The Times’s Harry Wallop writes perceptively today about the career and changing HR views of Tom Aikens, a chef. Aikens cut his teeth working 100-hour weeks from 5.30 am to 1 am most days under the Parisian masterchef Joël Robuchon. On Friday nights he was required to deep-clean the restaurant until 5 am with cleaning supplies paid for out of his own pocket. Aikens now lets most staff at his Muse restaurant in London have three and a half days off a week. Many only have to work the 8 am to 4 pm shift. He (and Wallop) welcome the change and note an emerging alternative to the “quiet quitting” craze that followed the pandemic as Gen Z workers wondered if there was more to life. It’s called quiet thriving, and it involves candid talk with employers about hours, likes and dislikes, including out-of-hours emails. Sometimes, though, thriving involves out-of-hours work.
