‘Quiet quitting’ is the latest workplace trend, but what is it? And who is doing it?

The term doesn’t actually refer to quitting a job. It really means just having an actual work-life balance.

by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech | Aug. 24, 2022

Story at a glance

The new buzz term making the rounds on social media is “quiet quitting,” but the expression isn’t exactly what it sounds like.

“Quiet quitting” doesn’t mean that a person is subtly leaving a job.

Instead, it refers to when people are choosing not to go above and beyond in the workplacep, seeking a better work-life balance.

The latest social media buzz term is “quiet quitting,” but it doesn’t mean what some might suspect.

The phrase doesn’t refer to anyone actually quitting their job but instead just not going above and beyond in the workplace.

And it is mostly millennial workers or Generation Z who are quiet quitting, which some argue is an extension of the pandemic’s Great Resignation.

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Almost 25 percent of workers between the ages of 35 to 44 said they would likely be quiet quitters in a recent survey from Resume Builder.

“For a lot of people, it’s another way of saying they have health boundaries,” said leadership author and speaker Selena Rezvani in a TikTok video. “It means doing what you are paid to do and not sacrificing your wellbeing in order to do more.”

Quiet quitting can look like not taking on extra responsibilities such as serving on a volunteer committee at work or refusing to work more hours than you are paid for, Rezvani explains in the video.

Another example of quiet quitting is choosing to physically distance yourself from work, such as closing a laptop or stepping away from a desk, as soon as a work shift is over, she added.

But what really encapsulates quiet quitting is the rejection of “hustle culture” where people believe that they will be given promotions, better pay or better benefits for working beyond the confines of their job.

“Quiet quitting is the natural evolution of extreme hustle culture,” said self-described “leadership guru” Robyn L Garrett, on TikTok.

“We all knew the whole time that what we were doing was unsustainable…Everybody knew…people have realized that they are giving and giving and giving without getting in return.”