I am friends with a variety of people from different industries, backgrounds and levels of education. As a result, I am fortunate to have the benefit of hearing a fair number of diverse perspectives and experiences about different workplaces.
Nonetheless, I was surprised by a conversation I had earlier this summer with a close, long-time friend. He’s well-educated and could flaunt some alphabet soup behind his name, but he’s not that kind of person; He’s very modest. In fact, he fits many of the characteristics in the Inc. piece called, “Why Your Most Valuable Employee Is Often the ‘Invisible’ Employee“.
Dedicated, hardworking, and loyal to his employer, he is equally committed to his team’s, department’s and company’s success.He has a few more years in the workforce than I do, and his employer is a large corporation with close to 10,000 employees worldwide. In short, he’s been in the business world “a while” and has “seen some things”, navigating through the economic booms and challenging recessions of the last few decades.
During one of our many conversations about work, the workplace, and company politics, he shared a phrase I had never heard before, “Shut up and color.“
We were talking about successes and frustrations at work, as well as the “new normal” that has become the standard since Covid-19 upended the world as we know it. What started as a conversation about how the workplace (and world) have changed dramatically over the last few years shifted to recent workplace experiences- specifically a conversation he had with one of his female colleagues, who was feeling that she was not being heard, valued or validated in the workplace.
She conveyed her extreme frustration about her job to him, noting that she liked the company, her coworkers and the work she does, but didn’t feel she was getting the recognition she deserved. There had been no promotions, no raises, and no acknowledgement of her efforts and contributions to the organization for what felt (to her) like an interminable length of time. Worse yet, her efforts to open conversations with her leadership team were quickly shut down. She told him that she felt like she was being told to “Shut up and color”.
“Shut Up And Color.”
I stopped him right there, somewhat bewildered, asking, “Wait, what? What does that even mean?”
Essentially, he explained, it means just do as you’re told. Don’t argue, don’t complain, don’t question; just do what you’re told to do.
I want to pause here and add this side note: Our conversation, like so many we have, was a walking conversation. We enjoy taking long walks and talking- about anything and just about everything. This past summer, we’d taken to meeting in random neighborhoods, parking our cars, and talking while walking through the unfamiliar streets. I add this to convey how very off-kilter I felt the moment he said, “Shut up and Color”. It’s that feeling you get when you suddenly look up and have no idea where you are or how you got there. And yet, it feels eerily familiar, too. The phrase, “Shut up and Color” neatly summarized how many dedicated (but jaded) employees feel about how their employers perceive them, and it absolutely resonated with both of us– that feeling that we are not as important as the work we produce, and as long as we keep producing, that’s all that really matters.
Though no employer would ever say it directly to their employee, certain behaviors scream loudly “We don’t care about you, your opinions or your career – just shut up and do your job.”
How do you reconcile feeling as though your worth to your employer is only as a cog in the wheel of their success?
When you are expected to deliver your best performance, but only receive mediocre recognition in return, how do you stay passionate and motivated about your work?
And are these frustrations a contributing factor to “The “Great Resignation?”
Some have suggested that the “Great Resignation” is primarily comprised of veteran employees in the workforce- people with decades of experience who are opting to retire earlier than originally anticipated. Whether or not this is true, I cannot say. However, I know this is not just about veteran employees exiting the workforce. Entry level positions nationwide remain open, and you can find staffing shortages in just about every industry.
Equally concerning is the group of quiet, but dissatisfied people, whose workplace frustration may be unnoticed because they continue (for now) to show up every day and do their job.
My friend articulated it well when he said, “People are unhappy. They’re not so unhappy that they are going to quit (yet), but they think about it a lot.”
And we both agreed that while there is no one single reason for their workplace unhappiness, the “Shut up and color” mentality of leadership is a significant cause of employee discontent.
Two important questions need to be thoughtfully considered and answered:
- What can you do to improve improve your workplace satisfaction?
- What can your company (Personnel/HR, Management (at all levels) and the Executive Leadership) do to stem and reverse the tide of unhappiness, resignations and job vacancies?
