Dr. Jackie Meyer - BUSY BRAGGING

We’ve all heard the refrains. From the colleague that says they’re so swamped they can’t remember the last time they had a lunch break, the manager who shares that they were in the office until midnight, and the teammate who hasn’t taken a vacation in years.  ‘Busy bragging’ and ‘stress bragging’ may be new terms in our lexicon but the schtick is a well-worn trope. Maybe you’ve even been guilty of this in the past? Or perhaps you’re a regular stress bragger?  Both these terms refer to the practice of routinely blustering about one’s workload or level of busyness to project importance, dedication and productivity.  Its underlying goal is to convey an air of indispensability and diligence, as it seeks to elicit respect or affirmation from superiors and coworkers.  However, anecdotally, the unintended consequence is that it highlights just how little the busy bragger is able to push back on unrealistic demands, and it’s also indicative of poor time management.  In more tangible evidence, according to a 2024 study published in Personnel Psychology, stress bragging typically has a detrimental impact on relationships amongst coworkers, and the report also substantiates those anecdotal observations too. Dr. Jackie is a business strategist, serial entrepreneur, speaker, consultant, and CPA and host of The Concierge CPA Podcast