Talking to ... Cam Caldwell

It may be that the world around us is transforming into a vast
puzzle, even a Mystery Play. This situation also extends to our
professional environment, prompting organizational sociologists
to observe a particularly unsettling phenomenon: the silent
exodus of the workforce, characterized by a state of inner
resignation where employees merely do the minimum while their
minds have long since disengaged from producing quality work.
Now, Generation Z, a cohort that can no longer imagine a World
without the Internet, has surprised organizational sociologists
with a behavior that exhibits highly performative traits and has
spawned influencers such as the Anti Work Girlboss and a reigning
TikTok hype. What is it all about? The underlying question is
relatively straightforward. It asks how one can perform a kind of
productivity theater for one's employer or coworkers, in which
everyone pretends to engage in highly difficult and complicated
tasks. The answer is simple: you stare intently at the screen,
make audible grunting noises, wander through the company
corridors with your laptop open, or engage in loud conversations
at the water cooler or coffee machine. In reality, however, it's
all about masking your own inactivity – and using quick shortcuts
to hide the fact that you're using your working hours to update
your dating profile or live feed.


Cam Caldwell, with whom we discussed all these questions, has
spent his entire professional career exploring the issue of
effective leadership after honing his management skills in a
managerial role. In this context, he has also examined the
phenomenon of quiet quitting and its various manifestations.


Cam Caldwell earned his PhD in Human Resources and Organizational
Behavior from Washington State University, where he was a Thomas
S. Foley Graduate Fellow. Prior to earning his PhD, he
accumulated over twenty years of experience as a Human Resource
Director, City Manager, and Management Consultant. He has
authored more than 20 books on management topics.


Cam Caldwell has published


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