If Your Co-Workers Are ‘Quiet Quitting,’ Here’s What That Means

Some bosses have anger management issues. If they are the boss at a remote location, then they are basically free to threaten, abuse, or gaslight employees, especially if there is no company H.R. personnel there. The employees there might not even know who their H.R. person is. If they complain to the manager's boss, the best he can hope for is to be relocated somewhere else, unless he can somehow produce video, which he is not allowed to take in the first place. They will not fire or relocate the boss based on the word of an employee, even if other employees back him up, unless the allegations are very serious (and could result in a lawsuit).

I don't think Trump was a yes-man--quite the opposite. He was a know-it-all reality show clown. Everyone he brought in to his administration was a yes-man, which you would almost have to be to work for a delusional egomaniac.

 

The Quiet Empire Strikes Back. Bosses of quiet quitters are quiet-firing them, or in some cases, actually firing them.

Something is wrong with this picture.

The quiet quitters are getting quiet fired: The silent war playing out in offices

I find your lack of faith disturbing . . . Luke, I am your father! Now do your job!

 

Quiet quitters are passed over for promotion or given stingy raises compared to their more productive counterparts.

How absurd!

 

It's not "quiet workers", it's quiet quitters. People who are not happy with their jobs, and decide to do the minimum amount of work to keep their jobs. Some quiet workers are presumably doing more than their fair share of work and are very productive.

It just seems asinine to me that there is all of this passive-aggressive behavior going on in the workplace. It's hard to imagine that a manager who deals with a quiet quitter by ignoring them, refusing to share information with them, etc. considers himself (or herself) to be a good manager. It would make more sense to have discussions with them, tell them what they have to do to be successful, and maybe recommend that they find another place to work if they aren't happy there.

It is so foolish for for younger people to go this route of quiet quitting. The key for your first 5-10 years on the job is to learn as much as you can, not to necessarily be the highest-paid person or the most highly regarded person in the group. The things you learn will benefit you later. College does not teach you everything you need to know to be successful in your job; you have to pick it up on the job. Once you develop more capabilities and understand the nuances and politics of the job, then you will either be respected and well-paid, or have an impressive resume that will let you get a job where you will be respected and well-paid. When you do all this passive-aggressive crap at the office in your 20's, you aren't learning anything worthwhile, and that will hurt you in your 30's, 40's and 50's.

 

Misstated and edited - thanks. Point remains that there are employees that feel they "deserve" or are entitled to a raise/promotion simply for showing up. It's always been there, IMO, just magnified more during a tight labor market.

 

Being 'quiet fired' would have made a good Costanza subplot in a Seinfeld episode. "I didn't quiet quit Jerry, I was quiet fired!"

 

I've worked in higher ed for a long time - so I've seen a whole spectrum, from the most useless employees on the planet, that you wish wouldn't come to work, to high functioning psychos that work at 2 in the morning and don't even sleep let alone spend time with family.

What I've noticed is different now is the burn out, the apathy. And it's not always work related. It's just life related.

 

I think this is a temporary shift in power. As labor gets harder and more expensive companies will move to remote work… in other countries. Seeing it now. Eventually it will take up the slack in the labor market.

I can hire 3-4 low level analysts in India for 1 in the US. So if you hire 2 for every 1 you can’t hire here you save money. At the more senior levels it narrows to 2:1. Still a savings.

 

Agree. Lots of burnout. Not sure why.

 

I have theories but no proof.

I think in past generations we labored under the delusion that we would all be rewarded for our hard work and ethical behavior. I think the great recession was the first kick in the teeth about how that's a load of crap. Especially for younger generations.

I think the general condition of the world is probably another reason.

 

Peter Gibbons: "It's not just about me and my dream of doing nothing. It's about all of us. I don't know what happened to me at that hypnotherapist and, I don't know, maybe it was just shock and it's wearing off now, but when I saw that fat man keel over and die - Michael, we don't have a lot of time on this earth! We weren't meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements."

 

I think another reason for the burn out is that many workers are expected to be reachable and checking emails and texts after hours. It was within my lifetime that not even family knew where you were or could reach you if you went out for a beer or out to dinner. Now, peoples' bosses, clients, etc., have access to them nearly 24-7. We're walking around with computers in our pockets and expected to be plugged in all the time. There was even a time where people would take cruises so they wouldn't be reachable, but of course, that's no longer a valid excuse as well.

 

The Costanza character was ahead of his time. Most of Costanza's time at work on the show was this exact kind of immature, passive-aggressive behavior. You would almost think that a manager of a quiet quitter should sit him/her down to watch one of these episodes, and say, "See that Costanza guy? That's you. You can keep on that path, which may or may not get you fired, or do something to change it."

But in reality, the real reason to change the behavior is to recognize the benefits of learning things and developing skills that will be useful throughout their career.

 

I am shocked! I spent 12 years in the USAF and decided enough of this and shred the military mindset. Went on to become a very good Director of Engineering for major resorts worldwide and learned a ton of life's best teachings. Chose living a stress free life on islands and was accused of being a non American by some on this very board. Returned to the USA and learned their is a major stick up the behinds of far to many Americans. No worry though..I remain emboldened to being stress free inspite of the society attempting to be forced on me

 

If by general condition of the world you include the effects of COVID, I agree completely. In the last couple years I have been to too many funerals of family, friends, co-workers, and classmates. I have concretely recognized my mortality and that tomorrow is not promised. I am aggravated that I let work occupy too much of the prime of my short stint as an animate organic object. Topped off by the added personal and professional stress and strain delivered to the hometown courtesy of a devastating monster hurricane, I gotta get out of the rat race. I have gone from what might have been considered quiet quitting (if old farts can do it) to letting my bosses know that the time for succession planning is now. Problem is that I am too loyal/stupid to just make my exit. Looking forward to not getting home from work worn to a nub mentally, and sooner rather than later. When the boss asked at 3:30 one recent Friday afternoon when I will retire I honestly replied that it could be an hour and a half or a year and a half, just tick me off one more time. Rant over. Apologies to any that read this far.

 

Yep. Sounds like a plain old and warranted merit-based reward system.

 

I remember a guy who was pretty stressed out a couple of years ago. Even set up a go fundme to help him back to the United States.

 

This, every manager should read Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.

 

I think there are a lot of productive employees tired of seeing golden parachutes for their failed CEOs and executives.

I think that extends to the middle managers who are incapable of doing any *line* work. Being pushed along to middle management myself while still having line responsibilities, I personally can't believe the number of management types who are unable to even verbalize problems let alone actually fix them.

I know that I impress upon my reports that we do marathons and not sprints. That the managers won't be able to solve the issues without them, and that "it takes what it takes" is a better answer then working unpayed overtime for a meaningless deadline.

 

I remember a man who was stressed out from being stranded in the Maldives, who vented his desperation and frustration on this forum about being nearly broke from having to buy tickets for flights that were continually being cancelled due to COVID. And I remember a group of people who post here coming together to find flights for him and donate money to purchase the tickets he needed to come back to the states.

I'm glad he's home and happy we were able to help.