Numerous workplace trends have emerged in the past few years, many of which employers are not fond of. “Quiet quitting” is an example of such a trend, where workers will do the bare minimum—nothing more—to retain their employment. More recently, the trend has been to “act your wage.”
Let’s look at what this means and how to handle it if you ever encounter it in your business.
Fundamentally, the “Act Your Wage” movement is based on recognizing one’s value and the worth of one’s time. It encourages employees not to accept additional tasks or responsibilities without their efforts being recognized and preferably compensated.
In other words, Act Your Wage follows the philosophy that an employee’s pay should be proportional to the effort they contribute.
It’s all an extension of the quiet quitting trend that rose in popularity a few years ago, with a similar goal: promoting a healthier work/life balance through professional boundaries. The economic realities that many face today haven’t helped, either… inflation outpaced wage growth considerably from April 2021 to January 2023, despite many of those months also seeing high wage growth.
Plus, the federal minimum wage has stagnated since 2009, meaning that minimum wage workers have effectively made less and less money each year since. One analysis suggested that if wages and productivity had remained aligned, the federal minimum wage in 2021 should have been $22.88 per hour… more than three times what it is now, in 2024. On top of that, groceries, gas, housing, and essentials are all more expensive, too.
With this information, it’s little wonder that an employee wouldn’t want to do more work without compensation. On a societal level, people already aren’t being compensated enough for their work. Hence, act your wage—do the work your job description explicitly requires, nothing more, unless you are commensurately paid for it.
When an employee adopts this practice, there are three primary reasons they may be doing so:
Naturally, you don’t want to encourage this behavior in your business. You’ll want your team to accomplish as much as possible at all times… and this is where the tension comes from.
First and foremost, you need to communicate with your team members so they know they can come to you with any concerns. That’s always the first step in any mediation or resolution process.
In terms of other changes, a few can keep your employees more satisfied with their work and role. For instance:
The motivation to “act your wage” ultimately comes from an imbalance between expectations of a role and its realities. By correcting the balance, you and your team can accomplish more.
Master Solutions is here to help. We can equip your business with the technology that will enable you to accomplish the productivity your business strives for, so you can A: focus on keeping your team happy, and B: make enough money to pay them well. Give us a call at (630) 495-3830 to learn more.
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