In a volatile job market, some workers are worried that strong performance won’t be enough to save their career. So they are volunteering to take on extra projects, promoting themselves on social media and generally trying to make themselves and their impact more visible.
What Is Loud Working?
Loud working is a workplace trend that describes how employees work to amplify their professional visibility. Rather than quietly completing tasks and assuming their efforts will be noticed, employees are volunteering to work on high-visibility projects and creating content on social media to strengthen their personal brands, expand their networks and improve their job security.
This strategy, known as “loud working,” has become more common among workers who hope to strengthen their job security in a low-hire, low-fire job market. With few openings, several high-profile layoffs and a growing uncertainty around artificial intelligence and its impact on work, more people are clinging to their current roles. By making themselves visible both within the organization and on social media, they hope to appear less dispensable during the next wave of layoffs — or build a personal brand that will help them stand out should they find themselves impacted by those layoffs.
But will this strategy help these employees survive the turbulence, or will others perceive this behavior as performative? We all know that ambition and advocating for oneself is necessary to getting ahead at work, but how loudly should you be working if you want to be part of the conversation without getting the wrong type of attention?
What Is Loud Working?
Loud working is the practice of making one’s work and value more visible to others. Employees might do this by volunteering for high-profile assignments, posting industry insights on social media and sharing the impact of their work in meetings. It’s a way for employees to communicate their value when they feel that simply completing their assigned tasks may not be enough to secure their place in professional life.
The trend marks a significant cultural shift from 2022, when workers were quiet quitting, or doing the bare minimum to keep their job. But it’s debatable whether this new trend is any better. In 2023, an organizational behavior professor wrote that quiet quitters were less of a problem than “loud laborers” who focus more on broadcasting the impact of their work than performing the work itself. So while the uncertainty around AI and jobs may be new, the concept itself is not.
But while loud laborers were dismissed as all sizzle and no steak, loud workers seem eager to take on extra work. One former Meta employee told Business Insider that he saw coworkers try to take on as much work as possible — even taking work off each other’s plates — to compete for recognition. And an Amazon employee said he found greater visibility by prioritizing projects that his manager was most interested in. So while posting on social media and reminding people of your accomplishments is deemed “loud,” it seems this new iteration of loud workers is willing to not only talk the talk but also walk the walk.
Why Are Employees Working Louder?
People are keenly aware of the potential perks of managing their visibility. Seventy percent of U.S. workers surveyed by MyPerfectResume said highly visible employees are rewarded more than those who quietly produce strong results, and more than half of respondents have tried to make themselves appear more productive or busier than they actually are.
Like it or not, workplace visibility — when your work is noticed and appreciated by others — is necessary to professional advancement. After all, if nobody is aware of the good things you are doing, your name is unlikely to enter the conversation when leaders discuss interesting projects or promotions.
In a healthy workplace culture, managers and colleagues recognize others for their contributions, leading the manager to consider those workers for stretch projects, introduce them to key people and potentially promote them to a more significant role in the organization. But if a manager doesn’t recognize a worker’s contributions — or the organization doesn’t have a culture of employee recognition — workers may need to advocate for themselves and tout their own achievements. This can be uncomfortable for introverts and others who shy away from the spotlight, but it can also keep them top of mind in their organization and beyond.
Loud working can also be a sign of insecurity in an uncertain job market, where layoffs and increasingly powerful AI systems are raising fears about the future. More and more, professionals — even math professors — are questioning their relevance in the wake of AI systems that can write reports, analyze spreadsheets and generate code. Nearly 30 percent of U.S. workers worry technology could soon make their jobs obsolete, according to Gallup. And more than 70 percent of respondents told the Pew Research Center that they believe AI will lead to fewer jobs in the next 20 years.
Abhijit Bhaduri, the former global head of learning and development at Microsoft, wrote AIdentity: How to Become Irreplaceable in the New World of Work to address this uncertainty. He told Built In that AI is chipping away at many of the pillars of our work identity, and that workers may be more vocal about their accomplishments in a “desperate attempt to regain predictability and status.”
Whether a loud worker is motivated by their passions, by a sense of insecurity or their own ego can shape how others view them. So the tactics you use to promote yourself — and your motivations for doing so — are critical to your effectiveness.
So, How Loudly Should I Be Working?
Whether they are volunteering for more projects, posting on social media or speaking up in meetings, loud working could be seen as ambition — but it could also be seen as self-aggrandizing or performative. There’s a difference between losing track of time while you work, for example, and the productivity theater of working late so others notice.
Ultimately, the difference comes down to your motivations. Sarah Gershman, CEO of communications training firm Green Room Speakers, told Built In that loud working should be done with a “quiet ego” and driven by a desire to help others. By sharing a challenge or a failure on social media, for example, you will not only seem more authentic, but you are sharing what you learned with the goal of helping others.
“If you imagine the reader as somebody who could benefit from knowing what you know or from a decision that you made, then it won’t sound self-promotional because ultimately it won’t be about you,” Gershman said.
This form of social sharing is less self-promotional and closer to the idea of “working out loud,” which author John Stepper describes as “making your work visible in such a way that it might help others.” When you narrate your work in an open, connected way, he said, you build a “purposeful network that makes you more effective and provides access to more opportunities.”
In a similar spirit, Adam McGraw, founder of executive networking community Crew, told Built In that aspirational professionals should be thinking about ways to help others and build relationships “sideways, downwards and upwards” in the organization. By working “through and with others,” those people will then share your contributions with more people, helping you gain visibility without tooting your own horn.
“If you can contribute value to other people, they’re going to amplify you,” McGraw said.
But taking on extra work to gain job security can backfire. By taking on additional responsibilities, the quality of your work may suffer. So, instead of taking on jobs that are over your head or add too much to your plate, Gershman suggests helping other people think through a problem or recommend someone who has expertise in that area.
Because if too many people are volunteering for projects to performatively demonstrate their value, it can create a hyper-competitive environment that starts to resemble The Hunger Games, as one former Meta employee told Business Insider. While standing out is important for getting ahead, Gershman said it should not come at the expense of the team culture.
“I don’t want to say that there’s not a place for competition. I think that that’s naive,” Gershman said. “But I also think that an overemphasis on competition is dangerous because it threatens your relationships, and ultimately having mutual relationships of respect is very important for growth on many levels.”
Done tactfully, loud working is an opportunity to not only strengthen relationships on one’s team but also build new relationships in the broader industry. McGraw said many people get so focused on their specific job or their organization that they don’t give enough attention to building their professional brand. But if people wait until after they’re laid off to establish relationships and grow their network, it may be too late — and their motivations may be viewed differently. In addition to their day job, McGraw said professionals should have a “parallel lane” in which they expand their own “circle of influence” — people that influence them and where they can have influence — in an area that they are passionate about.
“Invest time, energy, resources — even some money if you have to — and you’ll have relationships that emerge from those arenas. You’ll get new thought processes and new ideas,” McGraw said. “Some of it will be transferable to the day job you’re in, and some of it will be transferable to the day job you haven’t even thought of yet.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are employees loud working?
Employees may practice loud working to improve their gain recognition and strengthen their professional networks. Layoffs, a competitive job market and uncertainty about artificial intelligence's impact on employment have also made workers more concerned about their job security.
Can loud working help you keep your job?
Loud working can help employees stay on managers' radar, demonstrate their contributions and build relationships that may create future opportunities. However, visibility alone cannot guarantee job security. Employees also need to deliver meaningful work and build professional relationships that extend beyond their current roles.
What are the downsides of loud working?
Loud working can become counterproductive when employees prioritize visibility over the quality of their work. Taking on too many responsibilities may cause performance to suffer, while competing for recognition can damage relationships and create an overly competitive team culture. Excessive self-promotion may also come across as performative or self-serving.
