Quiet Quitting is trending among workers (so much so that even The Today Show covered it.) So what is it? Is it a new phenomenon? And what does it mean?
Quiet Quitting is a confusing name
As The Wall Street Journal describes it, “…some young professionals reject the idea of going above and beyond in their careers, labeling their lesser enthusiasm a form of ‘quitting’.”
So while people aren’t really quitting their jobs, they are making a choice about their lives and their time. As a post from Fast Company explains, “…quiet quitting is not about avoiding work, it is about not avoiding a meaningful life outside of work.”
Is this a new phenomenon?
The expectations that are fueling Quiet Quitting are not new. I came out of college in the mid-1980s. The expectations of going above and beyond were heightened. You hustled — giving up evenings and weekends — because that’s how you got ahead. In other words, there was an expectation that more rewards would come.
I’m not romanticizing it. Letting the company take my free time was just dumb. Especially when the rewards were vague at best.
When I think about it, I realize it was all fueled by a subtle fear. The fear of not having enough. The thing is…
