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“Quiet quitting” is all over TikTok, with mostly Gen Zers talking about their disdain for going “above and beyond” at work. Is this really anything new, or is it just the first time a generation has used a label to share their feelings online? Or, as some suggest, is it that most Gen Zers entered the workforce during the pandemic when the boundaries between work and life were not clear and now that companies are getting back to what executives perceive as normal, they don’t agree with the expectations the company has of them? Is this even confined to Gen Z? Neville and Shel look at “quiet quitting” in today’s short mid-week episode.
The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop sometime in late September. Neville and Shel will be together in the UK and plan to record face-to-face. Watch for more information as our plans firm up.
We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.
Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.
You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is also available.
Links from this episode:
- What is ‘quiet quitting,’ and how it may be a misnomer for setting boundaries at work (NPR)
- If Your Co-Workers Are ‘Quiet Quitting,’ Here’s What That Means (Wall Street Journal)
- How TikTok is making it cool to do the bare minimum at work: New ‘Quiet Quitting’ craze sees Gen Z workers refuse to work hard to avoid ‘burnout’ after Covid made them ‘reset’ – but bosses warn staff risk being sacked as Britain faces labour crisis (Daily Mail)
- Why Work Won’t Love You Back (December 2021 segment from “On the Media”)
- Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone (Amazon U.S. listing for the book by Sarah Jaffe)
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About Shel Holtz
“Quiet quitting” sounds like the HR equivalent of a market correction. People were asked to do more–often for less–during the pandemic. There was no way that could last–especially given universal pandemic-induced mental and emotional exhaustion.
As for why people engage in quiet quitting versus becoming part of the Great Resignation, I’m pretty sure that has to do with needing to hold onto employer-dependent benefits, and the fact that the job market is not universally good right now.