What is quiet quitting?

Social media is abuzz with debate around work culture. How much hard work should we put in? Should we go beyond our job description? Whichever way you choose, you can't ignore 'quiet quitting'

Social media users have been coming across a term called “quiet quitting” for quite some time now. It is everywhere - from Instagram reels, Tweets and even on Twitter videos. People have associated the term with laziness, but the concept goes beyond this simplistic definition. But before we delve into its details, let us find out some background.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a major change in the way people work. With working from home becoming a norm, various studies showed how employees were unable to maintain a work-life balance. A report by a national daily stated that the burden was more on women. With this, people’s expectations of their jobs also changed. They no longer want to work at places where the pay is less and work hours undefined.

Anthony Klotz, a faculty member at the UCL School of Management, coined the term “The Great Resignation” to define the phenomenon.

Understanding ‘quiet quitting’

Quiet quitting is often confused with quitting the job altogether. But it’s not. It is defined as performing only the jobs assigned to an employee by the employer and not going above and beyond the job description.

People have been taking to Twitter to share how setting boundaries at work has changed the game for them.

The concept of quiet quitting stands exactly opposite to the “hustle culture”. Under that, the employees are encouraged to “make every moment count” and work hard to earn money as well as promotions.

With quiet quitting, employees discourage practices like checking their emails outside their work hours etc. So, is “quiet quitting” a new term? Well, no. A report released by Gallup showed that only 20 per cent of the employees are truly engaged in their work, others have been practising quiet quitting for a long time.