The latest workplace trend, "Bare Minimum Monday" (BMM), encourages employees to do only essential tasks at the start of the week—prioritizing mental well-being over hustle culture. But does it help productivity or hurt it? Here’s a balanced breakdown for employers considering this approach.
Employees limit work to critical tasks (no extra projects, meetings, or deep work).
Focus shifts to easing into the week (less stress, more self-care).
Popularized on TikTok as an anti-burnout strategy.
Example:
A marketing team delays brainstorming sessions to Tuesday.
A developer codes only urgent fixes, saving new features for later.
Slow start = lower stress, fewer Sunday scaries.
Helps employees avoid midweek exhaustion.
Prevents decision fatigue early in the week.
Employees return more focused on Tuesday.
Appeals to Gen Z & millennials valuing work-life balance.
Positions company as progressive & empathetic.
If Monday tasks pile up, Tuesday becomes overwhelming.
Clients may notice delays in responses/projects.
Could normalize chronic underperformance if misapplied.
High performers may resent colleagues "coasting."
Customer-facing roles (e.g., support, sales) can’t always opt out.
Startups in crunch mode may need full Mondays.
✔ Your team is burnout-prone (e.g., creative, knowledge workers).
✔ Workflow allows flexible task scheduling.
✔ You trust employees to self-regulate productivity.
✖ Your industry requires real-time responsiveness (e.g., healthcare, retail).
✖ Your culture thrives on high-intensity collaboration.
✖ Employees abuse the policy (e.g., consistently miss goals).
Define what "bare minimum" means (e.g., "Only Tier-1 priorities").
Exempt time-sensitive roles (e.g., IT support).
Test for 1 month, then survey employees on impact.
Track productivity metrics (e.g., weekly output, missed deadlines).
Employees submit Monday priority lists to managers.
Balance with "Focus Fridays" (no meetings, deep work).
Flexible starts (e.g., late Monday mornings).
Wellness stipends (therapy, meditation apps).
Bare Minimum Monday isn’t about laziness—it’s sustainability. The goal? Prevent burnout without sacrificing results.
For best results:
Don’t enforce it top-down—let teams opt in.
Measure outcomes (engagement, turnover, output).
Adjust as needed (e.g., "Bare Minimum Mornings").
Worth testing in: Creative agencies, remote-first tech firms, & companies battling high turnover.
Riskier for: Fast-paced startups, client-service fields, strict deadline environments.
Your move: Could a modified BMM work for your team? Try a pilot and track the data! 📈