘Bare Minimum Mondays’?

‘Bare Minimum Mondays’ is a workplace trend that encourages workers to prioritise self-care over their work duties every Monday. Employees participating in this trend only put in a bare minimum effort towards their work tasks on this day of the week in order to avoid feeling burnt out by the end of the week. Employees then return to their normal workload and practices by Tuesday morning.

The term ‘Bare Minimum Mondays’ was first coined on the social media platform Tik Tok earlier this year. This concept of Bare Minimum Mondays came about in response to feelings of anxiety and dread experienced by employees as they start to plan out the working week ahead. As employees review the list of tasks they have to complete, they start to get overwhelmed, and they end up feeling emotionally drained before they have even set foot in the office on Monday morning. Tik Toker, Marisa Jo, who first coined the term, proposed Bare Minimum Mondays as a solution to this problem.

Bare Minimum Mondays contains many similarities to ‘Quiet Quitting’; the practice of reducing the amount of discretionary effort an individual devotes to their professional role. However, in this case, employees return to their normal practice of engaging in activities that go beyond their job role come Tuesday morning.  

Growing differences between the employer demands and employee expectations:

It could be argued that this TikTok trend is useful in highlighting the growing differences between employer demands and employee expectations. Employers are under more pressure than ever to extract higher levels of performance from their workforce. Whereas employees are increasingly seeking greater reciprocity within the employer-employee relationship. In return for their efforts, employees want their employers to show a greater focus towards their health and wellbeing. It could be suggested that the phenomenon of Bare Minimum Mondays has evolved in the disconnect between the demands of employers and employee expectations.

Bare Minimum Mondays may not be ideal solution to this workplace issue, as this practice may simply end up condensing the employee’s workload into the four remaining days of the week. Employers need to consider showing their commitment to their employees by helping them to manage the volume of work that they undertake in order to prevent negative outcomes for employee health and wellbeing including stress and burnout.

So how can employees best support their employees in managing their workload?

Useful tips for employers seeking to support their employees in managing their workload:

Employers should consider taking a proactive approach to helping their workforce manage their collective responsibilities for example, through training and coaching, providing time frames and helping employees to prioritise their goals. Managers should stay alert for any signs of employee burnout such as a sudden decline in performance or motivation.

Employers could also consider using surveys to gather information about how employees perceive their roles, and if they are under excessive stress.

Finally, employers should develop and implement a robust set of workplace policies which can help to create a supportive culture, committed to the overall wellbeing of employees.

Sources used to advise this article:

• What employees want from the workplace in 2023 (peoplemanagement.co.uk)
• Stress in the Workplace | Factsheets | CIPD
• The worker-employer relationship | Deloitte Insights
• Bare Minimum Mondays: a perfect start to the week – or a recipe for disaster? | Work & careers | The Guardian
• Workplace stress audit | nibusinessinfo.co.uk

Legal Island Training Resources for Your Staff

Managing Stress | eLearning Course
Are you responsible for overseeing and managing the wellbeing of all employees in your organisation?
Stress is a 21st-century epidemic. The good news is we can take control of our lives and learn how to manage stress inside and outside of the workplace. Our eLearning course is designed to increase your staff’s awareness of stress and provide them with the foundation to manage it successfully.

Click here to access a free demo of this course, or access it as part of our employee wellbeing toolkit along with several other key mental health and well-being topic areas.