Why the 'passion tax' is the next 'quiet quitting'

IOSH Food & Drink Conference 2023

On 3rd October 2023, Peter Jenkins (Lead Facilitator at Simple Foundry) supported the IOSH Food & Drink Conference 2023. This event was dedicated to sharing knowledge on the health and safety practices in the food and drink industry, with a special focus on leadership, machinery safety and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

As part of supporting the event, Peter led a panel discussion on 'Multigenerational Leadership: what plans can be made now to prepare for the future?'. In workplaces made up of complex melting pots of Gen Z, iGen, Millennials, Baby Boomers, this session aimed to focus on how we can:

• Improve communication, retention and success
• Maximize engagement, trust, and productivity
• Achieve buy-in, without alienating groups

As part of this session, he was joined by three expert speakers:

1. Rebecca Bridger - CEO & Founder at Hatching Ideas
2. Tor Bennett Williams - IOSH Future Leader Community Steering Group member
3. Craig Foyle - IOSH Food & Drink Industries Group Chair

What is the 'passion tax', and why is it important for businesses?

The passion tax refers to the (often high) level of discretionary effort (i.e. 'above and beyond') that individuals put into their work (or volunteering), in spite of fewer benefits, poorer remuneration, and inferior working conditions. Ultimately, it's the term used for those who put so much more than the base expectations in, but simply don't get the personal outcomes that they deserve in return.

An example of this include staff who have gone above and beyond in work, consistently, to keep morale high and staff engaged in the work environment. The healthcare profession during COVID is another prime example of those who experienced the full cost of the passion tax.

Other examples may also include those who consider themselves working in a 'calling', or doing something as a 'labour of love' as a volunteer.

We're now seeing increasing numbers of staff, at every stage of their career(s), feeling that they have paid too much 'passion tax' and so are either winding down within their role, or potentially considering moving out of their business/sector completely in order to pursue more fulfilling dreams.

When the 80+ attendees of the conference were asked if they resonated with the passion tax, over two-thirds said "yes":

What are the implications for businesses?

Significant. Even so far as to say that the conceptual understanding of 'why do people come to work?' may need to be challenged in some circumstances.

During the panel, Rebecca Bridger shared her insights into the passion tax. In particular her explanation of the misplaced perception of employees desiring 'flexibility' in work, vs autonomy was key. I.e. many employers wrongly believe that employees (particularly women) desire flexibility in their workload to account for work/life needs, when it's actually autonomy that is key to the retention and success of those staff. Creating an environment (through effective structure & processes, underpinned by consistent culture) where employees not only 'feel' but are actually empowered to take autonomy of their day, is the key to combating weight of the passion tax.

Ultimately, if businesses do not reflect on the existing passion tax in their workforce, they may experience:

• Higher turnover in existing staff, contributing to 'brain drain' and a significant team dynamic change
• A toxic work culture, which is draining employees in delivering discretionary effort
• Sufferers of stress, burnout, anxiety, and other injuries/illnesses
• Poor public-facing feedback, through platforms such as Glassdoor or Google
• Lower than expected productivity, with an increase in identified (or unidentified) errors

What can those experiencing the passion tax do?

Know your worth, advocate for yourself, and be objective about the impact your work/volunteering is having on your life, values, and beliefs.

This isn't to say that someone feeling like they're on the cutting edge of the passion tax can't continue to deliver what they have been doing for months (or potentially years)! Ultimately, nobody should be in a position where they should have to choose between keeping the lights on, and delivering more than what is expected of them. Exploitation is not a job responsibility that should appear in anybody's role, regardless of how long they have spent in their organisation.

Often it can be little, incremental but compounding, actions that begin to make the differences. It can start with self-reflection or reaching out for support on 'saying no', joining a union of staff, preparing for a conversation like asking for a payrise, reviewing resources on ACAS, and more.

Naturally, not everybody will be in such a fortunate position, which is why we (individually) must advocate for change where possible, ally with our friends and colleagues who might be struggling, and champion for equity and equality in our workplaces, to ultimately create a psychologically safe environment for all those involved.

How can Simple Foundry help?

Through our solutions, we can support you and your business in creating simple but effective surveys and quizzes, which will seek to identify the sentiment of staff in your business. These survey responses can be automatically added to an Excel tracker, and flag any critical issues that might arise. We can also help you in creating custom email responses that are on-brand, and also link to any other internal or external campaigns (or support/employee assistance programmes) you are undertaking.

Alternatively, we can work with you as you launch a social media campaign, automating sentiment analysis on comments, which can feed into a PowerBI dashboard that updates every hour for the duration of the campaign.

Reach out to us through our contact form for further information, we'd be more than happy to help where we can.