Quiet Quitting & Me

Quiet quitting is the current trend. For those who don’t know what that is, its having a job but doing the minimum amount of work to keep yourself out of trouble basically. The concept isn’t anything new but now it just has a new name. 

Frankly, for me, I don’t get it. If you dislike your job that much then don’t “quiet quit”, just quit quit. Leave that job and go find yourself another. Now, I’m not saying that you have to kill yourself at your job or that you should strive to maintain an unhealthy work/life balance but if your goal every day is to go to work with the intention of not working then why are you going?

As a consultant in my day job, there are days where I don’t have much to do and I my day is filled with scrolling Facebook, watching TV, texting with friends, and even playing video games sometimes. I’m not quietly quitting my job by avoiding work or anything but rather there are some days where there just isn’t any work to be done but I still need to be “available” if something comes up. In fact, as a consultant, sometimes that is the job, to be there if/when needed, to be “on call”.

To me, if you are actively practicing “quiet quitting” then that means that you are unhappy with your job for one reason or another. If that’s the case, make a change for the better. To me, quiet quitting is a sign of poor mental health, or at least a slippery slope to poor mental health. When you consciously choose to behave in such a manner and actively think about your job in what one can only assume is a negative light to seek to underperform that you are regularly unhappy with your job and that fact is always on your mind. Such negative emotions so constantly on your mind can’t be healthy.

I’ve had jobs that I wasn’t satisfied with. I’ve had managers that I didn’t care for. I had commutes that were long and exhausting. There were times I felt underpaid and under appreciated. And in each case, I took proactive and positive steps to remedy the situation. I sought transfers to new managers. I talked to my manager about getting a raise. In some cases, I found new jobs.

If I’m not going to give a job 100% then that isn’t the job for me. Sure, everybody wants to get paid more and work less but at the same time, you take a job knowing the expectations and responsibilities. If you aren’t willing to do that or it isn’t satisfactory to your needs/wants then just move on.

You know what co-workers who quiet quit create? A toxic work environment for everyone else. When you stop doing your job to the best of your ability then productivity undoubtedly declines. Others around you will see your work decline, they will notice the change your attitude, and they will come to resent you for it. 

If you aren’t willing to do your job, leave. Don’t be a warm body in a chair that passively trolls those who do show up to work by not doing the same. We always talk about being better people, going back to the days of friendly neighbors who help one another, but quiet quitting is the opposite of that change.