Hi, I’m Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Welcome back to Insider Weekly. Hope you’re enjoying the long weekend — we have a fascinating collection of reads for you today, whether you’re relaxing close to home … or navigating what’s being called a “flightmare” at the airports.
On the agenda today:
Behind the scenes of Dan Schneider’s “disgusting” Nickelodeon empire. HR pros share how they warn their counterparts about train-wreck job candidates.The US economy is still in trouble — and a recession could be on the horizon.Insiders say Shopify is monitoring employees’ Slack conversations.
But first: The term “quiet quitting” is everywhere nowadays. But if you’re curious about the origins of this trend, look no further — our senior correspondent Aki Ito first called attention to the phenomenon a few months ago. Aki’s here to give us the backstory.
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The origins of ‘quiet quitting’
Rachel Mendelson/Insider
Over the past 2 1/2 years, jobs have undergone all kinds of massive changes. But none of them have been as fascinating to me as our changing relationship to work itself, Insider’s senior correspondent Aki Ito writes.
It’s been clear to me for a while that the pandemic largely killed off hustle culture. But what was going to take its place?
In March, I took a stab at answering that question by writing about the people who had figured out a new way forward. They were mounting a secret resistance — not by quitting their jobs altogether but by quietly dialing it back at work. They wanted to save some time and energy for the things that mattered to them most: their family, their friends, their hobbies.
Unbeknownst to me, my story took off on TikTok — and in the ensuing months, the idea took on a life of its own with the moniker “quiet quitting.” After the Los Angeles Times’ Matt Pearce’s sleuthing, I realized my story had kick-started the whole meme.
People assume “quiet quitting” is a Gen Z fad, but it’s much bigger than that — it’s the beginning of a wholesale change in the role of work in American life. A new culture is taking shape, and whatever we end up calling it, I’ll be writing about it.
Dig into this trend:
Gen Z calls it ‘quiet quitting.’ Millennials call it setting boundaries. Gen X calls it ‘slacking off.’ 3 generations unpack the buzzy workplace trend.‘Quiet quitting’ is nothing but pro-boss propaganda‘It seems like all my colleagues are quiet quitting. Am I a sucker for working so hard?’LISTEN: Conan O’Brien’s assistant says it’s okay to be “mediocre” on the job.
Inside Dan Schneider’s “disgusting” Nickelodeon empire
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Insider
Dan Schneider was a hit-show machine for Nickelodeon, with his brand of kid-friendly slapstick comedy shaping popular series like “Zoey 101,” “iCarly,” and “Victorious.”
But in conversations with writers, actors, and crew members who worked with Schneider, some said that they were disturbed by sexualized scenes in Schneider’s scripts and that Schneider created an uncomfortable, bizarre environment that he ruled over like a fiefdom.
Everything else insiders said about working with Schneider.
Unlocking the HR code words for job candidates
MangoStar_Studio/Getty Images
Using a well-timed pause or a loaded word, human-resources professionals are able to warn one another about job candidates who look good on paper but are disasters in the workplace.
The signs, often undetectable by job seekers, can be the difference between getting hired and getting ghosted — and can throw unfair obstacles at workers who might not be favored for reasons beyond work, like race or gender.
Professionals explain how the HR Morse code works.
Plus, check out:
The worst is yet to come
iStock; Rebecca Zisser/Insider
Things have been looking up for the US economy. The latest inflation reports show signs of cooling, and measures of growth — from the jobs report to retail sales — have been holding up.
But this good news doesn’t mean the US economy is out of the woods yet. From inflation to consumer spending, there are clear signs the economy is still in real danger of being pushed into a recession.
Why we’re still at risk of a recession.
Shopify is monitoring employees’ Slack conversations
Rachel Mendelson/Insider
Since embracing remote work, Shopify has been trying to strike a balance between building a transparent, genial culture and keeping employees focused while online. So far, workers say, it’s not going well.
Employees told Insider the company had begun monitoring Slack channels, even instating volunteer employees — known as “channel champions” — who are tasked with keeping channels focused on their stated purpose and shutting down conversations that become contentious.
A look at Shopify’s Slack surveillance.
This week’s quote:
“The idea of going to an office for 10 to 12 hours a day to try to help one company get some money from another company over a dispute — it felt not very fulfilling.”
Joseph Milowic, a partner at Quinn Emanuel who has become the firm’s director of well-being since going public with his struggles with depression, in our look at Big Law’s mental-health problem.
More of this week’s top reads:
Goldman Sachs is weighing a pivot for Marcus, its beleaguered consumer-banking business.Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told employees to prove “the haters” wrong — and that did not land well with staffers.”Reveal” and the Center for Investigative Reporting had a turbulent summer of executive departures, layoffs, and staff revolt.Hundreds of Facebook contractors in the US are set to lose work by the end of the year.Insiders describe a “gloomy outlook” as Spring struggles with its rebrand as a creator-economy company.Venture capitalists shared the 37 most promising climate-tech startups of 2022.
Plus: Keep updated with the latest business news throughout your weekdays by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here tomorrow.
Curated by Matt Turner. Edited by Jordan Parker Erb and Lisa Ryan. Sign up for more Insider newsletters here.