Issue #72: On "Quiet Quitting"
Scott Mautz
Author:"The Mentally Strong Leader," keynote speaker/trainer, popular LinkedIn Learning Instructor, ex-P&G senior exec., faculty on reserve: Indiana University Exec Ed.
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This week, we break from the normal format (sort of) to encourage discussion. I’ll pose a question I’d love to hear your opinion on, after giving you an Insight, Imperfection, and Implementation on that topic. Here goes.
The term “quiet quitting” has gone crazy viral of late.
It’s the phenomenon of employees doing what their job requires (sometimes the minimum), while withholding extra effort without extra reward, and pushing back on the hustle culture mentality that your job is your life. It can even mean mentally checking out at times.
INSIGHT (on quiet quitting)
With the Great Resignation, people actually quit. “Quiet quitting” appears to be the evolution of that. It’s a more covert, less risky tactic (in some ways) than actually quitting.
IMPERFECTION (a mistake many make regarding "quiet quitting")
Many jump to the conclusion that “quiet quitting” is simply slacking-off. That would be a mistake.
Consider this. As you’ve probably felt, working from home has blurred boundaries between work and home. Additionally, much has been asked of employees in the face of a life-altering pandemic, creating further stress and strain on work-life balance. “Quiet quitting” is, at least in part, an overdue attempt by employees to reset boundaries and get some control back.
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IMPLEMENTATION (a simple strategy for addressing "quiet quitting")
It’s up to managers to take the “quiet” out of "quiet quitting," and begin bravely discussing with employees what’s going on behind the scenes. Research giant Gallup indicates the most profound finding they’ve EVER released is this: 70% of the variance in employee engagement is determined SOLELY by the manager.
A QUESTION FOR YOU
What’s your take on “quiet quitting”?
Join the conversation by commenting on this post on LinkedIn. I’d love to hear from you!
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2yFirst, thank you for letters, Scott. I always find them insightful. As for quiet-quitting -- that's what we do to ourselves, unfortunately. Truth is, our happiness comes AFTER that of the others. That's the meaning of the Zulu word "ubuntu", by the way. And it's a fact regardless of what we believe. And if achieving our happiness through that of everyone else on the planet feels hopeless, it's only because we automatically dismiss it as impossible. Growing used, instead, to put our own wellbeing first. And it's not not like we don't give a damn about the others. We do give what we decide is reasonable. And if that's not enough, then, well, who said life should be fair? Well, life is only unfair in the sense that it doesn't care how much we give, how much efforts we put. The only thing that matters is the end result -- have we succeeded in making everyone else on the planet happy or not? And we haven't, then sooner or later we'll suffer the consequences. And then we will have only ourselves to blame. Hopeless? Only if we keep quiet-quitting on it. Because if there's a will, there's a way. If we really want something, then we get creative and make it happen. That's who we are, our nature as humans. To dream big is all it takes.
Stakeholder Relations | Communications Consultant | Secret Clearance | ACP Mentor to US Veterans
2yHi Scott. Really enjoy your newsletter and your LeadOn posts. Thank you. I've been thinking about this concept of "quiet quitting" as I am not sure who coined the phrase. It is hard to imagine coming to work/being at work/getting paid to work and just not contributing to your team and not supporting your customers. However, my observation is that after what the global work community has been through in the past three years, perhaps this is really about setting new work/life boundaries that creates more balance to life. Clearly, before the pandemic, so many people and families were over scheduled, over worked and super stressed. If nothing, this is a great topic to discuss amongst trusted friends at work, project colleagues and leadership. I've already started the conversation with my friends at work who are multi-generational and a very diverse team to hear what they think. I welcome your thoughts!