To think that the “quiet quitting” trend is just an excuse for people who are too lazy to do their jobs?

[DandyLeader]

If you’re “quitting” without quitting, maybe you should just leave instead of draining the life out of the workplace.

I agree that quiet quitting is a new term for working to rule. Too many services and employers rely on the goodwill of their staff to get the job done and this has become a regular expectation rather than the odd one off in extenuating circumstances.
If you want to offer a certain level of service, you recruit, train and pay to that level, not 25% under it and expect your employees to fill that gap at their own detriment.

As a pp said, it's interesting that the push back has been termed as 'quitting' - I bet it's been coined by employers who resent having to pay for the staff they need to run their business effectively.

People are simply fulfilling the terms of their employment, as dictated by the employer. Perhaps if they were viewed as the necessary resource they are, rather than a necessary evil and respected, paid and treated properly, this wouldn't be an issue. It shouldn't even be an issue because if people working to the terms of their employment doesn't get the work done then there's not enough of them.

My dad worked himself to death. Literally. The police came to the door to tell us.

I've always done what's required to do the job well, and worked as smart as I can. I'm not working myself to the grave and depriving my children of a parent.

The company replaced him with 3 people.
I didn't get a replacement parent.

It’s a bit of a daft term. However, we know that poor and inconsiderate managers cause a reduction in motivation, and that this leads to lower productivity. Thats evidence based research.

A lot of jobs aren't really meaningful, in the sense that they improve people's lives - many are just about making more money for corporations and those few people who have millions already! So why should people sacrifice their own time and energy to make rich people richer? Different if you are working in a caring role I think - then I believe you absolutely should do your very best work!
Companies have no loyalty, they won't care for you in old age - we only get one life and people should absolutely live theirs without sacrificing too much of themselves.
Quiet quitting isn't not doing your job, it's doing what you are paid for and not giving your labour for free.

Unfortunately while caring roles are in profit driven companies, the same things will apply, you're just working harder and longer to keep the profit margin going, rather than benefitting the people being cared for, and you're doing so without the resources that are being paid for by or on behalf of the people being cared for because that too would affect profit.
I quit social care because of exactly that, when I realised that I was working my paid shift, half the next shift for free, working short staffed almost permanently while they pocketed the difference, paying for my own training and essential equipment and the owner was enjoying an increasing profit margin.
Nope.

Quiet quitting is not about being 'lazy'. It's a - perfectly reasonable, imo - backlash against the rise and rise of employees being expected to do more with less, of salaries that don't allow for a reasonable standard of living, of a work culture that tries to pretend that work is life. Lots of people have realised that a vast amount of the daily tasks and requirements that make up the working day are simply pointless bullshit, and that most employers see their employees as little more than numbers on a spreadsheet and would drop them like hot bricks in an instant if the bottom line required it, regardless of how hard they had worked and how much of 'themselves' they'd put into the job. So 'quiet quitting' is when employees do what they're paid to do and nothing more. And why the hell not?

I work in an area that is experiencing enormous cuts and job losses right now. I am committed to my job (to an extent), but I have a very experienced colleague who works her arse off, going way way above and beyond. She works well over her hours, at weekends, in the evening, even when she's on annual leave. She is devoted to her job and has vast institutional knowledge and specialist expertise. Last week she was told she was in line for redundancy - just statutory, not even enhanced. She's of an age where she will really struggle to find anything of the same level or salary. All that knowledge, experience and devotion to the job, wasted. All those extra hours, wasted.

Is it really any surprise people don't see the point in slogging their guts out anymore?

A generation or two ago, it was worth putting energy into a job, because companies had loyalty toward employees. They looked after them.

This contract was then broken.

Companies no longer factored employee wellbeing into decisions.

Therefore, there is no reason for employees to give anything more than the minimum.

😄 are we twins?

It’s the same in caring jobs. If you go above and beyond all that happens is you end up burnt out and the manager sees it as acceptable to understaff every shift so you are just running around continuously without a break just to be able to meet the bare minimum care requirements of the patients.

Every employee is expendable, regardless of how well they perform or how extra (unpaid) they give. That’s been made clear to me more than once. I do what I’m paid to do, I do it very well, I’m flexible where needed, I’ll put extra time in if it it’s critical but I’ll also make sure I get that back in some way. What I won’t do is flog myself to death working 60 hours a week with no recognition of or reward for the extra that I’m doing.

I don’t think there is any issue whatsoever with people doing ‘just’ the job they were hired for and get paid to do.

I encourage my team to do their jobs and not get sucked into thankless over performance.

'quiet quitting' is just doing what you're paid to do and no more. Its a response to being expected to do more for stagnant wages and the realisation that companies have no loyalty to the their employees so why should employees go the extra mile?
It's not 'draining the life' from your workplace to do the job you are paid to do, you don't owe them anything else .

I quietly quit for 4 years (before actually quitting) because my colleagues were lazy.
I took on a bit more, a bit more, so the job got done, and my actual job got easier , though I got busier.
Then... one of them got promoted.

Stuff that.

I dialled right back to my job, and my job only. Then quit... eventually... when a better opportunity arose.

I used to go above and beyond. Now you would probably describe me as a quiet quitter. The recognition that however hard I worked, the company would always ask for more, the 'if you want something done, ask a busy person' ethos, more and more work for no personal gain, only shareholders. I ended up burned out. Now, I do what I have to and no more, get paid very well for it, and am counting towards completely quitting.

Oh god yes the eager beaver who is usually also a martyr and at some point snaps/has a huge tantrum about how much extra they are doing and for no thanks. They’ve not been asked to do the extra of course , they are doing it for their own reasons.

quiet quitting isn’t what you think it is op, it isn’t not doing your job, it’s not being the first to put your hand up to cover something out of hours that you’d usually do, leaving your boss astonished that he’s not got some mug to volunteer. It’s just doing your job.

Before I retired I worked as a legal PA for a big City firm. I had 9 fee earners, including 2 partners, one of whom was incredibly demanding. I always prided myself on doing a good job, being one step ahead to anticipate fee earner requirements, worked late if required (not often, but as and when). I also had my own big billing/admin tasks for one of our major clients to do alongside my role. WFH during Covid threw up other challenges; expectations of being available because I wasn't commuting into the office for example, and my demanding boss frequently screaming down the phone to me because things weren't long as quickly as they were in the office, problems with her home technology. She also demanded that I went into the office when others weren't going in. I could go on.

Then I was told by my line manager that unfortunately, despite all that I did and all that I had done, I didn't fit the criteria for getting a pay rise or bonus as I didn't take on any other tasks 'outside my role'. I told them I didn't have time to do anything else but no matter, I couldn't tick their boxes. That was when I knew that it meant nothing, that whatever I did wouldn't be enough, so I made my mind up to do my job to the best of my ability, but no more and no less and just see it out until I retired that summer. I retired early -I still have another 3.5 years until I get my State Pension - but I just couldn't go on knowing that my hard work and experience counted for nothing.

When I left they split out my fee earners over 3 other PAs and even then they were all saying it was too much for them. Would I be considered a 'quiet quitter'? Yes possibly, but honestly, would you blame me or anyone else in a similar position?

That’s I thought. Was about to post the same thing.

So people like the op can misunderstand and get in a froth about it I assume!!

I wish everyone would quiet quit. It might shake things up a bit and it would be good for employees if it was done on mass, effectively a work to rule. Employers and the government have had it too good, taking advantage of people.

I also think it’s the sort of nonsense made up by the media to stir up more division. God forbid some people get sick of being treated terribly by their employers.

Quiet quitting isn’t lazily not doing your job though. I thought it was just doing your job and nothing more.

For example, I used to work somewhere where I’d regularly be in the office (on my own) until 9/10pm. Then one day I was called in to my manager’s office and told off because I’d got into the office at 9:05 that morning, told it was unacceptable. I agreed, acknowledged that my hours were 9-17:30, and that from now on of course they could expect me to work those hours. And then I did just that.

I don’t think quiet quitting is a great name for it tbh. I think it’s just working to rule. I think it was just coined by people in industries where working above and beyond was the norm and absolutely expected.

Working too hard is detrimental; all that happens is you get given more work and/or the company decides it can run on less staff.

Is it lazy? Or do lots of employers take the piss? More and more work for less real pay and eroded benefits. You can only push people so far, and I'd rather people gave up and did the bare minimum than had a breakdown.

I’ve always been a quiet quitter except I’m not quiet about it. I am paid to do a job, and I do it. People talk about ‘going the extra mile’ but unless it’s mutually agreed and comes with the employer going the extra mile too (eg paying me more) then I won’t do it.

I work in an office role and have been totally open with a succession of bosses about this. I’m not a dick about it and I explain my position. I have DCs, hobbies etc and I just don’t massively like the fact that I have to work. So I do enough to achieve my objectives, and no more. I don’t take the piss, but I work on my terms. I have lots of friends at work, some of whom are more career minded than me, and good luck to them. I have advanced to quite a senior position despite this attitude, and possible because of it since everyone knows where I stand and what the limits of my ambitions are. The competitive ones know I’m not a threat, everyone knows exactly what they’ll get from me (tasks done well, nothing else) and I’m happy watching other people get the glory if they want.

Quiet quitting is only problematic if people aren’t meeting expectations, or are lying, or are secretive in some way.

my understanding is that it’s just “work to rule”

Those in favour of it would you accept it from:
the police
the ambulance service
teachers
the fire service
thr doctors