Why the ‘snail girl era’ trend is your sign to start prioritising wellbeing

It’s easy to pass off trends like the “snail girl era” as pointless TikTok fad. However, the ideas posed by those taking advantage of it can help people to take control of their wellbeing.

HR Leader recently discussed the snail girl era and how it, as well as bare minimum Mondays and all the other workplace-related TikTok trends, signify a larger problem: burnout.

With these buzzwords gaining traction, it may be time to really unpack the benefits they’re promoting, and by doing so, help to build a better environment for yourself that prioritises wellbeing.

Joining HR Leader’s sister brand, Lawyers Weekly, Carly Stebbing, principal at Resolution123, discussed the snail girl era trend and how employees should reflect on their wellbeing off the back of these viral crazes.

“[Snail girl era is] an extension of quiet quitting [and] the change of mode of work that arose out of the pandemic. And ... in my view, it’s a more positive take on that, which is that it’s not about leaving your workplace or quietly quitting from your workplace, actually. It’s just a reconcentration on prioritising your mental wellbeing or your family, or yourself over and above work and trying to rebalance things,” said Ms Stebbing.

“We saw first the girl dinner, and then we saw girl math, and now we’re seeing the snail girl era. So TikTok is probably creating a good breeding space for these types of catchy hashtags.”

While it is a fun way to discuss workplace issues, it should not be forgotten that it symbolises an uptake in burnout. As more and more young workers are suffering from the effects of workplace burnout, these trends are born.

“What’s happened over the course of the last 24 months is people realising that, hang on, we were actually burnt out, and if not clinically burnt out, we were impacted mentally by the pandemic. And I think that there was a period where people reflected on how has it changed our lives, and what will we like to do on a go-forward basis?”

Ms Stebbing continued: “Some of us just got carried away with putting the foot back on the gas. And so, I think that this has kind of come about by virtue of people just going actually with the kind of increasing information around the importance of our mental health. People saying, hang on, maybe getting back into busyness mode is not cool … the girl boss era is dead, and now it’s time for the snail girl era.”

The snail girl era is for people who are looking to take charge of their mental health, said Ms Stebbing: “This concept of the snail girl era is just about trying to create more balance, the ever-growing pursuit for work/life balance … it’s really just about understanding that work is actually not the most important thing in your life.”

So, what are some beneficial ways a burnt-out worker can go about implementing these ideas without angering their employer? Honesty and transparency are a good place to start.

“One way is getting really clear about what you can reasonably do in a day, a week, a month, and sitting down with your boss and going right, with the time I have available to me and the resources I have, this is what I can do. And then you can agree together what’s on the bus and what’s off the bus in terms of what you can reasonably perform,” Ms Stebbing explained.

“And I think they’re really important conversations to have because that sets expectations, and then you’re measured against those expectations.”

Understanding your rights as a worker is another way to frame your approach. Knowing when you’re being taken advantage of and what to expect from job can help mitigate burnout by allowing pushback.

“The other way to do it is like what is your contracted start time and what is your contracted finish time, and what is your contractual entitlement to a meal break and rely on those contractual entitlements,” said Ms Stebbing.

“The National Employment Standards contains a maximum [of] 38 hours work week. Any reasonable additional hours have to be just that. They have to be reasonable. Taking into account all things, including health and safety, you do not have to work. Your contract might say that your salary compensates you for all reasonable additional hours, but the hours have to be reasonable.”

She continued: “I’m not an early riser, so I don’t get into work early, and I hate hanging around for longer than I need to. So, get in there, get done what you know you need to get done. Take a break. If you need to rely on those contractual terms to come in when your contract says and to leave when it says and just hold your ground. It’s a good market at the moment … so you’ve got a little bit of power in being able to stand firm in your work rights. You have to be prepared to do it.”

Similarly, leaders should expect their workforce to start taking advantage of this. Treating any issues with wellbeing as a collaborative approach can be beneficial to both the employee and employer.

Ms Stebbing added: “Whether it’s a post-pandemic thing, people are bringing more of themselves to work and expecting their managers and their workplaces to help them with their variety and myriad of different issues and idiosyncrasies. And I do think it takes a more personalised approach to management.”

“That’s hard for managers and leaders; that’s hard and exhausting, but probably something that we’re just going to have to grapple with and do as best we can because it’s not going to change. People are going to be bringing that in. It means it’s like this kind of cookie-cutter concept of flexibility is not the one that kind of got created around the working mum. It’s not going to suit everybody.”