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If Your Co-Workers Are ‘Quiet Quitting,’ Here’s What That Means
A viral trend among workers across the world
In 2021, employers around the country reported on The Great Resignation, an occurrence that saw about 4 million people quit their jobs each month because they felt they didn’t want to be in the rat race anymore. Past that point, however, people in the workforce began quitting in a different way: they began quiet quitting.
It’s a new term gaining currency on platforms like TikTok. It’s used to describe an approach to work that involves staying on in your job, but not giving 110% as you usually might. Instead, you give as little as you possibly can to avoid getting fired, and keep a low profile so that no one notices what you’re doing. According to a Gallup poll, about 75 percent of workers in jobs at the moment have already quiet quit.
People tend to do this kind of quiet quitting when the pressures of work tire them out, and they don’t see why they should go through all of it just to be underpaid and underappreciated at a dead-end job. They might dial it back up to where they were, but only once they find that their job becomes more emotionally or financially rewarding.
Why now?
People have been stressed out and unhappy at their jobs for ages, but the pandemic may have given them a push. During the pandemic, people had time to slow down and think about what they were doing with their lives. Being in touch with their boss and colleagues only through Zoom also gave them perspective. Without the personal touch of regular in-person interaction, praise, or motivating talk, and without the satisfying awareness of competing with their colleagues, many people began to feel a less compelling connection to their work.
Inflation had something to do with it, as well. While inflation has been touching 9%, the average increases in pay are about 3%. Each passing month, people are making less money than they used to, and they don’t see why they should put up with it, anymore.
How do people go about quiet quitting?
When people decide to quiet quit, they do it in different ways, but the following changes are common:
