When contesting a restaurant bill, “Look, I’ve got other tables I need to serve” is not something most people expect to hear from their waitress. However, this is what one TikToker stated in a sketch to demonstrate a new work concept that is gaining traction online.
In her film, Louise Douglas acted out her interpretation of the expression “Act Your Wage,” which refers to fulfilling your role’s minimum duties without going above and beyond to delight your boss or clients. In Douglas’s sketch, this meant not rushing to deal with an unreasonably irate customer in the hotel industry.
On TikTok, videos with the hashtag #ActYourWage presently have 63,3 million views.
Along with “silent leaving” and “antiwork,” it is one of a variety of buzzwords that have become increasingly popular in recent years to characterize shifting workplace attitudes.
TikTokers who have posted about what it means to act your wage told Insider that the burgeoning trend offers an alternate option to avoid workplace exploitation that does not necessitate quitting one’s job.
While “silent leaving,” a word also used to describe performing the bare minimum at work, had a very brief period of popularity on social media, TikTokers who support “Act Your Wage” believe the notion might have bigger and longer-lasting success without the negative implications.
‘Act Your Wage’ has gained momentum in tandem with ‘silent quitting’s declining popularity.
The term “soft quitting” went viral on TikTok when career counselor Brian Creely used it in a March video in which he referenced an Insider piece written by senior correspondent Aki Ito.
The headline stated, “Fed up with lengthy hours, many employees have decided to take it easy at work instead of quitting their jobs.” Creely defined a quiet resignation as “kicking back and taking it easy” or “laziness” at work.
As the term gained popularity, it became predominantly linked with young people, contributing to the stereotype that younger professionals are less hard-working than those of older generations. As a result, Generation Z TikTokers began to reject it.
Enter “Act Your Pay Grade”
It appears that the term became viral for the first time in 2020, when TikToker Stephanie Anne used it to describe her professional life.
“Occasionally, I must remind myself to act my pay grade. Like, if I’ve been working too much, I’ll have to tell Stephanie to go sit in the toilet and go through her phone for 25 minutes,” she stated in a video, adding, “they only pay you $7.25 per hour.” The soundtrack exploded in popularity and has since been used in countless videos.
Videos featuring the hashtag #ActYourWage have re-entered the TikTok zeitgeist in recent months, garnering millions of views.
Unlike other comparable phrases, ‘Act Your Wage’ is not about hating your job, according to its founders.
Maddie Machado, a career counselor who gives advise about “Act Your Wage” on TikTok, stated that there is a subtle distinction between “Act Your Wage” and quiet quitting that makes the former a more enticing option for individuals who do not wish to quit their jobs.
According to Machado, the majority of those who admit to quiet resigning on TikTok do so because they are dissatisfied with their work or are seeking a new one. However, “Act Your Wage” applies to those who are satisfied with their position but wish to avoid burning out.
Machado stated that “Act Your Wage” has more positive connotations and, unlike Creely’s initial “silent quitting” film, does not promote “laziness”
“”I’m not advising you not to do your job or to do a poor job,” she added, adding, “Not everyone wants to get promoted. Not everyone desires a raise, and those who are content with their pay are competent and aware that they do not need to go above and beyond “She stated,
Machado chooses not to associate “Act Your Wage” with the antiwork movement since “we still want and need to work for money.”
Jason Matthews, a TikToker who makes comedic skits depicting what it looks like to “act your wage,” felt that the concept of “acting your wage” provides a more optimistic perspective on breaking working standards.
People typically refer to “silent quitting” as a response to a “bad work environment,” when an employee “no longer wants to be there,” while “Act Your Wage” is used more in the context of “preserving your mental health and establishing boundaries at work so you can have a life afterward.”
Act Your Wage’s popularity reflects a broader shift in labor force views toward work.
Matthews, 39, told Insider that while quiet quitting got connected with youth and was viewed as a Gen Z TikTok trend, he intends to demonstrate that “Act Your Wage” is something that people of all ages and social groups can do to combat professional stress.
In many of his comedic TikToks, Matthews portrays “Jeffery,” a man at his sixties who works in a factory. Matthews stated that the character has “worked there for so long” that he is no longer interested in extra jobs.
Matthews told Insider that he believes acting your wage can appeal to workers of all ages because wages are increasing at a far slower rate than inflation, which affects everyone.
“The price of everything is not represented in wages,” Matthews said, adding that he thinks “Act Your Wage” will gain popularity on social media as a response to inflation and poor pay.
“If you receive minimum salary, you will exert minimum work,” he stated.
Machado told Insider that she intends to utilize her position as a professional counselor to continue urging individuals to act their salary rather than taking on additional responsibilities.
“Everyone told us as children that we had to go above and above to get the greatest GPA in school and to be promoted and receive raises at work. However, we’ve learned that this may not truly result in a pay increase “She stated,
She said, “It’s about giving people permission to not go above and above, and allowing life to take precedence over work.”