“Quier Cracking” ~ have you heard about this newest term for “burn-out”? I immediately started laughing, recalling another term “I am cracking up.” This was a tongue in cheek comment about self-deprecation, or you crack me up. As read this post on Linked-In I began to see that despite all the knowledge and information in the workplace and globally, this is once again raising its ugly head. What happens when we allow everything we see, hear, read, or talk about to control our every thought and then that thought becomes our belief and we act on a false narrative that AI or someone else or even ourselves has believed as the truth? My mentor John C. Maxwell once taught me this: “Just because you have a thought doesn’t mean you have to voice it or to believe it or to act on it!” It seems people are believing everything that comes before their eyes and into their ears.
Are the opportunities really disappearing or is that a perception and a global media falsehood we have come to believe is true. Let’s look at this from another viewpoint.
Decades ago, before most of you readers were born, there were World Expositions annually where new inventions were present to the world. They touted and shouted how we as human being would have so much free time on our hands if only we adapted the use of the following:
- The telephone from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition displayed by Alexander Graham Bell.
- Household Appliances showcased at the 1939 New York World’s Fair included: An electric washing machine, an electric dryer, a dishwasher, which would get wives out of the kitchen.
- A FAX machine in 1851 was showcased in London, to help the office workers to instantly digitize documents.
At the Crystal Palace in London in 1851 the following were presented to the world as “: the image telegraph, public flush toilets, voting machines, massive steam engines and locomotives, Applegath’s Vertical printing machine which could copy 5,000 pages.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
- A moving walkway! Even now are leaving the public spaces due to other issues, was showcased at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair! Now how often are you in an airport and found the moving walkway is down for repairs?
- In 1964 at the New York World’s Fair GM unveiled a Firebird IV with a picture phone which was the prototype for video conferencing!
- A blow dryer for your hair, was invented in 1910!
- An electric lawn mower was introduced to the public in the late 1990’s.
- A cellular mobile 1G phone was preceded by a pager by Motorola in 1983.
- A home computer was first introduced in 1971 by John Blankenbaker.
So, what can you see happening in 2026? Did all of these NEW INVENTIONS really save you time? Did the world end? Do you believe that these new things changed jobs or lost a job for someone? The answer is of course NO. It is our perspective which has changed. Let’s take a look at history and you will notice this terminology has been around forever.
In the late 1960’s the term “burnout” was first introduced as a psychological term. Then in 1969 it was used by Harold B. Bradley to describe exhausted staff working at a youth rehab center. Next the term was coined in 1974 to describe physical and emotional exhaustion in a medical staff free clinic in New York. Later in 1981 psychologist Christina Maslac expanded this concept in the development of the Maslack Burnout Inventory which became the standard for workplace burnout. So, we can see from history this is not something new or cause for alarm. It is all about how we see things, in other words, our perspective.
Perhaps the COVID Epidemic globally played a small part in all of this. Workers, children, and people in general have learned that freedom of movement and decision making can be globally taken away by a small thing that impacts every nation and person on earth? We got used to staying quarantined and working when we wanted with no oversight on our productivity and we worked in our pjs with no accountability. Did you notice how a little outbreak of some obscure disease immediately throws the world and its media into a frenzy of another global epidemic about to descend on us?
AI has been around a long time. Those tech folks have always been working on the next innovation that will “FREE” up your time.
In the article I read in Linked In, there was a meme which gave “causes of quiet cracking” created by Jason Kaplan. Here’s what he gave as the causes:
- A person feeling unheard or unsupported by leadership.
- Employees felt stagnant with no clear path forward for career growth.
- Job insecurity about their role in the company’s future.
- Lack of recognition and value.
Each of these four things are not new in the workplace. Let’s look at them one at a time.
- A person feeling unheard or unsupported by leadership ~ is this a new phenomenon? As a mentor and coach, I would ask this person: “What is it that you need to hear to feel heard or supported?” “Have you voiced this concern to your manager.” “How can you find a way to get your voice heard.”
- Employees felt stagnant with no clear path forward for career growth ~ is this your employer’s job to create a professional vision for your future or are you looking for someone to tell you what you want and then how to do it? This stagnation is of your own making for the most part. What is your vision for your professional future? What is your plan – step by step, day by day, month by month and year by year to live that vision? What research have you done to answer this void that you are feeling. Your employer did not employ you to help you get to your vision. You are there to reach your employer’s vision for that company.
- Job insecurity about their role in the company’s future~In today’s professional job market “NO ONE” has job security. Open your eyes. Literally all jobs are held “at will.” Do you know what that means?
“Both the employer and the employee can terminate the working relationship at any time, for any reason (or no reason at all), and without prior notice. Unless you have a formal employment contract, this is the default legal standard for workers in the U.S.” In the U.S., about 74% of employees are “at-will,” meaning the vast majority of employers do not use formal, binding employment contracts. This should be a reality check for you.
- Lack of recognition and value ~
- Let’s look at some number here and see if this reason is a valid one. In 2024-2025, 51% of those employees were actively looking for new jobs whether they received recognition or not. 92% of employees were more likely to repeat a specific action if they received recognition. Those companies which have a “recognition culture” built into their system have a 31% lower employee turnover. That means if an employee received a monthly informal “good job” 75% stay. This reminds me of a narcissistic child who needs a reward for just showing up to a game or event. Our value is not determined by a pat on the back. This is an internal emotional intelligence response that each of us must develop in our professional and our personal lives.
This conversation could go on for several more inches, but I will end with this perspective and advice.
- Your value comes from within you, not from receiving external validation.
- If you truly believe everything you are bombarded with externally, it is time for you to do some hard self-evaluation on a couple of things; Am doing what I truly love to do? Am I developing new skills for doing what I love? Where is the “gap” in my skillset? Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate my lifestyle and priorities.
- Who can you trust to be an honest evaluator of these questions and your answers to help you get to a new way of thinking and perspective on your life?
The answer may be worth an email inquiry to me below.
[All images are from 123rf.com unless otherwise noted.
Where do you find yourself today?
janice@janicebastanicoaching.com
8914 Collina Ct.
Granite Bay, CA 95746
908-229-3797
www.janicebastanicoaching.com
www.johnmaxwellgroup.com/janicebastani
