Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor.

I'm the founder of Lead Above Noise, where we help leaders activate stronger results in performance from their teams by changing how the work gets done.

So things like development, wellness, and engagement, they happen inside the work, not as a means of recovery.

So the other day, I was in my bathroom trying to determine if my shirt was navy or black.

You ever been there?

That struggle is real.

Candidly, it's been a minute since I've been able to distinguish the two colors in my bathroom.

But later that day, the light bulb in the bathroom blew.

And my husband changed it because I cannot be trusted on a ladder.

And then my mind blew, just like the bulb.

Because as soon as the new bulb was in, navy and black were like two whole different worlds again.

And it occurred to me that the bulb had been fading for a while.

Like, it had still been shining, but just not super brightly.

I didn't realize it, though, until it cracked.

Which, because, yes, there is always a metaphor tucked in here, is what is starting to happen in the workplace.

And yes, of course, this trend has a whimsical name, not invented by me.

And it's called Quiet Cracking.

Have you heard of it? If not, good thing we're going to be talking about it today.

Quiet Cracking is not quite burnout. And it's not quitting. It's the thing that happens when the work is still happening, but it's fraying. It's when we're still

technically doing the job, but on the bare minimum, with zero extra effort or creativity.

And it leaves the organization missing out on a ton of efficiency, creativity, and collaboration.

Also, it sucks our souls kind of dry. It's honestly pretty insidious.

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