Satirical women’s magazine Reductress recently announced the release of a brand new book that takes on a subject that looms over many of today’s young workers: Toxic Productivity.
The collection of comedic essays capitalizes on a common desire among consumers today: to poke fun at hustle culture, the attention economy, and other contributors to stress and burn out at the workplace and home.
It’s also evidence of a larger trend within the public imagination — one outcome of a massive push away from harmful habits and mindless work in favor of mindfulness, work-life balance, and other wellness practices.
This trend has occasionally been termed the “Anti-Work” movement, frequently associated with quiet quitting and the so-called Great Resignation. But, that only encompasses a portion of this complicated cultural moment.
Concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the oncoming recession, and the harmful effects of social media have weighed heavily on everyone and have left many in search of more time to prioritize themselves. To survive during these fast-paced, troubling times, people are beginning to slow down their lives and take time out of their days to rest and recharge.
In short, people are looking for a little more “nothing” in their lives.
To tackle this widespread culture shift, we at Quilt.AI decided to use Sphere to analyze the causes and effects of the move away from unrestrained productivity. Using more than 3.2 million unique searches, 50 keywords, and 800 Twitter Posts, we broke down the ways in which people are disconnecting and withdrawing and even took the time to show how brands can transform themselves to keep up with the times.
Here are our results:
To respond to growing frustrations with toxic productivity, economic worries, and the attention economy, many consumers have decided to do… nothing. However, doing “nothing” is really more of an active choice to avoid the persistent stressors of work, life, and online connectivity by practicing healthy alternatives.
Our analysis has identified many of the top alternatives discussed online: mindfulness, grounding, monotasking, and #NOMO (no more fear of missing out) have all made a splash as healthy practices in a stressful world:
Sphere also uncovered the common association that the “nothingness” discourse has with nature, meditation, and self-care on Twitter:
Users who have taken time out of their day to do “nothing” have reported, among other things, being more mindful of their happiness, more energized from nature, and more thankful for employers who have respected their mental health needs:
Most importantly, though, tweets about stepping back from the chaos of everyday life have a comparatively high approval — evidence of the positive impact that doing nothing has had for overstressed workers and consumers.
Download the full report to find out more.
synthesizing vast data into actionable insights that reflect each market's unique cultural and economic backdrop
grasping the distinct consumer perspectives that these diverse regions offer
Curated digital profiles:
-Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok (US)
-Weibo and Douyin (China)
Pulled 400 million unique searches to estimate the growth of each segment
Used Quilt.AI’s Sphere language and image capabilities to categorise lifestyle areas into specific segments
These consumers are confident, bold, and comfortable with modern masculinity. They also often turn to social media to express their personal style and interests.
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Actionable Insight: Collaborate with high-profile fashion influencers to create vibrant, trend-setting campaigns that resonate with this segment's desire for attention and admiration.
Highly image-driven, these individuals often seek validation through their appearance and are likely to engage heavily with both grooming and fashion products.
Actionable Insight:Leverage digital marketing strategies that feature before-and-after visuals and testimonials that showcase the transformative power of the products
These men aim to be recognized as modern, open-minded, and sensitive – embodying the image of "the woke good guy" in today's society by actively participating in movements related to activism and gender equality.
Actionable Insight:Design marketing campaigns that highlight their participation in these movements, showcasing products that enable them to express and amplify their desired social identities.
They value beauty while still maintaining traditional masculine ideals of what it means to be good-looking. These men also tend to seek out methods of maintaining their youthful appearances.
Actionable Insight:Market products that boost physical appeal and suit active lifestyles, and focus on dynamic marketing that highlights masculine elegance.
Despite seeing gender in traditionally binary terms, these men aren’t afraid of behaving in more feminine manners. They own their uniqueness and tend to be deeply loyal to brands that affirm their identity.
Actionable Insight:Focusing on brand narratives that celebrate individuality and personal expression will better engage this segment. Brands can also offer personalized services to maintain their commitment.
Despite seeing gender in traditionally binary terms, these men aren’t afraid of behaving in more feminine manners. They own their uniqueness and tend to be deeply loyal to brands that affirm their identity.
Actionable Insight:Focusing on brand narratives that celebrate individuality and personal expression will better engage this segment. Brands can also offer personalized services to maintain their commitment.
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