Do you love your job? If you said no, you’re not alone. Recent surveys show that only 1 in 5 Americans are passionate about their work. No wonder quiet quitting is on the rise.

A Work Place Revolution

The pandemic has allowed people to reimagine the work place. Many kinds of work could be performed at home. Commutes went away, saving a worker time and money. Schedules became more flexible. There was hope for a better work-life balance.

2020 – The COVID-19 Pandemic

Millions of employees were fired, furloughed, or had their hours cut because of the pandemic. With those job losses, many people lost their health insurance, adding insult to injury while COVID swept the country.

2021 – The Great Resignation

Millions of people left their job (and continue to do so) for a number of reasons. Many people dealt with employers that paid then poorly, did not provide safe work conditions, or took advantage of them in other ways. Some jobs forced people to return to the office instead of allowing remote work. Others required employees to get COVID vaccinations when they did not want to. Let’s not forget the families. Child care was not always easy to find (or afford) when kids had to do remote school. Many parents had to step away from their jobs to be there for their children.

2022 – Quiet Quitting

Enter the era of quiet quitting — the biggest misnomer of all time. Why? Because these people do not quit their jobs. They continue to do their job. In fact, they do exactly what their job description entails. What they do not do is bend over backwards for a job that does not support them or give them meaning and purpose. The evolution in the work place made people reassessed their life priorities, and, I say, more power to them.

Why People Quiet Quit

It’s not hard to imagine why so many people get frustrated by their job. Maybe it’s a commute so traffic jammed that an old man walking with a cane makes it to the street corner before you do. Speaking of jams, what about printers, copiers, or computers that constantly break down. How can you do your job when your employer doesn’t give you the tools you need to succeed?

These things are annoying, yes, but the biggest issue by far is your boss (and your boss’s boss) and how you are treated. You see it in spades in the Mike Judge classic Office Space. Whether it’s the micromanaging, unreasonable demands, inflexibility, inflated egos, or lack of empathy, you probably know a boss who has some of the same bad behaviors. Look what happened to these characters.

Peter

Peter is essentially stalked by his boss. He’s there at every turn, repeatedly criticizing him for minor (inconsequential) mistakes and demanding he work the weekend without even asking if he’s available.

Michael Bolton

It’s hard having the same name as a celebrity you don’t like. It’s worse when people constantly talk about it and ignore how well you actually do your job. Despite being one of the best software programmers in the office, he gets fired.

Samir

Samir is another top-notch software programmer who gets the short end of the stick. Not only is he let go but no one could (or even tried to) pronounce his last name, Nagheenanaj. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), anyone?

Milton

Poor Milton had his desk moved more times than he could count and without reason. His boss messed with him by taking his stapler and by talking about him behind his back.

Joanna

A waitress, Joanna was berated by her boss because she didn’t wear more than the 15 required pieces of “flair” with her uniform. He complained not because she was not doing her job but because she didn’t go above and beyond.

Quiet Quitting the Right Way

No one deserves to work in a toxic environment. That’s why it upsets me to see articles on how to “make your job more enjoyable” that do nothing to solve the problem. Sorry, Karen, but putting a plant on your desk or a photo of a loved one on the wall is not going to make that toxicity go away. It’s almost as if these articles are written by bosses to put the onus on their employees rather than on themselves.

If you are thinking about quiet quitting, consider the following before you take action:

Do Your Job

It sounds obvious but know your contractual obligations. That said, make sure you have a written job description. Ask for one if you need to. Do your job and do it well but know when you can say no.

Communicate

If no one is willing to communicate, nothing is going to change. Talk to your boss about your concerns, and if you are concerned about retaliation, consider reaching out to HR instead.

Collaborate

You are unlikely the only person dealing with a toxic workplace. There is strength in numbers. Talk with your coworkers and join together to approach your employer with your concerns, if needed.

Document

Not everyone is going to take you at your word. If something toxic happens in the workplace, write it down or report it. It’s important to have something to reference if there is ever a dispute.

Assess

Not everyone has the freedom to leave their job, especially if they have no other job opportunities in the pipeline. You may have a family to support or you may need the health coverage. Whatever your situation, think about what it is you need and want from your job and be true to yourself. What do you like about your current job and what would you change? Are you comfortable enough to keep working there? Are you willing to look for another job in this field? Is there anything else you would like to do? Do you have enough money to take time off if you wanted to look for other work? These are questions only you know the answer to.

Finding Balance

Quiet quitting is not going away nor should it. We all have bills to pay but life cannot only be about work.

Find balance in life. It is important to have a life outside of work but your work life needs to be satisfying too, at the very least manageable. Remember that a third of your life will be spent working! Make it count.

 

11 Surprising Job Satisfaction Statistics (2022). (2022). Apollo Technical LLC. https://www.apollotechnical.com/job-satisfaction-statistics/#:~:text=In%20the%20U.S.%2C%2065%25%20of,come%20to%20the%20right%20place.

Effects of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic (CPS). (2022). BLS.gov. https://www.bls.gov/cps/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm

Ellerbeck, S. (2022). Great Resignation not over: 20% of workers will quit in 2022. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/the-great-resignation-is-not-over/

How Many Americans Have Lost Jobs with Employer Health Coverage During the Pandemic? (2020). Commonwealthfund.org. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.26099/q9p1-tz63

How Many Hours Does the Average Person Work Per Week? (2021). FreshBooks. https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/productivity/how-many-hours-does-the-average-person-work#:~:text=It%20has%20been%20estimated%20that,average%20hours%20per%20week%20worked.

Quiet Quitting Is About Bad Bosses, Not Bad Employees. (2022). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/08/quiet-quitting-is-about-bad-bosses-not-bad-employees