<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n At work, there are good days and bad days. But if you were to ask users on TikTok, every day at a 9-to-5 job is a battleground.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u00a0\u201cTomorrow is my first day ever working a corporate 9-5, pls tell me everything I need to prepare for,\u201d a user shared on TikTok in a video that has since garnered 910,000 views.\n <\/p>\n
\n Most of the responses painted the workplace as an isolating Big Brother-like world lacking trust and human connection. The comments echo Gen Z’s ongoing disillusionment with traditional or outdated professional cultures.\n <\/p>\n
\n Watch more Fast Company video content here<\/a> and read more about the source of Gen Z workers’ isolation.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n Stats show LinkedIn\u2019s \u2018Open to Work\u2019 badge works. Designers say it could be even better<\/p>\n \n If you\u2019re a LinkedIn user, you recognize it instinctively: Anyone with a green ribbon around their profile picture is in the market for a new job, and they want everyone to know it.\n <\/p>\n \n LinkedIn\u2019s \u201cOpen to Work\u201d badge, which has now been part of the platform for six years, has become a distinct visual shorthand for frequent posters on the platform. Recently, however, its merits have come under fire.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n \n On July 19, Ben Lang, an engineer at the AI<\/a> coding platform Cursor AI, took to X with a message for his followers. \u201cTip: never use the green Open to Work badge on LinkedIn,\u201d the post<\/a> reads. \u201cNegative signal for hiring<\/a> managers and recruiters.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The post has since amassed more than a million views and hundreds of comments, and notched a featured post under X\u2019s trending topics.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n \n This isn\u2019t the first time LinkedIn\u2019s Open to Work badge has attracted debate. In fact, the discourse has been ongoing for years, with commenters generally falling into two camps: One side argues the design of the badge gives off an \u201cair of desperation<\/a>\u201d to recruiters; the other views the badge as a crucial tool for grabbing recruiters\u2019 attention on the crowded platform.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n \n According to LinkedIn, more than 60 million users currently have the public #OpenToWork frame on their profile pictures. Those members, it says, are nearly two times as likely to get a message from a recruiter than those who don\u2019t. They\u2019re also finding jobs more than 20% faster than job seekers who don\u2019t display the Open to Work badge.\n <\/p>\n \n LinkedIn\u2019s data appears to show that the Open to Work profile badge does its job\u2014but its enduring negative reputation signals that it might still be time for a redesign.\n <\/p>\n