In Brief: The ‘De-influencing’ Trend on Tik Tok; the 'Quiet Hiring' Movement

‘De-influencing’ Sees TikTok Creators Urging People Not to Buy Products

Scroll social media and you’ll see influencers telling you what to buy, what to wear and who to follow. But as the “Today” show reports, those tables might be turning. The new trend of “de-influencing” has content creators on social media encouraging people not to buy specific products.

In videos on TikTok, some content creators are urging people not to fall for consumer hype. As one TikTok user said, they’re “finally admitting that overconsumption is getting out of control.” Content creator Josie Bullard said Gen Z “wants to rebel against this … perfectly curated world that has been social media for the past decade.” 

According to Marketing Dive, 44% of Gen Z members make purchases based on recommendations from influencers, compared to 26% of the general population.

Meanwhile, 99% of brands have used social media influencers to promote their products, “Today” reports. In one social media post, the makeup brand Urban Decay wrote, “sooo #deinfluencing … y’all still like me tho right?” 

‘Quiet Hiring’ Moves Employees Into New Roles

After “the great resignation” and “quiet quitting” trends of recent years, “quiet hiring” has entered the workplace vernacular. As HR Dive reports, in today’s unsettled economic environment and tight labor market, more companies are shifting their current employees into new roles. Redeploying workforces helps companies meet business needs without onboarding new employees.

Internal job movements let organizations “test things quickly without making huge investments,” says Kayla Lebovits, CEO and founder of Bundle, a company that provides training to help employees balance their work and personal lives. 

Quiet hiring also means moving part-time workers into full-time positions or hiring contractors who provide specific knowledge and skills. In any case, quiet hiring “has to be done with open communication and transparency,” Lebovits says. Management should explain to employees why they’re considered ready to assume new roles that are outside their current skills or comfort zones. 

Ask employees for their input on these changes, Lebovits advises. Otherwise, quiet hiring can hurt morale and undercut motivation and performance. 

Edelman Trust Barometer: People Trust Business, But Not Executives

Business is now seen as the only competent and ethical institution, even as CEOs are among the least-trusted institutional leaders, Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer finds.

In surveys around the world, business remains the most trusted institution, as perceived by 62% of respondents. Business holds a 53-point lead over government in perceptions of competence and is 30 points ahead on ethics, Edelman says.

How businesses treated workers during the pandemic and the 1,000-plus companies that left Russia after its invasion of Ukraine helped fuel a 20-point jump in perceptions of business ethics over the past three years.

Globally, nearly two-thirds of survey respondents observe an unprecedented lack of civility and mutual respect in society, coinciding with people identifying themselves according to their ideology.

In addition, 64% of all respondents say companies can help increase civility and strengthen the social fabric. But at 48%, CEOs are among the least trusted institutional leaders, just above journalists (47%) and government leaders (41%).

Companies Called 'Cold' for Laying Off Workers by Email

Many workers losing jobs to layoffs are receiving the bad news via their inboxes,The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Jeremy Joslin, a Google software engineer for 20 years, is one of about 12,000 of parent company Alphabet’s employees recently laid off through a template email. 

After a pandemic hiring spree at big-tech firms such as Meta and Amazon, many of those same companies are using email to conduct the biggest wave of industry layoffs in years. Human-resource managers say email’s speed at delivering difficult news to many workers at once limits confusion. But many employees find the practice cold and unkind.

The generic tone of Google’s email felt “like a slap in the face,” Joslin said. Afterward, neither his now-former manager nor anyone from HR contacted him for follow-up conversations, he said. 

Phyllis Hartman, president of PGHR Consulting, a Pittsburgh-based HR-consulting firm, said insensitivity during layoffs means angry, ex-employees are “going to look for a reason to get back at you.”