[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":218},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page:cdn/stories/gb/glossary/shift-sulking/:gb:published:all:":3},{"name":4,"created_at":5,"published_at":6,"updated_at":7,"id":8,"uuid":9,"content":10,"slug":202,"full_slug":203,"sort_by_date":33,"position":204,"tag_list":205,"is_startpage":13,"parent_id":206,"meta_data":33,"group_id":207,"first_published_at":208,"release_id":33,"lang":55,"path":33,"alternates":209,"default_full_slug":33,"translated_slugs":33},"Shift Sulking","2026-02-18T21:54:55.674Z","2026-02-19T22:15:03.477Z","2026-02-19T22:15:03.493Z",146481543906370,"8a21814e-dbfd-4da3-9b1d-65ced5ecd30d",{"seo":11,"_uid":17,"footer":18,"header":19,"content":20,"headline":12,"component":197,"post_date":12,"thumbnail":12,"types_tag":198,"header_text":12,"spacing_top":199,"features_tag":200,"social_image":12,"show_resource":13,"industries_tag":201,"spacing_top_mobile":12,"header_buttons_mobile":12,"header_buttons_desktop":12},{"schema":12,"noindex":13,"seoTitle":14,"seoRating":13,"seoKeywords":4,"seoTitleInput":15,"seoDescription":16},"",false,"What is Shift Sulking? — Deputy Australia","What is Shift Sulking?","Shift sulking refers to the drop in morale, effort or engagement that occurs when workers perceive their scheduling as unfair, opaque or undesirable.","84aefd2e-7b0f-4c2f-bde5-3a09ab210fb2","default-footer","default-header",[21],{"_uid":22,"content":23,"excerpt":88,"component":196},"cb1b10f5-94cc-4d81-8916-47219635128c",[24,65,180],{"_uid":25,"tags":26,"text":27,"image":38,"theme":44,"subline":45,"tagline":12,"component":52,"title_tag":53,"show_stars":13,"title_size":54,"title_type":53,"subline_tag":12,"title_style":55,"signup_terms":12,"subline_size":12,"signup_cta_id":52,"spacer_bottom":56,"show_breadcrumb":13,"primary_cta_href":57,"primary_cta_text":12,"primary_cta_type":12,"secondary_cta_href":60,"secondary_cta_text":12,"secondary_cta_type":12,"show_left_squiggle":61,"brand_logo_alignment":12,"show_bottom_squiggle":61,"spacer_bottom_mobile":62,"padding_top":63},"89e8d3d9-23e5-4f01-87e5-1406c6fa90c2",[],{"type":28,"content":29},"doc",[30],{"type":31,"attrs":32,"content":34},"paragraph",{"textAlign":33},null,[35],{"text":36,"type":37},"Shift Sulking ","text",{"_uid":39,"title":40,"imgSrc":12,"plugin":41,"imageAlt":12,"minWidth":42,"imageName":12,"imageS3Key":12,"description":43,"mobileWidth":42,"desktopWidth":42,"assetSelector":12,"imagePublicUrl":12,"imageOriginalUrl":12,"sourceImageWidth":12,"sourceImageHeight":12},"79db6fdd-50b2-4809-b1a6-d011695bccec","Deputy Images","deputy-images",0,"A images plugin to ensure consistent, reliable image uploads with strict SEO metadata requirements","purple",{"type":28,"content":46},[47],{"type":31,"attrs":48,"content":49},{"textAlign":33},[50],{"text":51,"type":37},"What is Shift Sulking? 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It is withdrawal.",{"type":95,"attrs":96,"content":98},"heading",{"level":97,"textAlign":33},3,[99],{"text":100,"type":37},"What triggers it",{"type":31,"attrs":102,"content":103},{"textAlign":33},[104],{"text":105,"type":37},"Common triggers include:",{"type":31,"attrs":107,"content":108},{"textAlign":33},[109],{"text":110,"type":37},"Repeated allocation of closing shifts to the same employee.",{"type":31,"attrs":112,"content":113},{"textAlign":33},[114],{"text":115,"type":37},"Last-minute rota changes.",{"type":31,"attrs":117,"content":118},{"textAlign":33},[119],{"text":120,"type":37},"Inconsistent weekly hours.",{"type":31,"attrs":122,"content":123},{"textAlign":33},[124],{"text":125,"type":37},"Perceived favouritism in shift distribution.",{"type":31,"attrs":127,"content":128},{"textAlign":33},[129],{"text":130,"type":37},"Lack of transparency around how schedules are generated, particularly if AI systems are involved.",{"type":31,"attrs":132,"content":133},{"textAlign":33},[134],{"text":135,"type":37},"Shift workers are highly sensitive to fairness. Scheduling is not just operational, it shapes income, family life, sleep cycles and social connection.",{"type":31,"attrs":137,"content":138},{"textAlign":33},[139],{"text":140,"type":37},"When workers feel the system is unfair, they may still show up, but they show up differently.",{"type":95,"attrs":142,"content":143},{"level":97,"textAlign":33},[144],{"text":145,"type":37},"What it looks like on the floor",{"type":31,"attrs":147,"content":148},{"textAlign":33},[149],{"text":150,"type":37},"Customer service becomes mechanical rather than warm. Productivity dips subtly. Team communication declines. Initiative drops. Shift swaps decrease. Engagement survey sentiment falls.",{"type":31,"attrs":152,"content":153},{"textAlign":33},[154],{"text":155,"type":37},"Managers may struggle to diagnose it because attendance remains stable.",{"type":31,"attrs":157,"content":158},{"textAlign":33},[159],{"text":160,"type":37},"But shift sulking is often an early warning sign of churn.",{"type":31,"attrs":162,"content":163},{"textAlign":33},[164],{"text":165,"type":37},"In AI-enabled workplaces, this risk increases if workers do not understand how rotas are created. When decisions feel algorithmic and impersonal, perceived injustice can rise.",{"type":31,"attrs":167,"content":168},{"textAlign":33},[169],{"text":170,"type":37},"Shift sulking is rarely about laziness. It is often about predictability and perceived respect.",{"type":31,"attrs":172,"content":173},{"textAlign":33},[174],{"text":175,"type":37},"The solution is not tighter management. It is greater transparency and fairness in scheduling design.",{"type":31,"attrs":177},{"textAlign":33},"cms-richtext","container-sm",{"_uid":181,"link":182,"size":185,"text":186,"type":192,"alignment":193,"component":194,"analyticsId":12,"modalTarget":12,"spacer_bottom":195,"spacer_bottom_mobile":56,"padding_top":63},"30555485-b967-46eb-ad15-b7403cdecbc3",{"id":183,"url":12,"linktype":58,"fieldtype":59,"cached_url":184},"bf429bed-fe70-4a29-9e04-333ddbfe517c","au/glossary/","md",{"type":28,"content":187},[188],{"type":31,"content":189},[190],{"text":191,"type":37},"Back to Glossary index","underline","center","cms-button-v2","110","glossary-terms","page",[],"30",[],[],"shift-sulking","gb/glossary/shift-sulking",-40,[],259339389,"0e3e8742-eac2-4ddb-a8f0-0c67a0896691","2026-02-18T21:55:34.599Z",[210,214],{"id":211,"name":4,"slug":202,"published":61,"full_slug":212,"is_folder":13,"parent_id":213},146481549206595,"us/glossary/shift-sulking",259339408,{"id":215,"name":4,"slug":202,"published":61,"full_slug":216,"is_folder":13,"parent_id":217},146480814052401,"au/glossary/shift-sulking",258669132,1793077663943]