Workers adjust to the ‘Boss Era’ as tough economy rattles offices

Mass. — When it comes to the world of work, it wasn’t that long ago that the common buzzwords were “Quiet Quitting” and “Job Hopping”.

Those were the good old days when workers were in the driver’s seat.

Today’s job scene is now being called the “Boss Era.”

One worker in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner told Boston 25 News things are tense at work. “I went thru a really intense reorganization and layoff this past winter around Christmas, and it was really scary.”

Still, many people feel lucky just to have a job.

Julia Fan just got laid off from a marketing position.

“It’s really rough. You don’t know what’s going on. There isn’t a lot of good communication between what you’re doing and how you’re doing, and whether or not how you’re doing is going to translate into the fact you get to keep your job.”

That’s a stark contrast to the job market a new year ago as the country came out of a pandemic slump.

“That evolved into let’s work at home one day a week, or two days a week, even after COVID. Then of course we were in an over-employment situation, so the bosses really didn’t have much of a choice,” explained Greg Stoller, a master lecture at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.

“Fast forward 4-5 years. We’ve had a number of cuts. The Dow is whipsawing on a regular basis, and a lot of people are getting laid off both in the private sector and the public sector, and right now, I think the pendulum is shifting back to the bosses being able to call the shots.”

Hence the term -- the “Boss Era”

Terms like “Quiet Quitting” are now in the past tense.

“The pressure on workers has really ratcheted back up,” said Professor Nick Juravich, Ph.D., a professor of labor studies at UMass Boston.

He co-edited a new book called The Pandemic and the Working Class.

“I think bosses have really wanted to reassert control, whether that’s surveilling people through their computers if they’re working remotely, or getting them back in the office, or demanding that they be part of increasingly rigorous, intensive forms of on-the-job surveillance and tracking.”

Unions enjoyed a renaissance after COVID, but Juravich understands why some people might now be staying away.

“When conditions are this rough, it’s not unreasonable for people to want to put my head down, and I think it’s harder sometimes to get over that threshold to saying we’re going to take a step and take a stand.”

“I think we are in a triage situation,” Stoller remarked. “I think that this is not a drill. This is not a blip.”

Stoller thinks workers need to step up their game if they want to keep their name off the wrong list.

“I think everyone, including me, forgets that we’re all replaceable. So, as I result, I think the onus is on the employee to work harder. So, if you’re working from 9-5, I’m telling people to be in at 830 and stay until 5:30.”

He added, “I think the pendulum has shifted that nobody owes you the right to work at home, so my point being, try to get into the office as much as possible.”

Some people told Boston 25 News they feel it’s a no-win situation today.

It’s hard if you have a job, and it’s even tougher if you don’t.

Julia Fan added, “I’m not quite sure completely what the solve is to that. It seems like everybody is just as confused as me and you really have to kind of grit your teeth and work through it. It’s just a hard, hard time.”

It’s not just the health of the economy giving the job market a jolt.

Analysts are also watching how AI is reshaping the traditional world of work, and what that means for workers.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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