by Ashley Behnke, Evolve Facilitation Associate
Workin' 9 to 5,
What a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by
It's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy
If you let it- “9 to 5" written and recorded by American entertainer Dolly Parton
The phrase ‘quiet quitting’ has gained popularity in recent weeks with Tik-Tokers popularizing the expression and generating millions of views.
For some, quiet quitting means setting clear boundaries around workload and not taking on additional tasks. For others, it means doing the bare minimum. Overall, the collective seems to agree it is about a clear separation between work and personal life with no intent to leave one’s current job.
Most of the prominent news sources continue to jump into the conversation, voicing their interpretations and summaries on the definition and the overall significance to employees and companies.
One interpretation shared by BBC quotes associate professor Anthony Klotz at The University of College London’s School of Management, who advises that, “Although this has come from a younger generation and in new packaging, this trend [quiet quitting] has been studied under different names for decades: disengagement, neglect, withdrawal.”
Writers at Harvard Business Review agree that this trend is a new name for old behavior, focusing instead on the responsibility of management, stating their data indicates that, “…quiet quitting is usually less about an employee’s willingness to work harder and more creatively, and more about a manager’s ability to build a relationship with their employees where they are not counting the minutes until quitting time.”
So why are people quiet quitting? Authors of The Skimm hypothesize that the reasons include: 1) Burnout; 2) The impact of the pandemic and a resulting shift in work/homelife priorities; 3) Unsatisfied growth opportunities; 4) Lack of Appropriate Pay; and 5) Lack of acknowledgement for extra work contributions.
In agreement with the second point, NPR authors believe quiet quitting is largely due to changes in workplace culture from the Covid-19 pandemic. Through conversations with various employees, they summarize that many employees are using newfound leverage to demand better work conditions with others aligning their personal values with their work values—prioritizing family, boundaries and flexibility.
Writers of the Gusto newsletter bring generational trends into play, advising that many fields are full of retirement eligible workers who are staying in highly paid top level positions longer, leaving younger workers who would have ascended the ranks begrudgingly and unsatisfyingly stuck in upper-middle management positions.
What does this expansive conversation mean for our workforces today? What is the impact of this trend on our corporations and employees? Is quiet quitting something to encourage our colleagues and direct reports to participate in? Is it an unfortunate side-effect of bad management and burnout, and something to address with our managers? What are some healthy workplace practices that employees can utilize to prevent burnout and overwork? Should managers and executives be working to mitigate the spread of quiet quitting in their organizations?
Gusto seems to believe that quiet quitting is a positive reprioritization away from the “toxic culture of overwork,” toward setting more firm boundaries at work. NPR consultant, Ed Zitron, who runs a media consulting business for tech startups agrees, and goes so far to say that "The term 'quiet quitting' is so offensive, because it suggests that people that do their work have somehow quit their job, framing workers as some sort of villain in an equation where they're doing exactly what they were told.” (my personal favorite perspective). Even The Skimm authors caution not to, “…confuse this with people doing the bare minimum at work or leaving a company. Quiet quitters are still doing their job, but setting boundaries.”
A writer at The Root points out that most of the people speaking on the subject on Tik-Tok are white. She did find a Black voice who said that, “dialing things back…is something Black women just can’t do.” She writes that minorities are often held to a different standard. They might like to participate in quiet quitting, but often face greater risks to job security or advancement.
What’s Evolve’s take? “In our coaching work, we notice over and over again that the relationship between a manager and her direct report is one of the most important relationships in the organizational structure,” says Jill Barrett, Evolve’s CEO. “We believe that creating a healthy manager-direct report relationship where there is trust and openness is our best chance for addressing the quiet quitting phenomenon. Boundary lines are fluid—just like life—and require an ongoing conversation to navigate the nuances.”