Danny Wareham
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Quiet Quitting isn’t new

12 November 2023

“Quiet Quitting” is the topic of the month, it seems.

Just this morning – a Sunday, no less – 8 posts in my feed reference it in some way, with most castigating employees for cutting their nose off to spite their face.

As with almost every view on social media, there is a binarization of the topic; you’re either “for” or “against”. It’s black or it’s white.

All the nuance between those two views is lost. Which is a shame, as that’s where we all live; in that nuanced, grey area.

On the one end of the argument is bad or entitled employees. Those that slam their laptop shut at 5pm and refuse to work. How can they be expected to be successful, comes the argument.

At the other end are bad or entitled employers. Those that have an always-on culture and agree with Grant Shapps when he tweeted that the laws preventing employers from forcing employees to work on their rest days should be repealed.

The reality lies somewhere between – though Harvard Business Review’s data suggests it is more towards the employer:

“π’’π’–π’Šπ’†π’• π’’π’–π’Šπ’•π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’Šπ’” π’–π’”π’–π’‚π’π’π’š 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏 π’†π’Žπ’‘π’π’π’šπ’†π’†β€™π’” π’˜π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’π’ˆπ’π’†π’”π’” 𝒕𝒐 π’˜π’π’“π’Œ 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’Žπ’π’“π’† π’„π’“π’†π’‚π’•π’Šπ’—π’†π’π’š, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’Žπ’π’“π’† 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 π’Žπ’‚π’π’‚π’ˆπ’†π’“β€™π’” π’‚π’ƒπ’Šπ’π’Šπ’•π’š 𝒕𝒐 π’ƒπ’–π’Šπ’π’… 𝒂 π’“π’†π’π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’π’”π’‰π’Šπ’‘ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π’•π’‰π’†π’Šπ’“ π’†π’Žπ’‘π’π’π’šπ’†π’†π’””

Employees today – and particularly Millennials and Gen Z – want either a fairer balance between work and non-work life or the ability to switch off once the work is done.

Employers need to recognise this culture shift.

Previous generations expected to grind their way to the top. They expected to complete work after hours or at home. And employers have become used to this. The “me boss, you not” model.

Today, having supportive leaders, building relationships and knowing what you do is purposefully contributing to the world are more powerful drivers.

Therefore, Quiet Quitting is not about good or bad. It’s about reducing the delta between what employees and what employers expect from each other.

And just like any other prosperous relationship, that isn’t built on servitude.

It’s built on respect, understanding and an appreciation for each others motivations. Then creating the environment, support and culture that enables those relationships to flourish.

So come on out of the black or white.
There’s plenty of grey in the middle for us all.