What ignites friction in people’s daily lives, and why should we care?

The quote above encapsulates something essential of our time. We may guess the described actions refer to phenomena such as sustainability fatigue. But instead of guesswork, Miltton wanted to understand better how the changing actions of individuals and groups change society. We soon realized that to understand that change, we must first understand the underlying frictions.

Therefore, we embarked on a mission to uncover the things in society that create friction in people’s daily lives and decided to conduct a mix of anthropological and quantitative studies in spring of 2023. We have now packaged the resulting insights into a publication named Friction Insights 2023.

Straight to the key point: it turned out that our sense of agency is at stake

There is no one definition of agency, but we refer to it as the power of both individuals and groups to be active players, not just passive recipients. In other words, agency is an ability to act.

As part of Friction Insights 2023, we identified five deeply intertwined frictions to shed light on the evolving socio-cultural currents that affect agency. Here’s a quick glimpse into the frictions – accompanied by memes we find to crystallize the frictions and serve as a sort of period piece.

There is a fundamental mismatch between individual action and systemic problems. The micro level of individual action feels like fighting against windmills, and the macro level of systemic problems impossible to grasp.

Image: @middleclassfancy (Instagram)

The times of uncertainty create anxiety and discomfort that result in a desire for control. Paradoxically, the world is out of one’s control.

Image: K.C. Green, “On Fire” (Gunshow comic #648)

Engaging in societal matters requires a reserve of – increasingly emotional – resources. Emptying agency batteries lead to withdrawal from societal involvement.

Image: @mytherapistsays (Instagram)

Polarized society emphasizes a need to attach to a particular group while distinguishing from others. People are increasingly cautious about taking a stance on societal issues to avoid falling into the wrong group. The result is interpassivity that overtakes collaborative action.

Image: @freud.intensifies (Instagram)

Aspirations to question shared heritage and norms collide with a structural lack of societal imagination.

Image: @whotfisjovana

Why should we care about agency?

A society where people are passive objects rather than active agents hinders engagement, progress, innovation, and social change across all levels. It also impacts the vitality of companies, organizations, and the overall wellbeing of society.

Why is our sense of agency at stake?

The frictions highlight that we must shift the focus from the individual vs. system dichotomy to the meso level. At the same time, the early stages of the pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have especially highlighted how a sudden increase in anxiety results in desire among people to reassert control. This also relates to the question of personal resources.

With its over-heated debate, it becomes evident that a polarized society consumes our agency batteries that need to be allocated between our private and public selves. As a result, many people detach themselves from societal engagement, prioritizing personal matters and minding their own business instead. This is closely related to a culture of interpassivity which hinders collaboration as people outsource their agency and do not bother to think for themselves. Connections with fellow human beings threaten to break or require silence to remain intact.

Meanwhile, depression and burnout are our national diseases, and unbearable demands are being placed on the individual. That, among other factors, leads people to ask whether this is the only way to live. Is this a good life? But there are no real alternatives, and the entire system suffers from the lack of societal imagination.

What can we do about it?

In the end, the frictions signpost that:

• when people have channels and platforms to act as part of groups and communities (friction 1)
• there are meaningful ways to channel their desire for control amidst uncertainty and anxiety (friction 2),
• their agency battery is rather half full than half empty (friction 3),
• there is psychological safety to bring out own opinions and views in a way that constructs collaboration (friction 4),
• we are capable of societal imagination and renewal (friction 5).

For the love we have towards our society, our organizations and the people around us, we should make it our mission to protect, build, and measure agency on national and organizational level.

It’s not just the right thing to do; it is a business case. It means communications that leave people empowered and more in control, brands and organizations that address people in a way that improves relations in the long-term. Societal relations that become more gentle and productive.

We sincerely hope that Friction Insights inspire you to discuss what these frictions may mean to your – personal or professional – life, and to society in general.

Feel free to request a full Friction Insights 2023 publication in which we have turned the frictions into exemplary actionable steps and foundations for agency that serve as a general way forward. For more tailored fixes amidst the addressed exhaustion, we are here for you.