Quiet quitting is when employees continue to put in the minimum amount of effort to keep their jobs, but don't go the extra mile for their employer. This might mean not speaking up in meetings, not volunteering for tasks, and refusing to work overtime. It might also result in greater absenteeism.
The term isn't literal but a play on words. Rather than workers quitting jobs, they are quitting the idea of going above and beyond. Unhappy with some aspect of their current company or role, they choose only to complete the bare minimum. While the quiet quitting trend has gotten a bad reputation, that may be unfair.
The term "quiet quitting" went viral last year, describing people who stay in their jobs but mentally take a step back -- for example, working the bare minimum and not making their job the center of their lives.
Quiet quitting is a sign of employee burnout and exhaustion that stems from the way organizations have long treated their workers. Companies have run people the way you run tires on a car — until they're bald and you change them out! Or until they burn out, the equivalent of a blowout.
Almost 1 in 5 of global employees are loudly quitting or actively disengaged at work, according to a new report from Gallup. “Quiet quitting” made waves last year as employees started prioritizing boundaries by not taking on additional work or going above and beyond at their jobs.
While the concept may sound reasonable, this approach is more harmful than you might think. Quiet quitting isn't just disrespectful to employers and managers in the sense that employees aren't really giving their employers the chance to try and fix their problems — it hurts employees as well.
Twenty-one percent of workers are 'quiet quitting,' choosing to put in only the bare minimum and just doing what they are paid to do.
Disadvantages. One potential disadvantage of quiet quitting is that it can be difficult to manage from an administrative perspective. As college students are often unable to give much notice when they leave a job, their employer may find it difficult to manage the transition without making a big announcement.
Quiet quitting, he said, can also be seen as “acting your wage,” another term to describe doing only the job you're paid to do, rather than going above and beyond with work that won't be compensated.
They can leave their role, ask for more rewards, or take the route of quiet quitting. Quiet quitting involves engaged employees setting boundaries so that they are only performing the job that they are being paid to do, without going above and beyond, taking on new tasks.
The most effective way to address quiet quitting is to have an open and honest conversation with employees. You can take the “quiet” out of “quiet quitting,” by airing the issues out in the open. For the employee to feel comfortable enough to be honest, you should clarify that this talk is not a punishment.
This differs from the “great resignation” in which employees left their jobs in droves. In quiet quitting, employees simply stop putting in the extra effort. They become disengaged and unproductive, but they don't make a fuss about it.
For some, it's come to mean mentally checking out from work and doing the bare minimum to get by. For others, it's about not accepting additional work without additional pay. Many want to untether their careers from their identities.
And yet, according to the Gallup poll, many quiet quitters also fit the description of disengaged workers: a desire to do minimum required work – and psychologically detached. The Great Resignation left a lot of jobs undone. As a consequence, employers have been asking their remaining workers to pick up the slack.
Good people go quiet because they feel unheard, unappreciated or under-valued. It can take time for these emotions to build, but they generally start because of: Breach of Trust: Leadership integrity is an intrinsic part of the employment relationship.
Quiet quitting is passive-aggressively checking out. Quiet quitters will be the first to be let go when the labor market cools.
Quiet quitting can have several negative effects on the employee who is leaving their job without giving notice. Some of these effects include: Damage to professional reputation: Quiet quitting can make the employee look unprofessional and unreliable, which can damage their reputation in the job market.
Create a sense of purpose. I believe one of the key reasons for quiet quitting is that team members don't have a sense of purpose. They put in their time and do nothing more because they don't feel part of something special. They need to feel that what they do makes a difference beyond picking up a paycheck.
When an employee engages in quiet quitting, they stop going above and beyond for their employer and simply do the bare minimum possible to avoid getting fired. In practice, this might mean: Not volunteering for extra work, leadership roles or responsibilities. Not speaking up in meetings unless addressed directly.
If you have nothing to do at work, it means there are few, or no, tasks your employer expects you to complete. While this can occasionally offer a welcome break from fast-paced positions, prolonged periods of inactivity can affect your mood and the fulfillment you feel in your role.
Because employees who quiet quit may set better boundaries around their work, quiet quitting enables them to prevent burnout. The fact that many employees have resorted to quiet quitting suggests workplaces are not addressing or taking burnout seriously enough.
Twenty-one percent of workers are 'quiet quitting,' choosing to put in only the bare minimum and just doing what they are paid to do.