#QuietQuitting and the question of how much to give at work

A new TikTok trend has employees giving less effort at work; is this a good idea?

Today's expression: Above and beyond
Explore more: Lesson #503
September 15, 2022:

Reeling from burnout and an always-on culture, many in Gen Z are subscribing to #QuietQuitting, the idea that they shouldn't give too much at work. But there are multiple interpretations to the term and career coaches warn of the consequences. Plus, learn the English phrase "above and beyond."

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#QuietQuitting: Is this a good idea?

Lesson summary

Hi there everyone, I’m Jeff and this is Plain English lesson number 503 on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Happy Independence Day to JR and all our Mexican listeners today. The full lesson is available at PlainEnglish.com/503. JR uploaded all that last night so he can take today off to celebrate.

Coming up today: Every generation thinks it invents…slacking off. And Gen Z is no different. The latest TikTok craze is “quiet quitting.” We’ll talk about what that term means and whether it’s a good idea or not.

The English expression we’ll talk about today is “above and beyond.” And JR has selected a song of the week. Let’s get started.

Quiet quitting: a good idea?

If you’re on TikTok—or if you read the business news—you may have heard the term “quiet quitting.” Back in July, a TikTok user named Zaid Khan posted a video in which he said that “quiet quitting” means “not outright quitting your job, but you’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond .”

Khan goes by the TikTok handle zaidleppelin, possibly a play on his first name, Zaid, and the band Led Zeppelin. Here’s what else he said about quiet quitting: “You are still performing your duties, but you are no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be our life.”

The term “quiet quitting” has since spread all over social media and has jumped, predictably, into the business world. All the major news and business publications have run stories and videos on the term. And as more people identify with (and use) the term, it has taken on a variety of meanings.

First, though, it’s about employees pushing back against the hustle culture, against the idea that you have to constantly be working. This is a response to burnout. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the boundaries between home and work seemed blurry; during and, now, after the pandemic, those boundaries seem to all but disappear.

So this first interpretation of “quiet quitting” is about dialing down the intensity level at work, about not working just to get ahead, about not taking on projects beyond the scope of your job and responsibilities. A lot of people purposely do more work, even if it’s not effective, because they think they should. And then others follow the leader, feeling they should answer more emails, take more projects, do more stuff.

So quiet quitting is about tapping the brakes on that difficult cycle. It’s about not doing more work for no additional pay. It’s about not doing pointless work, about not doing work just to get attention or win approval. In many ways, it’s about redefining the boundaries that have gotten so blurred over the years.

Another interpretation, though, is more cynical. Other people interpret “quiet quitting” as a way to keep a job but not really exert much effort. For workers who are disengaged, or who don’t feel a connection to their work, a job is something to be endured. And for many people, “quiet quitting” is about gradually doing less and less and trying not to get fired. “Do the minimum” and nothing more is the ethos of some people who are “quietly quitting.” This is a passive-aggressive move to withdraw from a job without taking any proactive steps to quit or find a better one.

You can imagine the reaction of the business world. Kevin O’Leary, a celebrity investor, said he doesn’t hire people who are quiet quitting—but he hopes his competitors do. Arianna Huffington said she wants employees to give 100 percent when they’re working, but also set boundaries so they don’t get too stressed or burned out. She also pointed out that if one person on a team is “quietly quitting,” it only makes the problems worse for everyone else.

Career coaches have chimed in, too. Some say that “quiet quitting” can be about a missed career opportunity. If you’re in a job that’s not making you happy, and you just try to get by by doing the minimum, then you’re giving up a tremendous opportunity to find something that would make you happy.

One more word on this. If you’re an employee and you’re quietly quitting, just be aware that your employer might be quietly firing you. The opposite side of this coin looks like this: an employer can simply not give a slacking employee a raise, not give interesting projects, and wait for the employee to quit out of frustration.

A dysfunctional relationship

Wouldn’t that just be a waste? If an employee is quietly quitting and their employer is quietly firing them? How long will two miserable people stay in this working relationship?

I’m on board with the first definition, about re-setting boundaries, about clarifying roles, about stopping this idea that work is unlimited. Because work is unlimited, but valuable work is not. I spent years in a job where there was a lot of performative work being done, people going out of their way to say how much they did “over the weekend” or “on the plane.” A lot of that is performance art, and it has this really negative impact down the line where everyone else thinks they, too, have to work.

The second definition, though, just sounds depressing. “Do the minimum to not get fired” and hide your laziness and hope not to get caught…that just sounds like a waste.

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Expression: Above and beyond