"Quiet quitting" is a term hitting the media in all it’s forms recently. It’s one of those terms that is a little subjective so let’s settle on a definition and as a fan of World Economic Forum, I’ll use theirs: “Quiet quitting doesn’t mean actually quitting your job. It just means doing what’s required and then getting on with your life – having more work-life balance”.
They also report that the hashtag #QuietQuitting has now racked up more than 17 million views on TikTok so it’s easy to assume it’s a new thing. However it’s my generation, the classic GenX crew, who have long been advocates of keeping work and life separate and aiming to have capacity for both (intentionally not using the term ‘work-life balance’ here as that requires a lot more discussion).
BBC have said “Quiet quitting has generated intense media attention, with mass coverage exploring the workplace trend. In many ways, it isn’t a new phenomenon: coasting, clocking in-and-out while getting the bare minimum done, has long been a facet of the workplace. For various reasons, discontented workers have always found ways to disengage from their job and still collect the pay cheque.”
A lot of this seems pretty common sense, we all know we’re complex creatures and need a blend of experiences in an average week to feel fulfilled so if work starts dominating, then of course we’re going to feel it. It also makes sense that doing the work you’re engaged/contracted/hired to do is a fair expectation for the contracted terms and value exchange (pay) you’ve agreed to. While here in Aotearoa we’re running with low unemployment and some key industries have unique challenges, a lot of people are feeling the squeeze with work to be done, and not enough people/resources/time to do it all.
Whether it’s quiet quitting, “showing up just to eat lunch” (as my Grandad used to say), presenteeism, disengagement or a re-drawing of the lines between paid employment and other slices of life’s pie – the message is clear. We all want to invest our time in ways that matter to us, and work, may or may not be one of those things.
Keeping quiet and almost ignoring the increasing demands or shifting expectations at work might help you get through the day but it doesn’t change the game. It also can’t be overly satisfying if everyone is on a different page about what ‘the work’ is. It sounds like there’s a couple of scenarios at play and each deserves some air time.
A resetting of work boundaries and ensuring you deliver a good day’s work in a day as your contract or engagement outlines? Yes, great, do that - that is reasonable and valid. But a quiet conversation with those you need to can be really helpful too.
Unreasonable demands on your time or being under pressure while at work due to less resource availability or increasing expectations that are not commensurate with the value you’re exchanging? Well then, I don’t think being quiet is the way to go.
In this situation really loud quitting might be better for us all. For those delivering the ‘quit’ it’s giving themselves permission to move to a more fulfilling space, job or focus, and for the ventures, it’s a chance to gather real feedback, look deeper into what’s happening and get ahead of the curve for the future.
Without knowing they’re applying the ‘squeeze’, how can things improve for everyone there? Speak up and see if things can be reset, new resources added or expectations adjusted.
For Executives and Boards, in today’s workplace in these economic and health-impacted times, rolling out the same old 20 questions in an “annual engagement survey” might not give you the insight you need.
“Successful people become great leaders when they learn to shift the focus from themselves to others.” — Marshall Goldsmith
If you truly want an engaged team and great customer experiences, these are inextricably linked then a new approach is needed. Sure, use the same tools if you wish, ask more insightful and relevant questions, listen to the answers, but better yet, ask your people and listen to the feedback in real time too. Then make changes. If you don’t, the impact becomes immediate, cultural and financial.
Like most of the things that can be labelled ‘how we do things around here’, abandoning these or adaption of these to suit the current economic and operating conditions is the smartest thing you can do in 2022.
Whatever your profession, perhaps we can all use the ‘quiet quitting’ discussion as a prompt to find something to quit. Quit a habit, a behaviour, a way of working, whatever you need to, please do so. Loudly or quietly, well that's up to you, but quitting the right things is an art, and it's something we can all improve on. As Marshall Goldsmith also says in “What Got You Here Won't Get You There”:
“We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don’t spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop."
References:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220825-why-quiet-quitting-is-nothing-new
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/tiktok-quiet-quitting-explained/
