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Original poster

Any other quiet quitters?

107 replies

SupremeCommanderServalan · 17/04/2023 15:09

Am struggling working in a toxic workplace. I've been trying and failing to get out, having applied for countless jobs in the past couple of years. But the reality is I'm burnt out. So I need to look at coping strategies and quiet quitting is one of them. Does anyone want to join me, or what to share any tips?

OP posts:
Truestorypeeps · 26/04/2023 09:39

VerySneakySir · 25/04/2023 16:36

Quiet quit today!

Stayed later than anyone else on Friday evening slogging my guts out. Spent the weekend sleeping or in a ball of tension. I was wrecked.

Got in this morning and my line manager had forwarded me something which included a comment from the big boss which has made me realised how utterly little they respect me. I don't even get paid very much. Fuck this shit.

I am quiet quitting but I can't quit as I left my previous job quite quickly and can't have two blips like that on my CV! I'll have to stick it out for a bit, which is the beauty of quiet quitting.

Line manager's face was so gormless and shocked when I didn't leap to help with something that is NOT MY JOB today. They have got the message I think.

Good for you!!!! :-)

Truestorypeeps · 26/04/2023 09:47

I quiet quit my last job. We were a large company that merged with another. They had roughly 7 times the headcount of our small team, took morning breaks, we didn't. Took long lunches, we were lucky to get lunch at all. The MD cobbled together some local awards and NONE of our side of the business got one. I thought absolutely fuck this. Luckily got a phone call about a public sector job I'd applied for and took it without a seconds thought. Then it was all about BMW as I coined it (bare minimum work), up until my last day. I was totally unappreciated and unrecognised, glad to have left!

TeenLifeMum · 26/04/2023 09:48

@Toleaveornot my last interview response was that I didn’t get the job because my interview was “absolutely outstanding and I should be applying for higher level jobs”… great but I’mat the point where my mh is suffering due to an awful boss and have begun dreaming of being an Ocado food delivery driver rather than stay in my professional career I’ve worked in for 20 years!

FiveGoMadInDorset · 26/04/2023 09:50

Just plodded around on a dog walk weighing up pros and cons, emailed my other manager who I also work for and enjoy to see if increasing hours is feasible for a few months and then handing it in. I am to old to be made to feel like an incompetent 18 year old

TeenLifeMum · 26/04/2023 10:06

My team is newly formed as 2 teams have joined with one side believing they have a much bigger workload … technically yes but there’s 10 of them and our team of 4 was down to 2 covering similar tasks. The martyrs drive me mad with their “I’m going to be working until midnight on this!” Every bloody week. Why? Are you bad at prioritising and sharing the work fairly? Or is your line manager truly terrible?

That manager is going to be my manager and I got so fed up I challenged it to the director that I felt, as a manager myself, i would be failing my team if they were regularly working so much over the weekend etc and it’s my role to ensure we can manage workloads or put in a business case to increase the staff base. Something was definitely said as it started being raised at meetings and when colleague made such comments the director would say “right, send me x and I’ll pick that up…” colleague would panic and say “oh no no it’s fine” Director “ no, we can’t have you working til midnight, send it over or I’ll be really cross. You must speak up if you need support, we are one team!” it has set a new tone. So they do listen but too little too late.

2PintsOfCidernaBagofCrisps · 26/04/2023 10:16

I am very much in this camp. I spent two years really going out of my way to undertake additional training to benefit the company and even doing voluntary work in my own time, in a related field, so as to "impress", Just generally being a "how can I help?" type of employee.

This year, I got less of a % increase than some of the employees who barely turn up and when I queried it, was told that the amount I'm paid is fair for the role I do. What, the role of about 3 people?!

All made worse by no employee bonuses for the second year in a row despite the directors taking ~£100k in bonuses over the two years, between them.

With the recent % increase dispute, I mentally disengaged and now do the bare minimum. I've started applying for other roles but to be honest, my heart isn't even in that just now.

Original poster
SupremeCommanderServalan · 26/04/2023 10:52

@ThirdCultureKid please let us know how that meeting goes!

I had a similar catch up with my line manager who couldn't quite bring himself to say it, so I happily left him casting around to try and find a form of words - he couldn't, so we didn't have the convo.

OP posts:
Chowtime · 26/04/2023 12:51

I'm loving these posts about how your managers and colleagues are floundering around and beating about the bush without actually saying "can you go back to doing the work of 3 people instead of just one".😀

On another point, I've always throughout my office career (i've had other jobs too but I'm specifically talking about offices here) done just enough work to not get sacked. I just didn't know it had the name "quiet quitting".

VerySneakySir · 26/04/2023 13:27

Just here...on my LUNCH BREAK. Which I'm actually taking today. Feel pretty rebellious I must say

C1239 · 26/04/2023 13:48

I think I need to join the club! Work is so stressful, they are massively understaffed and aren’t doing anything about it, got such a stressful few months coming up. I always seem to put pressure on myself to do a great job but I’m over it now - please tell me how I actually go about quiet quitting!?

Officebasedquitter · 26/04/2023 15:02

C1239 · 26/04/2023 13:48

I think I need to join the club! Work is so stressful, they are massively understaffed and aren’t doing anything about it, got such a stressful few months coming up. I always seem to put pressure on myself to do a great job but I’m over it now - please tell me how I actually go about quiet quitting!?

Take it in baby steps. Firstly only work your allotted hours. No checking emails etc after work and take your breaks. It means leaving things for the next day or handing but that’s fine.

Then stop volunteering for anything over your job role. Even menial stuff like the tea/coffee fund. Don’t organise cards or presents for leavers etc. Don’t take on projects to make you look good. It goes unappreciated.

Practise lines for when you get asked to do extra things outside of your job role. It’s especially important if you pick up slack from others. “I’m busy with X at the moment and then I have Y to do after that. I can’t fit it in to my current work load but thanks for thinking of me”. Management not having enough staff is not your problem to solve. “Thanks for asking. That’s a senior job and I am busy with junior duties so it’s outwith my job role.” “Can I organise Sharon’s leaving gift? No thank you but I am happy to contribute, please let me know who organises it.”
Be polite, happy and good at your role and quiet quitting is quite easy. Read your job description and stick to it. It’s a horrible term really as it makes it sound like you’re lazy but I am really good at my job and put in 100%. I’m not going over that though because I’ll never get more than 100% wages.

C1239 · 26/04/2023 15:45

Do you find that once you start quiet quitting it helps with your stress levels and more of a work / life balance?

Truestorypeeps · 26/04/2023 16:00

VerySneakySir · 26/04/2023 13:27

Just here...on my LUNCH BREAK. Which I'm actually taking today. Feel pretty rebellious I must say

That's the spirit! screw working on your own time!

Kyse · 26/04/2023 16:02

C1239 · 26/04/2023 15:45

Do you find that once you start quiet quitting it helps with your stress levels and more of a work / life balance?

It has with me. I don't stress that I'm doing more work than the rest of the team now and complain about it to management, I just don't do the extra work
If we are given 100 tasks between 5 of us, we should be doing 20 each. Not me doing 70 and the other 4 people taking 30 between them
So now I do my 20 and stop

LaylaLjungberg · 26/04/2023 16:27

This 🧵 is an absolute life saver today!

Officebasedquitter · 26/04/2023 17:14

@C1239 Definitely less stressful. Close my laptop and the end of the day and I’m off.

The beauty of QQ is that you are still doing a good job and working within your role so you always have this to fall back on. Like @SupremeCommanderServalan and @ThirdCultureKid have said, managers won’t like to bring it up because they know they’ve been relying on you doing too much before.

MicrowaveRice · 26/04/2023 18:06

ThirdCultureKid · 26/04/2023 08:34

I joined this club at the beginning of last week.

I do like my job, managers and my workplace - but realised they were very very happy to let me work well above my pay grade, hours and carry the heavier caseload. I was totally ok with this until I was totally taken for granted with no consultation at all because I was a 'super team player' and a 'work horse'

I tend just to get my head down and do the work i have been given without question. I was shaken out of my complacency and took the time to have a look at the teams allocation stats over the last year I realised I was running on average (at a higher approval rating) 3.7 cases to every 1 for every other same hours, grade, experience case worker - I was a absolute mug!

On three separate occasions this week alone I have had to marshal myself from jumping in to offer to pick something up or swap a case out rather than keeping both, which is what I would have normally done. I now have a comparable 1 to 1 case load with the rest of the team.

I think my manager realised but was at a loss to how to bring it up so I was scheduled into a never before heard of 'check in call' on Friday.

I was very very clear to show I was managing my case load and very much ahead of the targets. I just let him squirm because he wanted to ask why the fuck I was not picking up all the extras without tipping his hand. He went with that he had noticed 'I was less available than I normally am'. I acted all confused and I reiterated that I am managing my allocated caseload, I work my hours and I am engaged in the team so i couldn't understand what the issue was? I could see he was super frustrated at the end of the call.

In totally unrelated news: later today there is a department wide meeting to discuss why we suddenly have a backlog. 😆

Fabulous!

Doyouthinktheyknow · 26/04/2023 18:35

It’s difficult for me because I am the manager! Not high up thankfully but am that level that gets squished from above and below. Staff in my team rely on me a lot and I’m always willing to support but it does come at a cost. Last time I took annual leave, I had calls and messages which I will be ignoring next time.

I take on so much to support my team and quiet quitting could end with more pressure on them which I do not want!

I did leave on time today and will aim to also take a lunch break tomorrow. Also plan to book a couple of days annual leave in May for a break. Baby steps here😬

LostFrog · 26/04/2023 20:53

I can’t quiet quit. I work in a school (admin) and I can’t ignore the teenagers coming in to my office because they ‘can’t cope in lessons’, parents ringing up complaining, staff interrupting me to ask me to do stuff they could do themselves… I hate my job. It used to be great, but the behaviour is so appalling now and everyone is ground down by it. I show up every day, try not to take it personally, try to conserve some energy for my kids when I get home and remind myself that I work term time for their benefit and in a few years I can go and get a job where I am not treated like shit.
Sorry, needed to rant.
If I could figure out how to work to rule, I would.

ThirdCultureKid · 27/04/2023 08:33

@Newestname002

The meeting went like this...

Management: Shock horror, we have a backlog! Oh, my! this is terrible! Awful!
Team: shuffles feet
Management: We need to work out how we are going to get on top of this!
Team: * Tumbleweed*
Management: Any ideas anyone? anyone? Third, any thoughts? (expecting me to jump in any say ill pick up some cases, which is what I have done in the past)
Me: Nope
Team: * Tumbleweed*
The steel backbone old royal of the team: * looks me dead in the eye, gives me eyebrow and fist bumps me on the way out*

ThirdCultureKid · 27/04/2023 08:35

Sorry for the weird text - not sure how that happened.

Not a word was said. It was beautiful.

Tortiemiaw · 27/04/2023 08:40

SupremeCommanderServalan · 18/04/2023 18:52

Welcome all to a particularly crappy club to be a member of.

Like many/all of you I have worked extremely hard, and been a conscientious grifter, only to see more and more of my frankly hopeless colleagues getting promoted way above their abilities. It's soul destroying..

I never thought that I would be in this position, but I have made the conscious decision to quiet quit; to no longer put the work in that I have been doing, because at the end of it all, I am not valued for it so there is little point in bothering.

Was in exactly the same position a year ago - worked super hard, have knowledge and experiences way above several other staff but was turned down for every promotion as psychopathic narcissistic CEO wanted his easy to bully favourite in positions of power. Didn't exactly quiet quit though - after the last 'sorry it's not you' phone call, I wrote my email of immediate resignation and left that day.
Until I was out of the situation, I had no idea how unwell the place had made me. I'm in a new job now with normal, kind people and have never been happier!

Newestname002 · 27/04/2023 09:18

@ThirdCultureKid

"Management: Any ideas anyone? anyone? Third, any thoughts? (expecting me to jump in any say ill pick up some cases, which is what I have done in the past)
^Me: Nope
Team: Tumbleweed^^
The steel backbone old royal of the team: looks me dead in the eye, gives me eyebrow and fist bumps me on the way out^"

That's just brilliant. Serves them right for being ungrateful idiots. Love the reaction from your "old royal" colleague. 🌹

Kyse · 27/04/2023 09:38

ThirdCultureKid · 27/04/2023 08:35

Sorry for the weird text - not sure how that happened.

Not a word was said. It was beautiful.

I'm at the same point
We have tasks again. I have done mine. Surprisingly there are some still outstanding
I feigned total ignorance when asked why there were ones still outstanding and asked if it wasn't showing the tasks I had done

Toleaveornot · 27/04/2023 11:39

Tortiemiaw · 27/04/2023 08:40

Was in exactly the same position a year ago - worked super hard, have knowledge and experiences way above several other staff but was turned down for every promotion as psychopathic narcissistic CEO wanted his easy to bully favourite in positions of power. Didn't exactly quiet quit though - after the last 'sorry it's not you' phone call, I wrote my email of immediate resignation and left that day.
Until I was out of the situation, I had no idea how unwell the place had made me. I'm in a new job now with normal, kind people and have never been happier!

Show quote history

That's fantastic. Good on you. I really want to do the same.

How did you find the job search after you quit? Did leaving without another job lined up cause any issues or was it even brought up?