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.
A drop in attendance at work socials
This is yet another indicator that your organization may see changes related to quiet quitting. Employees—specifically quiet quitters—are no longer trying to bond with their teammates, potentially spending that time instead doing something for themselves.
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.
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.
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.
After “quiet quitting” came myriad similar terms, including “quiet hiring,” “quiet firing,”and “loud quitting.” Just a few weeks ago “bare minimum Monday” started making the rounds in a new round of media coverage.
The term quiet quitting came about as a rationale for the Great Resignation, or Americans' sustained willingness to quit their jobs in search of better ones during the pandemic. Work did not have to take priority in their lives, and if it did, they could quit.
Quiet quitting refers to doing the minimum requirements of one's job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary. As such, it is something of a misnomer, since the worker doesn't actually leave their position and continues to collect a salary.
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.
Quiet quitting doesn't mean an employee has left their job, but rather has limited their tasks to those strictly within their job description to avoid working longer hours. They want to do the bare minimum to get the job done and set clear boundaries to improve work-life balance.
Understand the root causes of disengagement
So, the simple answer to why people are “quiet quitting” is their desire to avoid high stress and burnout by taking work/life balance into their own hands.
Lack of support from management is one of the most significant warning signs of quiet firing. Perhaps leaders consistently fail to provide vital information or resources to the employee, even upon request.
Quiet quitting refers to doing the minimum requirements of one's job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary. As such, it is something of a misnomer, since the worker doesn't actually leave their position and continues to collect a salary.
In short, quiet quitting has been popularized recently with employees that are just at a job for the paycheck and aren't really emotionally or intellectually engaged. It's about doing the bare minimum, and not going “above and beyond”. However, some are not so convinced that the trend even exists.
After “quiet quitting” came myriad similar terms, including “quiet hiring,” “quiet firing,”and “loud quitting.” Just a few weeks ago “bare minimum Monday” started making the rounds in a new round of media coverage.
Quiet quitting is often discussed in the context of worker dissatisfaction, burnout, disengagement, and the trend of deprioritizing work in favor of other aspects of life. It is often used alongside other terms used in the same context, such as anti-ambition, lying flat, and the Great Resignation.
Lack of support from management is one of the most significant warning signs of quiet firing. Perhaps leaders consistently fail to provide vital information or resources to the employee, even upon request.