"Quiet Quitting" is not a new concept; but it is getting a lot of attention recently.  

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What is "quiet quitting"?  

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Simply put, the concept of quiet quitting is, the idea that an employee does just the bare minimum at work to ensure they keep their position with their organization. It is the complete opposite of the "hustle culture". 

 

With the world changing, from companies requiring RTO (Goldman Sachs is now the latest to join this trend), to companies continuing WFH philosophies, and or a mix of both, the concept and conversation around quiet quitting has sparked up. 

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Is quiet quitting really just someone being lazy or is it someone prioritizing their time and energy into other things that mean more to them? As an employer there is definitely a negative connotation when you hear the words, quiet quitting. It implies that your employees may not be as committed to their role as you would like them to be. Quite frankly, that is true! But it doesn't meant that they aren't committed, they just may not be as committed as you are (as the employer). We prefer to look at quiet quitting as being mindful of their career path. We often never refer to it as a "quiet quitter", but instead a mindful employee or a dissatisfied employee. 

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As the old philosophy goes, "Whatever gets your attention, determines your direction". Meaning, whatever you invest your time in to, shapes your overall direction in life. Not everyone in the world is looking to become the next executive of their organization, or build an empire, or even become a manager. Determination and commitment, means a lot of different things, to a lot of different people. So before you say an employee is lazy, perhaps they are just mindful.

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How can you tell if someone is being mindful or dissatisfied?

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Being mindful means you are using the quiet quitting approach because you want to invest your time, energy, and abilities to other areas of your life. Not necessarily because you are unhappy at your current role. You may just be happy in your current role and content with where you are in your professional growth.

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A dissatisfied employee, may use quiet quitting methods because they are not content in their professional growth, and or they do not like their current role. Dissatisfied employees want to leave their company and role, but do not know where to go, or do not believe they can go somewhere else. So, they end up being more resentful. If you find yourself more in this category, we highly recommend that challenge yourself and find a role that you can be excited about. If you have questions on where to begin, reach out to us, we will be happy to assist you.

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What are the pros and cons of being a quiet quitting/mindful employee?

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The benefits of being a mindful employee are:

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• Less burnout

• Take control of your career growth

• Quality time spent with friends and family

• Switching off your brain gives you time to process the events of your work day and could lead to be more productive

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With that said, there are drawbacks to being a mindful employee as well. Sometimes quiet quitting has been shown to produce negative effects psychologically. Typically, the following are the negative effects of quiet quitting.

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• A feeling of not being satisfied in your work, role, and or direction

• A feeling of depression in career growth

• A feeling that the position you are in is pointless, or going nowhere

• Your current employer may pass you for promotion, or professional growth opportunities. Which could lead to increased depression and dissatisfaction in your current role

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Are you considering quiet quitting? If you are, we recommend you understand the pros and cons before making that decision. Understand what is driving that desire (more quality time, less burnout, dissatisfied in your current role, etc.), if it is anything other than something positive for you and the company, you may want to consider finding a new role that challenges you and provides you the feeling of satisfaction. Staying in a role that does not build you up mentally and professionally, is not one we recommend staying in.

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If you are interested in learning more, or you have specific questions about our consulting through quiet quitting, click here and reach out to us.