Social media is a hot topic and many employees are leaving their jobs to pursue “the idea of going beyond and above at work,” as @zaidleppelin, a TikTok user said in July. This post has been shared more than 3,000,000 times and helped popularize the term “quiet quitting.”
Workers aren’t “quiet-quitting” to avoid burnout. They’re refusing to have their labor stolen without compensation. Idk why there are so many bad articles about this
— Jorts (and Jean) (@JortsTheCat) August 17, 2022
According to employment specialists, quiet quitting is a new name for an old concept: employee engagement. This follows the “Great Resignation”, which occurred following the reopening of an economy that had been shut down by the pandemic. Many offices never recovered their full strength due to the sheer number of people moving on, 4 million per month at its peak. This has resulted in high levels of burnout among those who remained.
Gen Z: “we invented quiet quitting.”
Homer Simpson, 1995: pic.twitter.com/VArq1u0GQh
— Frank Pallotta (@frankpallotta) August 19, 2022
The whole concept of work has been rewritten. Quitting is one-way employees show their dissatisfaction with current conditions.
Washington Post:
“If someone is giving their all in 40 hours, and then want to live for the rest of their life isn’t labeling/labeling this behavior quiet quitting derogatory?” asked a HomeAway employee earlier this week via Blind, an anonymous corporate messaging platform.
One Palantir employee replied, “Quiet Quitting: Doing what you’re paid for.”
Regardless of the definition, the goal remains the same: to separate employees’ identities from their jobs while giving them more time and energy for other investments.
Apparently the younger generation is trying out a new fad called “quiet quitting” in which they put in less effort at work and do only the bare minimum. It’s actually called being LAZY AF! pic.twitter.com/bmLxzus930
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) August 21, 2022
It is certainly generational. There is also a general belief that life is more than just work. It’s not just about the children and spouses; it’s also about finding time for other hobbies. This is why employers still have a lot of resistance to employees returning to work.
Quiet quitting can be reflected in complaints from colleagues who feel they are being forced to work harder due to their colleague’s disengagement.
“It could also manifest as complaints from colleagues regarding the silently quitting employee,” Grasso stated. “Colleagues might feel frustrated that they have to pick up the slack, or may feel shut out.”
To trendy reporters out there helping to scare people it’s not #QuietQuitting. It’s quietly no longer allowing your employer to commit wage theft. The pandemic showed employers will flat out let us die. You get what you pay for and they’re only paying 62.4% of what they should.
— no name writer (@wordroot) August 14, 2022
These signs “should sound alarms to any manager to intervene rapidly,” Grasso advised.
“Much like quiet quitting has become a popular trend on social media,” it could also be an infectious attitude at work as employees begin to share notes and realize that their experiences with work taking more than it is giving can be shared.
I still crack up every time I see a reference to “quiet quitting” because it is literally clocking in, doing your job, and clocking out.
Capitalism did a number on folks that they have to do the absolute most at their jobs, stole their work-life balance and gave back nothing. https://t.co/cNEoGuAkzV
— Brian Gray 🪩🥂💖 (@urbanbohemian) August 12, 2022
Michelle Hay, the global chief human officer at Sedgwick (a business solutions company), told the Post that quiet quitting “speaks about the tired and frustrated feelings that many are feeling on the tail end” of the pandemic. People are shifting their priorities and social disconnection could be part of that shift.
This is not the end for western civilization. It is a quiet revolution, however, that will eventually be resolved. People want to work harder for less. This doesn’t work if you aren’t a member of a union. Once that is clear, unionization becomes more common. Companies will be forced to match the benefits and salaries offered by unions to keep workers happy.
