Thursday, May 8, 2025

How to Spot a Fad and Stop It Before It Does Serious Damage

Workplaces are often breeding grounds for excesses based on the newest trend, study, or calamity. Many fads are silly and entertaining but beware. Some can be counterproductive and even downright dangerous

Blogs National

By André van Heerden, Communications Director

Canadian patriotism is at an all-time high. And I love it. There is so much to love and admire about Canada.

I’m very proud that CLAC is an all-Canadian union. It’s unfortunate, though, that this country-wide push for Canadian patriotism is in reaction to what the US—in particular its president—is doing. Trump believes he’s being patriotic by starting trade wars with friends and foes alike to make America great again.

Clearly, there are things to admire about patriotism, but history is littered with terrible, tragic examples of patriotism going too far. Samuel Johnson, one of America’s most famous authors, noted that “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”

There’s a well-known truism that the Greek philosopher Socrates is credited as saying: “All things in moderation, including moderation.” In other words, we should use good judgement in our behaviours.

Said another way, excess is often the enemy. Like with patriotism, or sunshine, or even sleep, you can have too much of a good thing.

I laughed when a friend complained that he had been researching the benefits of minimalism online. Almost immediately he was bombarded with online advertisements and instant messages for minimalist books, teachings, and products. Who could imagine being overwhelmed by minimalism?

Workplaces are often breeding grounds for excesses based on the newest trend, study, or calamity. Countless numbers of books have been written, followed, and then discarded all based on the best types of management. Standing desks, ball chairs, and open concept workspaces are all attempts of new ways to improve how people work, yet most fall short of their claims.

Often, the worst excesses are the well-intentioned ones. During the COVID crisis, I heard of one worker being reprimanded for taking off his face mask because his protective eyewear was fogging up while using a drill. The suggested solution was to remove his mandatory eye protection!

Unfortunately, excessive fascination and passionate followers are part of any fad. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines a fad as “a craze or something briefly but enthusiastically taken up, especially by a group.”

A key part of the definition is that a fad doesn’t have any staying power. And that’s usually because it doesn’t have any lasting value. It survives momentarily on its own notoriety but then passes away.

Diets, fashion, pop songs, exercises, TikTok challenges—these are almost synonymous with fads. Many of these are silly and entertaining but—and this is the important part—some can be counterproductive and even downright dangerous.

Tellingly, columnist and author David Ignatius comments that the US Constitution was created to intentionally protect against fads, and excesses.

“The framers hated the tyranny of King George, but they were also afraid of the mob,” writes Ignatius. “That’s why they put so many checks and balances into our system, to guard against the excesses of a government that might be inflamed by public passion or perverted by a dictator’s whim.”

Workers and workplaces should all practice careful consideration before following along with any trend, even if well intentioned. Ask yourself, is this actually useful, valuable, and safe, and will it still be around in a few months?

Just because a new approach to work is popular, or progressive, or even patriotic doesn’t necessarily make it right or safe. For me, I’m hoping that Canada’s new-found patriotism isn’t just a fad!

How to Spot a Fad and Stop It Before It Does Serious Damage

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