In defense of cynicism at work (post-pandemic)
This article is a translation from the original in Spanish, done by the very same author, you can check the source here
The Great Resignation reveals a change in workers’ minds: the coexistence of the workplace and home, previously unimaginable due to commuting and overtime in the office, have allowed them to perceive another reality that few escaped during this pandemic period. Many have decided and continue resigning from their jobs, often in search of other jobs/initiatives that better meet their (intra or extra) personal needs (see Maslow's pyramid). At plain sight not only those who have left their jobs have received this "enlightenment" regarding the mission in their daily lives, since very few escape the question: "what am I doing with my life?" during working hours.
Such unresolved questions are like dishes left in the sink of the mind: they rot, attract flies and deteriorate the environment. This matter along with notifications of co-workers jumping ship in pursuit of their dreams takes toll on the morale and inner motives of those who stay; often leading to cynical, apathetic attitudes about their work life, then about the work itself, and later about the work goals they were so fervently committed to before. The Great Resignation for managers also means fewer working hands, and consequently more work for employees, a fact that plunges workers even more into cynicism, who, faced with an overwhelming scenario, react in two naturally humane ways: escape by jumping ship or row without a stop to keep the boat afloat; whatever, the second option can't last forever.
Hereby we will break down the concept of the cynic from a philosophical point of view and then describe modern cynics’ attitudes in the morale of the post-pandemic worker; likewise, we explore the humane reasons of the mechanics between pressing workload and worker and how to counteract with philosophical foundations.
Reconciliation of the modern and classic cynic
The cynic definition has two entries: one regards the classical Greek cynic, follower of the teachings of Diogenes, recognized disdaining the comforts of society in favor of embracing nature in its purest state because they believed that these corrupted their integrity and interfered with his happiness embodied in carelessness, self-sufficiency and unattachment of social rules; on the other hand, the modern cynic is a being distrustful of human goodness and noble causes, satirical, mocking and/or totally detached from the progressive intentions who Oscar Wilde describes well as "People (who) know the price of everything and the value of nothing". As much as both profiles may seem irreconcilable at first glance, it is worth analyzing the determining conditions for the modern cynic behavior: who does not fantasize about a carefree life, unattached of imposed and absurd social rules, self-sufficient, needless to stay sit in drywall cubicles in front of a screen from 9 to 5, admiring the beauty of life passing before our eyes, but unable to grasp it; and so, plunge into a corner further and further away from this ideal window view.
This scenario aggravates further if we consider the pandemic brought the depravation of temporary pleasures that relieved this anguish of the ever rushing life: the Dolce Far Niente (the pleasure of doing nothing) as the Italians would say. With these ailments and reactions, the modern cynic is a classic cynic, but with the obligation of committing himself to social responsibilities that allow him to get by through a job, a job that may not meet his expectations, but be it for internal or external reasons, cannot leave. Unlike those who receive the aforementioned "enlightenment" and jump ship, these ship jumpers add to the bleak picture of the modern cynic. The modern cynic if only, if only he could find that "enlightenment" others find, he would try to break away from the routine that binds him and makes him unhappy, he would embrace and trust the freedom to follow what he longs for, he would become a Greek cynic without fear of what is to come.
So then, what is it that creates the modern cynics? From otherness dialectics, the cynic does not reject his state, he assimilates it and makes it his own; that which makes him sick with this lack of motivation does not generate an immune response, like a wound that closes as soon as it opens: like Prometheus’ liver. So then, when does the modern cynic fall back into his here and now? Prometheus no longer feels pain when his liver regenerates, but when the eagle visits him and devours his liver, who is the eagle? Can be many, one of them are those who Prometheus sees them leaving chasing new lives.
Data concludes for the phenomenon mentioned in the introduction: one of the main reasons for the Great Resignation is the constant innovation (see bibliography’s Stillman’s reason 3), which although it’s positive, by default it demands greater effort from the employee, pushing further common pre-pandemic practices such as overtime and/or prolonged intense attention workload to the limit, which lead to the famous burnout, "the burnt-out employee" or, clinically, occupational burnout.
Byung Chul Han’s Ultrapositive Society
Byung Chul Han’s "The Burnout Society" (2010), explains a couple of concepts that can be used to describe one of the reasons why the Great Resignation occurs at this point in time: the active life versus the contemplative life and restful tiredness. The first is a dichotomy between the need for accelerated production and innovation that requires constant attention focus on several fronts from the 21st-century employee whose employment nullifies the possibility of instants of slowness, hindsight and contemplation. This leads to the second concept where late-modern fatigue is no longer just a physical and/or mental one, but also a moral and spiritual one: the endless and immeasurable demand for attention seeks to squeeze every hour of the day, be it within or out of working hours.
In the post-pandemic context, schedules disappeared in practice and the spaces where one could obtain a certain sense of contemplation of life and its different nuances as well (call it the commuting back and to work, small conversations during lunch with coworkers, etc). Those places where life passed by in slow motion, impossible to speed. Such installments no longer exist because the demand for accelerated innovation has moved out from office to home, replacing the slow contemplation welcoming timespaces. Innovation accelerationism is not the only way to generate innovation; there are other ways such as those of Nonaka and Takeuichi, who propose "slower", more "contemplative" frameworks for generating innovation.
Retaking the topic of acceleration in the work environment, unsurprised that pathologies such as occupational burnout and stress are the diseases that characterize this century. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the feeling of burning out is one of the main reasons why the Great Resignation occurs, which is not a new phenomenon, but has peaked granting it the Great, now that the slowdown seats have effectively disappeared. With this, do not mistake these words as desire to go back to the brick-and-mortar office worklife, that would be involution and a large section of the workforce does not agree to return to the offices permanently, but instead clamor for this slowdown in silence.
Stoicism for the alienated cynic
Macroeconomics aside justifying the need for today's race for innovation, a humane reason that drives this lead toward constant optimization lies in human nature and its fluid valence. Terence was a Roman writer and coined the wisdom of "I am human, thus nothing human is alien to me"; such a conclusion embraces the virtues and shortens the distance between us and defects of the other visible in the mirror and in the eyes of others.
For example, we can relate to a co-worker as exhausted as we are, a quitter chasing the job of his dreams or a boss demanding continuous productivity, it denotes that we are nothing more than humans subordinated to others and so like links in a bigger chain, which makes us equal in that sense. As such, we must estimate the good and the bad, the beneficial and the detrimental from them towards us and vice versa as well, including the subtle spiritual abuse of the demand for accelerated innovation demanded through these fellow humans.
Such watchfulness of the bad and the good brings on another Western teaching: the futurorum malorum praemeditatio or negative visualization is a Stoic exercise inviting of the exploration of the worst scenarios in daily situations and reflect on our reaction to them, suggesting temperance as a virtue to respond to these events. It is no accident that Stoicism was born out of Cynicism, but that is a history lesson for another time.
With both teachings, we can better understand the humane root of our own spiritual ordeals besides of getting a pillar as a guide to respond to day-to-day events.
Humor and rumors as catharsis
Once established one of the causes for apathetic cynicism in the post-pandemic work environment, it is time to retake the classic cynics to learn how they dealt with the requirements of living in society.
As aforementioned, Greek cynics flouted society's expectations of their citizens by challenging the status quo offensively: either through immodest public acts or rhetorical approaches to their philosophical contemporaries (see the plucked hen is the Plato’s human being, Diogenes searching for an honest man, Diogenes’ head and Antisthenes staff).
This transgressive vision of the Cynics to face the problems they identified may be summed up in the concept of Anaideia or shamelessness, a coinage attributed to the female and last classical Cynic philosopher Hipparchy. This shamelessness is not contrary to moral or ethical values but can be interpreted as courage and frankness to question what is considered to have unquestionable moral value. For such practice, some of a rebel and irreverent is needed as well as safe spaces without guillotines where questioning and criticizing is accepted. Such spaces can be the dark comedy audiences.
Comedy roasts are events where a roastee takes jokes with good humor, these jokes can base on criticism and exaggeration. So far, the roastee can identify areas for improvement if the jokes criticized, and compliments if the exaggerations were positive. It is unlikely that these kind of confrontations happend at work, probably due to the public exposition one has to undergo, besides of an established idea of “obey more, criticize less” which takes this public activity to gossip or rumors among employees.
Therefore, the off guard way of criticizing with dissatisfaction at work during informal rumor timespaces is compatible with Anaideia. For this reason, its practice must continue and every management position must be aware of this and create open spaces inviting of the disclosing critique in order to bring these out of the rumors and whispers.
Action pills for the beaten soul
For the employee, promoting the expression of critique may not be enough to soothe the weary soul described by Chul Han. For this reason, the three philosophies exposed hereby (cynicism, stoicism and humor) are mixed to formulate action recipes to help out overwhelmed morales at work:
- Managerial positions, as humane as any of us, can exploit their employees, intentionally or not, who, in mistrust, observe these situations where they detect that this abuse is taking place. This tense situation originates a defensive attitude in the face of a demand deemed excessive, forming a relationship toxic where both parties have the premise of not giving in and where whoever gives in the end usually carries the morale and emotional toll. Analyze this situation and find Terence looking at his fellow from any side while we find Diogenes meticulously observing the demand and responding defensively. From this, the wisest approach is to understand the human being behind the manager and see the bigger picture, notice we’re part of a bigger engine and be compassionate with such figure and with ourselves too, still trying our best within a framework of expectations that are reasonable, sustainable and harmless for us. If even so this is not enough for the manager, the limit of reason has been crossed and there is nothing else that can be done in accordance, but to make the unilateral decision to measure the actions sufficient for the objectives imposed without affecting any personal dimension due to this excessive workload.
- Oscar Wilde’s "(they) know the price of everything, but the value of nothing" on cynics may be the perfect diagnosis of why the constructed modern cynic does not connect with corporate objectives: they know how costly these are and how overwhelming those can be, which is why they can not empathize with what the objectives benefit. In this situation, it is where the individuals’ perceptions are more visible, it is in disgust and disagreement where the honest, real thoughts emerge. Is it the excessive anxiolytic positivity that has made this kind of negativity illegal, peripheral, punishable? by the symptoms, it seems to be the case, distancing what is empathizable and what is imposed to empathize. Furthermore, avoiding this confrontation creates painful disagreement that finds its way filtering through informal structures as gossip and critical humor throughout all organizational levels, taking its toll on morale everywhere.
- The constructed modern cynic in its search to a means of channeling away the burden listens, reads, and follows the dark comedians, who may be other constructed cynics, but with the freedom to openly express their criticism of the status quo, building rapport with their audience: if laughter is positive, one laughs at what one empathizes with. It should be noted that this humorous criticism caricatures aspects of society where there is a consensus of the absurd, excessive and overwhelming; over other issues, it is no coincidence that a popular topic is worklife. Obviously, this type of humor tends to be dark, although white humor can also tackle it with less forum. From comedians we can learn to grant and permit us to react to working life with humor: there will always be work to do, humor that makes it bearable not always, even less so in claustrophobic, vigilant and ready-to-punish spaces.
- Finally, the Greek cynics did not live up to others’ expectations, they rather preferred to pursue happiness through the nobility of austerity and freedom from the imposed. For a modern cynic this would mean being happy contributing to society with what they think is the best they do, if that were similar to their job description. So, it is worth thinking about whether the next imposed burden, whatever its weight, is compatible with our beliefs, whether you are the one who imposes or the imposed.
Conclusion
Hereby I do not seek to boycott or incite to irrational disobey the labor commitment, but to invite both employees and employers to reflect on the conscious and unconscious attitudes that we incorporate in our mutual actions within the labor relationship shared. Nor do I aspire to establish a single truth about the Great Renunciation phenomenom, this article only seeks to describe, diagnose and prescribe morale classical cynic-stoic palliatives. In my opinion, it is undeniable that accelerationism in technology has resolved and eased countless aspects of daily life; however, the accumulation of the know-how of this progress is become an ever-growing snowball hungry of attention that, at this point in history, exhausts the labor soul and squeezes the goodwill of a large part of the economically active population, perpetrating deeper against the overall physical, mental and spiritual health. For this reason, we need to rethink the need for this continuous push for innovation in order to find slower and more contemplative frameworks, although until such thing happens, identifying this exhaustion and knowing how to face it wisely is the scope of this writing.
Bibliography
Byung Chul Han — The Burnout Society
Marcus Aurelius — Meditations
Juan Rivano — Diogenes
J. A. Cardona — Filosofía Helenística
A. Maslow — Hierarchy of needs
J. Stillman Top 5 Reasons People Are Quitting During the Great Resignation
Other resources:
Darin McNabb — La virtud de la lentitud
Peter Adamson — Diógenes, el cínico: la historia del cinismo
