This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

What do you think of quiet quitting / have you done it?

Oda32·Sep 07, 2022

I've been reading a bunch about the new "quiet quitting" phenomenon. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's some quick reading.

Have you quiet quit your job? are you thinking about doing it? do you care about career growth at your job, or are you over it? I have so many questions about this.

I am intrigued.

May53·Sep 08, 2022

"Quiet quitting" is "doing your job and nothing more."I don't blame people for having boundaries.

Creola154·Sep 08, 2022

I find it worrying that people doing their job and nothing more is considered “quitting”. Having to go above and beyond to just be considered “working” sounds super toxic to me. Some people find fulfilment in work and that’s great, but the reality is, it’s still just a job. It pays the bills.Are employers “quiet firing” by only giving us minimum pay, or only government demanded benefits?

Nikia203·Sep 08, 2022

"Quiet firing"... excellent comparison...

moriahmclean·Sep 08, 2022

Absolutely I have/do! Quiet quitting is essential to maintain work/life balance. I do what's expected of me. I do try to learn a little more so I can eventually move up, but I do this during the workday as time permits (maybe when others would be taking on special projects?). My work is seen as competent and I am respected at work, and I think that showing your boundaries shows strength and leadership.

jessef·Sep 08, 2022

Quiet quitting is a misnomer, prefer the phrase "acting your wage". But also, if you feel that you are "quitting" because you are just doing your job, with other's expectations out of line, and not likely to change in your current role & org, that should be your trigger to quit for real.

Nikia203·Sep 08, 2022

"Quitting for real" is easier said than done, unfortunately, especially with bills that demand to be paid. I have no idea how so many people managed to do it during the great resignation. I can't afford to quit.

jessef·Sep 08, 2022

Excellent point, it definitely is, in more ways than one! My 'trigger to quit for real' statement should have read 'trigger to make a plan to get another job/sustainable income source, execute that plan, adjust as needed, land an opportunity, and then quit for real.' Both job hunting and side hustling can be brutal, but life is too short to stay in bad situations when it's clear that things aren't going to get better there. I think most people who 'quit' got another job, some likely had entrepreneurial efforts providing income or alternatively had savings or partner/family income to fall back on.

Carolyn155·Sep 08, 2022

I agree with what other replies have said here; funny how there’s no term for the reverse, e.g. the amount of extra time (my own personal time) and skills that provided additional value to the company, that workers are not compensated for. Quiet “quitting” it is not.

Mila131·Sep 08, 2022

The "quite quitting" concept has really helped me realize that I was going way above and beyond my salary. So while I don't consider myself quite quitting, I have started to pull back some. Of course, I still want to do my best work, but I'm no longer running myself into the ground if I'm not getting paid accordingly. (Which I feel like I should have realized way before quite quitting became a thing.)I feel like I should say, this "running myself into the ground" wasn't necessarily because of leadership trying to take advantage of me. I realize that I wasn't setting boundaries for myself. I wasn't speaking up to say "wait, I cannot take that on because I have all this on my plate already." I saw a TikTok that really hit home one day, and the general message was "It's not that I can't say "no" because I have people-pleasing tendencies; it's because I want to do it all." So all that to say, for me, "quite quitting" is learning to set boundaries.

andreasweet·Sep 08, 2022

I think the definition "quiet quitting" is somewhat personal. We all have different variables in our lives that cause us to walk the walk a little bit differently, and therefore "quiet quitting" is not a one-size-fits-all term - JMO. In my case, I have always been a person who takes ownership of my work and the company I am working for. I do go above and beyond at times because what I am working on in those moments makes my flame burn a little brighter. However, in a toxic environment I go from ownership to "task do-er." So in that toxic situation it feels like I need to protect my flame by "quiet quitting." It's too bad that more employers do not take ownership for their part, yet are quick to label the employee as lazy or as a "task do-er" or "quiet-quitter." In the end, it's them that are missing out on our greatness!

Nikia203·Sep 08, 2022

I started doing it this year, after 7 years at the company with NO RAISES despite 2 title and responsibility promotions, and 9 years of seniority at the company. No, I don't care about career growth any more, because none of my career growth advancements have come with a raise. Respect is a two-way street... I am much less stressed now that I have started quietly quitting, because I feel less "used." If companies don't want employees to do this, they should treat them with the respect they deserve.

lainelewis·Sep 08, 2022

As time passes, the concept of doing more with less is hurting all of us. While many of us are salaried with this unrealistic expectation that your job/work/career should be more important than your life/family/health, all while getting a 2 or 3% annual increase that although we accept it, doesn't actually help anyone move forward considering everything costs much more than that increase will cover. I feel like this mentality fueled quiet quitting along with the culture of profits are the only thing that matters. I will always go above and beyond because it's what I like to do. I thrive on success and sometimes it takes me extra time so I'm ok with that, but I also recognize that I sometimes set myself up this way by the expectation that comes from it which I then have to bring myself back down to accepting that my life/family/health IS more important and stop. My husband always says, it will be there tomorrow, and it indeed will. I've learned over my career to hold back results, even if I get the work done, release the work later or when needed so you can not live in a constant state of producing results. Especially as a women in tech, and more than not, the only one on a team, I do feel like I have to produce more quality work to remain relevent. The short story, quiet quitting is definintely a misnomer as another poster notes. It is not at all quitting. It is not giving your entire self to an employer and recognizing what is truly important.

Wendy133·Sep 08, 2022

I think the term "quiet quitting" is bad branding. I am very much in favor of setting reasonable boundaries at work, having separation between work and personal life, being acknowledged and compensated fairly for your contribution, and not being run into burnout by your job. I don't personally see what any of those reasonable expectations of a job have to do with "quitting."I do think many people interpret "quiet quitting" as "skating by" in orgs where you can get away with less than the bare minimum. For example, I knew someone who got away with just not logging in to work. He would respond to just enough emails to make it look like he was available, but work 2-5 hours per week and push work off onto others. I know this is an outlier of an anecdote, but I think there is a difference between having an understanding with your job that is respectful of both employee and employer, and taking a hard stance against working at all.

Melita78·Sep 08, 2022

I'm also interested in this topic. I think the term 'quiet quitting' doesn't reflect well on the actual concept of "doing your job and nothing more" as another response defined. I think some news articles are just leveraging the tension and strong emotions of this term for buzz and clicks. I also agree with what was already written on going above and beyond being toxic - it really is. It just seems like a modern dystopia of work exploitation. Companies want easy, cheap labor....but pushing people to go "above and beyond" just seems unacceptable. People want to live a decent balanced life, not just work non-stop while watching the rich 1% riding around in their jets.

missprinted·Sep 08, 2022

I think I have inadvertently done this. Had a job that was making me miserable and consuming my whole life (as I was the only person 700+ people could come to when they had a problem with X product, at all hours). Got a new job and have simply been trying to do a better job of setting my boundaries from the get-go: no, I will not respond at nights or on weekends. It's also a much smaller company which probably plays into it as well and the management is more flexible -- I'm permanently remote. Sometimes I feel guilty that I'm not completely consumed with work all the time; for most of my life, that has been my identity and it feels very strange to just put in a few hours a day and be done with it, but I'm trying to embrace it as this is the way things should be and spend my time enjoying life beyond just work.

eirini·Sep 09, 2022

But is this article serious? Quiet quitting is doing your job and having boundaries and not working on evenings and weekends? Yes I have hobbies, exercise to do, partner to see, dinner to eat, sleep etc. Even if I like my job I don’t do these things. Actually I’m dumb founded that’s what it means. I heard the term in passing and I thought it meant quitting quietly without discussing your reasons with your manager or asking for change.

Melita78·Sep 09, 2022

“I heard the term in passing and I thought it meant quitting quietly without discussing your reasons with your manager or asking for change.”Same here! I was really confused at the ‘quitting’ part of this term, sounds so dramatic - like doing your job and nothing more for free somehow equates to quitting? LOL!

Luna98·Sep 10, 2022

I began to do this in the couple months, many years ago, before I quit. My disability had become more and more dangerous and it seemed likely I was going to need to move out of state immediately. I waited until my wage was capped out for that level and I jumped ship, because my employer was then bound the contribute to my 401k. Hello higher contributions. This helped me see, over a long, long period of time how hard I worked at all employers, how it affects me, and others. I had overworked and over disciplined myself, so much so that it damaged all my relationships. I shifted my focus. Reading Suze Orman's books have really helped empower me, and change my attitude towards money.

Melita78·Sep 10, 2022

I really appreciate Suze Orman's books/articles as well!!

Eusebia32·Sep 10, 2022

I'm doing a bit of this while looking for work, but also see a gender lens with this. I think boundary setting is fine. What I see is a lot of male colleagues in my current team 'doing their job and nothing more' - so not following up on tasks, and of course the more diligent people are having to cover for them or take extra time out of their schedules. I feel one person is phoning it in, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out one day that he quit after zoning out for months and not a single bit of accountability will happen because they're sufficiently 'charming' enough.

Corrine98·Sep 12, 2022

They’re not quitting quietly or otherwise. They’re doing the jobs they’re paid to do. I think the entire thing is negative PR push from companies annoyed that people are enforcing boundaries when it comes to their jobs. This term, at best, is a misnomer because we’re not buying the concept they’re selling.

rachelserwetz·Sep 13, 2022

Hi @Oda32, I think its okay to reallocate how much professional energy you give to your current role vs your own career development irrespective of that current role, ie what you can do outside of your job to still work on growing/advancing/etc. However if you're quiet quitting you may think about whether a) you're in the right role/industry/environment and just want to do a little less but still meet expectations or b) you're not in the right role/industry/or environment and want to explore what would be a more engaging fit. PS, I’m Rachel, a Career Coach. I’d be happy to discuss this further if you want to hop on a call -- check my profile for how to book time with me. I’m here to help! Talk soon!

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