Loud Working: Why Constant Self-Promotion Is Frustrating Colleagues and Pushing Employees to Quit
Workplace visibility is becoming a career strategy, but there is a growing downside. Younger professionals are spending hours promoting their achievements, while colleagues are increasingly frustrated by a culture that seems to reward visibility over actual performance.
Quiet quitting and loud quitting have already changed the way we talk about workplace behaviour. Now, a new trend is gaining attention: loud working.
The term describes employees who actively promote their professional achievements, regularly share updates about completed tasks and make sure managers, colleagues and potential employers know what they are accomplishing.
Whether it is posting career milestones on LinkedIn, announcing every completed project on Slack or highlighting personal contributions during team meetings, loud working is all about making professional achievements visible.
And it appears to be taking up a considerable amount of employees' time.
According to research conducted by Tide, a UK-based financial platform, the average British worker spends approximately 131 hours annually making their work visible. That is equivalent to more than 17 working days, or around 2.8 hours every week.
The activities include social media self-promotion, workplace updates, speaking up in meetings, and regularly communicating individual accomplishments.
Younger employees are leading this trend. Almost 70% of workers aged 25 to 34 reportedly engage in loud working, spending close to five hours a week promoting their professional contributions.
Is Loud Working Actually Good for Your Career?
There is a practical reason why employees are increasingly focused on visibility: it can deliver results.
In many workplaces, doing excellent work is not always enough to secure recognition. Employees also need to communicate their contributions, demonstrate their value, and make sure decision-makers understand the impact of their efforts.
Tide's research suggests that this approach can pay off.
Around 77% of employees who identify as loud workers reported receiving at least one career opportunity over the previous year. These opportunities included salary increases, promotions and new customers or clients.
For 15% of respondents, actively communicating their achievements also contributed to receiving professional awards.
Visibility can even open doors outside an employee's current organisation. Approximately 17% said that promoting their work had helped them attract interest from other employers and secure a new job.
In an increasingly competitive employment market, building a professional reputation can therefore be a valuable career strategy.
However, there is a difference between communicating your achievements and turning every workplace activity into a personal marketing campaign.
When Self-Promotion Becomes a Workplace Problem
Although loud working may benefit individual careers, it can create tension within teams.
Employees who constantly highlight their achievements can leave colleagues feeling overlooked, undervalued, or frustrated, particularly when individual recognition appears to take priority over collective results.
The Tide research found that 27% of workers had considered leaving their jobs because of a workplace culture in which colleagues excessively promoted their own accomplishments.
Even more concerning, approximately one in 10 employees said they had already left a job for this reason.
The figures suggest that excessive self-promotion can have consequences beyond individual relationships. It can affect employee morale, collaboration, retention and the overall working environment.
The trend is particularly noticeable among younger professionals.
Workers aged 25 to 34 are reportedly more than three times as likely as employees over 55 to post about their professional achievements. Yet this same age group is also experiencing significant frustration with loud working culture.
Nearly half of those aged 25 to 34 have considered quitting because of excessive workplace self-promotion, while approximately one in five say they have already done so.
Industries such as IT, telecommunications and finance appear particularly affected, with employees in these sectors more likely to express dissatisfaction with performative workplace behaviour.
Men are also more likely than women to report having already left a job because of this trend.
Finding the Balance Between Visibility and Performance
The growing popularity of loud working raises an important question for employers: how can organisations encourage employees to communicate their achievements without creating an unhealthy culture of competition?
According to George Schmidt, Tide's CEO for the UK and Europe, the distinction lies in understanding the difference between being performative and confidently communicating professional value.
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, promoting expertise, sharing success stories and demonstrating results can be essential for attracting customers and growing a business.
The same principle applies to employees looking to advance their careers or explore opportunities elsewhere.
However, professional visibility should not become a substitute for meaningful contributions.
Organisations need recognition systems that reward measurable results, teamwork, expertise and consistent performance, rather than simply favouring the employees who are most vocal about their accomplishments.
Managers also have an important role to play in ensuring that quieter employees receive appropriate recognition and that individual achievements do not overshadow collective success.
What Does Loud Working Mean for the Future of Work?
Loud working highlights a growing challenge in modern workplaces: employees increasingly understand that professional success depends not only on what they accomplish, but also on how effectively they communicate their value.
Developing a professional reputation, sharing achievements and building a visible presence can certainly support career progression. However, when self-promotion becomes excessive, it risks damaging relationships and undermining the collaborative culture organisations need to retain talented people.
The solution is not to discourage employees from talking about their achievements. It is to create workplaces where visibility and performance go hand in hand.
After all, employees should not have to compete for attention simply to receive recognition for doing their jobs well.