Workers Are Fighting Burnout with 'Bare Minimum Monday' Trend

TikTok user, Marisa Jo Mayes, has gone viral on the social media app for her posts about navigating stress and anxiety when beginning the work week.

Mayes created the term, 'Bare Minimum Monday', which results in only completing tasks that are absolutely necessary on the first day of the week and only being accountable for those duties. She began posting about the method exactly two years ago this month, and it has gained increased popularity since with others inspired by the idea.

The TikToker revealed to Insider that she previously suffered from burn out when working in the sales industry. This led to her co-founding Spacetime Monotasking, which is a startup focused on productivity tools.

However, Mayes still had some difficulties with managing her schedule after she quit her sales job and would continue to stress out over making an extensive to-do list every Sunday for the week ahead. Her minimalistic approach on Mondays ended up being the solution to her work burnout issue.

Explaining the reasoning behind the 'Bare Minimum Monday' method in a post on her TikTok account, Mayes stated that she would feel already ''defeated" at the beginning of the week when following her previous routine.

Instead of having increased amounts of workload on a Monday, the Atlanta resident revealed that after completing her essential tasks, she could spend the first day of the week prioritising self-care and focusing on something that would put her in a position to endure a good rest of the week.

@itsmarisajo #BareMinimumMonday ♬ Summer Background Jazz - Jazz Background Vibes

Mayes went on to address the positive effects of her approach, saying: "Ever since I've shifted these expectations of myself for Monday, I'm no longer stressed on Sunday, I'm no longer stressed on Monday, and the rest of my week is actually way more productive."

In another one of her posts, the startup co-founder revealed that some people were unimpressed by her work approach, as they labelled her "a lazy, unmotivated person who lacks work ethic and just does not want to work hard."

Mayes has not let these critics of her approach get in the way of what is best for her. In the same post, she captioned it: "If being called lazy is the price I have to pay to be happier, healthier, and more productive overall—I'll take it. Bare Minimum Monday forever."

Speaking to CNBC, Mayes disclosed that the essential work tasks which she gets up to on a Monday will usually take her three hours to complete.

In her conversation with Insider, Mayes mentioned that her Monday will begin with not taking a look at her phone or email inbox for the first two hours. She will typically use this free time to journal, read and take care of any left-over chores around her house that went unaddressed over the weekend.

@itsmarisajo Replying to @alysialovesmakeup This shift would've saved me so much stress & overwhelm back in my corporate days 😵‍💫 #bareminimummonday #bareminimummondays #worklifewellbeing #burnoutrecovery #wfhtips ♬ Theme From A Summer Place - Percy Faith

Similar work trends linked to completing less tasks have gone viral on social media, such as 'quiet quitting', which revolves around workers only doing what is required of them to stay in a job. This leads to employees not taking on optional extra tasks, turning down overtime and not offering any of their own points in meetings.

The younger generation in particular appear to be fine with completing only essential tasks during work hours. A poll in 2022 by Axios and Generation Lab revealed that 82 percent of 18 to 29-year-old's in the United States find it "pretty or extremely appealing" to have to do the bare minimum amount of work to not lose their job.

Also, the term' 'quiet firing' has emerged, but this method is instead applied by employers who are keen to get rid of staff but do not want to outright fire them. Those in charge may subtly convince an employee to quit their job by raising expectations substantially or not offering up any promotions.