Quiet quitting: something real or a false trend at the workplace?

Let’s be honest: the Covid pandemic has changed nearly everything, including how we work. It’s also caused many of us to closely examine our lives, and try to change the balance of what’s important to us. In the last few years, bolstered by social media, “quiet quitting” has become practically a household term. But is it a real thing? How common is it really, and is it even a new idea? 

With the current labor market offering manifold job opportunities, and emerging remote work options, many employees appear to be re-examining the time, effort, and commitment they’re applying to their jobs.

In this article, we’ll examine the concept of quiet quitting and how it’s affecting both workers and employers, including:

• What Is quiet quitting?

• What quiet quitting looks like in the workplace

• Is quiet quitting a real trend?

• Examples of quiet quitting

What exactly is quiet quitting, anyway?

While the term “quiet quitting” may suggest people silently leaving their desks and walking off into the proverbial sunset without making a sound, it’s actually more than that. The idea of quiet quitting doesn't mean quitting at all — it means doing the bare minimum at your job, and eliminating any extra time, exertion, or "gusto" that isn't absolutely necessary. The employee doesn't actually "quit," as they're still working for the company and receiving their paychecks.

At first glance, this may not seem like a big deal. After all, everyone has probably felt disengaged from his or her job from time to time. And quiet quitters aren't flat-out refusing to do their jobs — they're just choosing not to go "above and beyond."

Some believe that quiet quitting is a development or modification of China’s “lying flat” movement, which sees young people reject high-pressure jobs that offer little reward for an easier, more balanced life. 

Essentially, quiet quitting is a way of avoiding burnout, and it's especially prevalent among younger Gen Z workers, with a survey of 30,000 workers by Microsoft showing that 54 percent of Gen Z workers are considering leaving their job. It is, at least in part, a reaction to the Covid pandemic, which has seen more people leaving the typical workday grind to start their own business, take temporary/ gig jobs, care for their families, or even just "take a break," according to a McKinsey survey. The survey also found that Gen Z employees (in the 18-24 age range) highly value meaning and flexibility in their work, although it’s Millennials and younger 

Generation Xers who are shifting their career paths. This has been called a “passion economy" which allows workers to capitalize on their interests and creativity and provides a path to both income and professional fulfillment.

Is quiet quitting a real thing?

The first known use of the term “quiet quitting” was shared in a TikTok video by career coach Bryan Creely in March 2022, per the Los Angeles Times. But the term wouldn't take off until four months later, when Zaid Khan, an engineer from New York, created a video where he defined the concept as “not outright quitting your job but quitting the idea of going above and beyond.” As of November 2022, it had accumulated 5 million views on TikTok and 5,000 comments. Additionally, the hashtag #quietquitting has been viewed 354 million times.

Some experts, however, are positing that it may not be as common as it appears, and may not even be a new trend. Derek Thompson, in an article published in The Atlantic, pointed out that the numbers from Gallup’s 2022 engagement poll (see above) didn’t change all that much from 2000. He declared, “The term has taken off in part because burned-out or bored workers are simply desperate for a fresh vocabulary to describe their feelings.” Basically, he feels it’s “just having a job.”

But there may be more to it than that, with many workers disconnecting their self-worth away from job titles and prioritizing their personal life. It may be directly related to the way companies treated employees as dispensable during the Covid pandemic when layoffs and a scaling back of the workforce peaked at an all-time high.  With workers too scared to quit their jobs and too overwhelmed to continue, quiet quitting might be an apprehensive workforce still coping with societal trauma.

Why is quiet quitting happening?

In a nutshell, many employees have simply had enough of being worked into the ground and have resolved to set boundaries for the sake of their mental and physical health. And many working people are just weary of it being assumed that they will take on more work without being appropriately compensated.

How quiet quitting affects the workplace

For a lot of companies, having employees that regularly do more than is expected of them gives them the leg-up they need in the marketplace. Most job descriptions have a lot of “other duties as required” attached to them, so if employees aren’t stepping up to do more than the bare minimum, it puts managers in a bind. Not surprisingly, many employers and companies look down on the quiet quitting concept, as an employee’s reluctance to do any more than they have to shifts much of that extra responsibility to co-workers.

In the past, the burden of shouldering extra responsibilities was offset by other perks such as promotability and security, but the concept of quiet quitting implies that this just isn’t enough for today’s employees. Companies are asking a lot of their workers but not giving much back. And as the job market tightens and actual quitting becomes less of a real option, the idea of quiet quitting is likely to catch on with a larger swath of the workforce.

What some experts are saying

Just about everyone seems to have an opinion on quiet quitting, and they’re not always positive. Proponents say that quiet quitting is a way to preserve your well-being, prioritize your personal life, and avoid career exhaustion. But many experts take a negative view, stating that even if the minimum job requirements are being handled, the concept of quiet quitting cultivates a sense of career lethargy and hurts overall productivity. In a post on LinkedIn, Arianna Huffington stated, “Quiet quitting isn’t just about quitting on a job, it’s a step toward quitting on life. Yes, we shouldn’t be defined by our work…are we saying these are hours we’re willing to simply go through the motions, with the inevitable boredom that’s bound to ensue?” 

Some, however, place the burden of the quiet quitting trend squarely on the employers. U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh feels that "if you are an employer, you should catch on early enough that your employees aren't satisfied, aren’t happy, and then there needs to be a dialogue, a conversation.” But that doesn’t seem to be happening as much as it should, with some companies co-opting the concept into “quiet firing,” where companies passively aggressively make their employees' daily work experience miserable.

The economic aspect of quiet quitting

In the world of work, the exchange of labor and salary seems pretty straightforward — the harder you work, the more you are paid. In this simple scenario, quiet quitting wouldn’t make much economic sense.  More work equals more money, and doing the bare minimum doesn't come with a financial incentive. And in some jobs, this applies. Your chances of a higher salary and promotions can  increase when you're viewed as a "hard worker."

But it doesn't always work like that. A more detailed version of this idea is called "the principal-agent model." In this scenario, the "principal" (employer) hires an "agent" (employee) to fulfill a position. But the principal isn't able to get a complete picture of what the agent is doing on the job — are they industrious, or are they “blowing off” their work? So the principal has to find ways to motivate and keep an eye on them. And this has become more of an issue in this age of remote work.

Efforts to combat quiet quitting are being made. The New York Times found that "eight of the 10 largest private U.S. employers track the productivity metrics of individual workers, many in real-time." And they document a surge in companies investing in "digital productivity monitoring…many employees, whether working remotely or in person, are subject to trackers, scores, 'idle' buttons, or just quiet, constantly accumulating records. Pauses can lead to penalties, from lost pay to lost jobs." While some people don’t appreciate being micromanaged, the employers who utilize this type of monitoring fear loss of productivity and revenue outweighs the need for worker independence and personal oversight.

What does quiet quitting look like?

NPR (National Public Radio) recently reached out to its listeners and asked what the idea of “quiet quitting” meant to them.  Quite a few respondents didn’t like the term, saying it was confusing, since people aren’t actually quitting. A few alternatives were suggested, such as:

• Workforce disassociation

• Morale-adjusted productivity

• Corporate coasting

• Work-life integration

• Act your wage

What workers are saying about it

But as an actual concept, people had pretty concrete ideas of what quiet quitting looks like in their careers. And it doesn't involve being lazy, uncaring, or shirking responsibilities. Here’s how a few employees described their experiences with quiet quitting:

Sara M., department manager: "Since COVID, I feel like my priorities, values, who and what are important to me have shifted drastically. I now leave my office at the end of the day not thinking about what I need to work on when I go home at night. I set boundaries for checking my emails and reaching out to co-workers during non-office hours. Most importantly, I do not feel any bit of anxiety when it comes to requesting time off, taking personal days, or especially taking sick time. Before it was something I would agonize over. Now it's something I can do without hesitation or worry."

Misty Moore, nurse: "I have the boundary of accepting as many assignments as I can handle and yet still provide excellent results. I do take on extra work but that is 100 percent my choice. No one should be looked down upon for not doing extra work."

Christy G., administrative assistant: "I do not interact with anything from work before 7:00 or after 4:30, which is the time my office is open. I work in a corporate setting so my tasks are not life or death. If someone asks for something, like maybe a file scanned or something like that, at the end of the day — it can wait until the next day. My colleagues do not feel the same way. They answer their phones and answer emails outside of work and on vacations. Sometimes I'll come in on Monday morning and will see 5+ emails from co-workers sent at 7 pm on Saturday."

In summary

Quiet quitting may or may not be an actual trend or even a new concept, but it has put the spotlight on what seems to be fairly prevalent dissatisfaction among American workers that don’t show any signs of slowing down. But the quiet quitting debate gives people the chance to discuss what’s important to them — health, happiness, work-life balance, and where the future of work is headed.

Key takeaways

1. Quiet quitting means doing the bare minimum at your job, and eliminating any extra time, exertion, or "gusto" that isn't absolutely necessary. 

2. Many employees are tired of being worked into the ground and have resolved to set boundaries for the sake of their mental and physical health. 

3. Efforts to combat quiet quitting are being made, with more and more companies utilizing "digital productivity monitoring.”