Hustle culture is officially over! Workers today are taking a step backward in their efforts at work to avoid burnout. If you are feeling stressed at work, you may consider quiet quitting to have a better work-life balance. 

While hustle culture says that there is always more – more money to earn, a bigger promotion to achieve, or a higher corporate ladder to climb, quiet quitting says work is not your life! There is more to life than burning yourself out.

What is Quiet Quitting?

Quiet quitting can mean many things in your work life such as: 

• Shutting down your laptop and clocking out at 5pm sharp

• Not working overtime

• Not responding to messages or emails after working hours

• Only working on assigned tasks

• Turning down work that is not part of your job specifications

These are some examples of the latest trend in the workplace – quiet quitting

Quiet quitting first popped up at the Texas A&M economics symposium on diminishing ambitions in Venezuela on September 17, 2009. The phrase started gaining popularity in mid-2022 because of a viral TikTok video. 

The hashtag quiet quitting went viral when American TikToker @zhchillin (now @zaidleppelin) posted a video in July 2021 advising people to forget the hustle culture mentality by saying “work is not your life. It garnered 3.7 million views.Many TikTok users started sharing their experiences gaining 8.2 million views on the platform. 

The rebellion against a toxic work culture has been around for decades. Quiet quitting became a trending topic on social media following the Great Resignation in 2021 when the rate of people quitting their jobs was the highest in the last 20 years. 

Quitting a job means handing in your resignation, working a notice period, and turning over important documents. But the newest trending topic, quiet quitting is turning a lot of heads. 

The concept of quiet quitting is not quitting work. Truth is, more people are headed towards quiet quitting instead of resigning from their jobs. It is doing only what is required and nothing more. 

What it does is make work a part of life and not your whole life as it is with hustle culture. It is still doing what the job requires, no more, no less. This mindset aims to avoid burnout in the workplace while paying more attention to one’s well-being. 

While there has been no new term hitting such virality a short time as quiet quitting, it has also gained much in-depth analysis and scrutiny in the same short period. Quiet quitting backlash is also all over especially from employers. 

Why is Quiet Quitting Trending?

Quiet quitting is a trend because younger workers speak of the need to have a better work-life balance. 

The concept of quiet quitting is not new, but the social media attention it has been getting these days has sparked the conversation about the harmony between work and life outside work. 

The buzz about quiet quitting and making the rounds on social media is seen as a result of generational changes.  Millennial and Gen Z workers started to question the hustle culture within the workplace during the pandemic. 

Quiet quitting came about as a result of the pandemic burnout. Being constantly “on duty” even during COVID forced many workers to set boundaries at work. Yet certain people are bashing the concept mocking it as simply being lazy, unprofessional, and self-indulgent. 

The quiet quitting phenomenon did not trend by chance. Millions of workers lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the slowdown in the economy. 

Although many of those who lost their jobs have been rehired or found new jobs, the current workforce remains smaller than before the pandemic.  This means existing employees are asked to clock in more hours for often the same pay. 

The phrase is seeping through career sites such as LinkedIn where job coaches are warning people against quiet quitting. On TikTok, though, employees are going viral explaining why they are jumping on the bandwagon. 

Millennials and Gen Zers in the workforce strongly agree with the concept of quiet quitting. The trend has people engaging online about setting boundaries in the workplace. 

The phrase is pretty misleading. Employees still excel in their work, except that they are not taking on heavy extra loads. It is about stopping work when it is beyond their job specification and not getting compensated for it. It means clocking out after normal working hours and living life.  

People who have decided quiet quit prioritize their overall well-being and things outside of work. Quiet quitting deals more with how work should fit into your life instead of the other way around. 

Employers benefit when workers agree to do extra work outside of their job specifications and without compensation. While it is reasonable for employees not to agree, employers try to frame employees that do not do free work as a way of stealing from the company. Isn’t that nuts?  

Employees are changing their Approach to Work

Work-life balance is today becoming more of a demand than a request. Much can be said about how COVID-19 affected the workforce. Workers now feel more empowered to have full control of their work and personal life- life is not all about work. 

Quiet quitting is a new workplace trend that is a shift from the hustle culture. People believe that while work is important, so is their life outside of work.  

Burnout has already been an issue even before the pandemic. But the pandemic fast-tracked things. With employees physically separated from employers and co-workers, they saw what life is if work was not taking up so much of their time.   

Successful Quiet Quitting

There are pros and cons to quiet quitting and you should take a close look at it before riding the on this trend. 

You should think about how going into quiet quitting can impact your future career and if job fulfillment is still possible with doing only the bare minimum. 

Learning to say “no” while setting boundaries at work is also something to get acquainted with. It will not be easy shifting to the new boundaries after going over and above what is expected of you at work for an extended period. 

If your boss is used to having you on call 24/7, clear communication of your intention to have a more effective work-life balance is a must. 

The way people work, post-pandemic, has changed and there has been a shift in priorities. Quiet quitting can address burnout giving you the mental break you need. It may also have a negative impact on job satisfaction and how you will be perceived by your boss and colleagues. 

Just as you would not hand in your resignation on impulse, quiet quitting is not an option you should take lightly. 

Is Quiet Quitting Just a Trend?

Quiet quitting is changing how you work. It is all over social media. Countless news articles and opinion pieces have been written about this TikTok craze! The Gen Z workforce is at the center of this new craze. 

So, is quiet quitting just a trend? It is a new term for an old concept. Many workers have tried quiet quitting and never looked back. 

The term quiet quitting can come across as negative. It may even imply being passive-aggressive. But those who got into quiet quitting and the HR experts who have witnessed it, believe it is a good idea for workers to set clear boundaries with their job. 

Whether it is to address burnout or shifting from the hustle culture, quiet quitting has become sort of a rallying cry for the demand for a better work-life balance. 

Final Thoughts

Quiet quitting is not literally quitting your job. It simply means just doing the bare minimum in your work. It aims to strike a good work-life balance to prevent burnout and staying away from the hustle culture. 

While quiet quitting backlash is common, it is rational to do. What is irrational is burning out yourself at work. Quiet quitting does not prevent you from doing your best. It is about prioritizing work-life balance!

Are you feeling burned out? Are you thinking of getting into quiet quitting yourself? Join Rise and be among supportive community members and mentors. Build real relationships and engage in authentic conversations. 

Who knows,  you might even find your dream job on Rise.