What's Really Behind Quiet Quitting (and Why Leaders Must Take Note)

I recently had two illuminating conversations about quiet quitting, the workplace term dedicated to rejecting hustle culture that’s taking the work world by storm.

Conversation number one was with a Gen X’er, like me. Paraphrasing, she said, “What’s with these people? When I was growing up, I knew I had to put on my big girl pants and pay my dues to get ahead.”

I nodded, understanding as a woman of the same generation, and who has logged many sleepless nights and working weekends to advance my career.

Conversation number two was with my young adult sons. I asked them what they thought about this phenomenon flooding our newsfeeds. They told me that while finding meaningful work is important, it shouldn’t be something we give up our lives for. They had seen their parents and friends’ parents dedicate so much of their waking hours to work, and they wanted more of a balance in their lives. In that moment I felt both humbled, reflecting on my own relationship to work, and proud – proud that I had set an example of a strong work ethic, and proud that my sons felt confident enough to design their lives around their own priorities.

These two conversations are a good sampling of the polarization this subject has stirred in the workplace. Some believe that quiet quitting is an unfortunate misnomer for a workforce that is simply trying to rebalance its priorities. Others think it’s a toxic trend that is detrimental and encourages laziness. Additionally, there’s the important perspective that the option of quiet quitting is exclusive to predominantly white-collar, white-dominated, privileged spaces. If you’re facing unconscious biases at work due to your race, gender or class, you might not feel like you have the choice to set boundaries to begin with.

Amidst all of this, we’re presented with questions: how should organizations and their leaders respond? What is the best course of action to hold up the parts of this movement that feel like healthy amendments to the employer/employee contract, while mitigating its potentially harmful aspects?

First, we need to understand where this movement stems from. Here are a few things we know to be true in 2022:

It’s still a “buyer’s” market: Workers have quit their jobs in record numbers in search of healthier work environments, better managers, and more pay, or simply to stop working altogether.
Values have shifted: People want their work to accommodate their lifestyle, not the other way around. The old phrase “Work to live, not live to work” comes into play here.
Mental health and wellbeing come first: A high emphasis is being placed on holistic wellness, including setting stronger work/life boundaries, tending to mental health, and spending more time outside of work with family, friends, and on passion projects.

The quiet quitting movement feels like a manifestation of a shift in priorities. But, I would be hard-pressed to find a leader who felt confident and comfortable embracing a label that, if interpreted differently or taken at face value, promotes both passivity and resignation.

That being said, there are a few ways organizations can embrace the intentions behind quiet quitting that help all parties – the individual, the team, and the organization. Here are three mindset shifts to consider:

Encourage people to work smarter, not harder.

One criticism of quiet quitting is that it encourages or implies a culture of “slacking off.” But is that just a biased perspective on working smarter, and not harder? If we look at traits of high-performers, many of them are not running themselves ragged to perform. The key to their success lies in knowing their strengths and weaknesses, focusing on a few things, and knowing when to stop. Here are a few ways to cultivate smarter workers, without dictating a “sky’s the limit” expectation:

Let people use their X-Factors: A person’s X-Factor, sometimes called a superpower or “zone of genius”, is that unique intersection of someone’s strengths and interests. It’s the thing they do better than anyone else. As a leader, the more you can guide individuals to harness their strengths, the more motivated they’ll be on what matters for them and the team.
Mitigate Derailers: Just like everyone has areas of genius, they also have areas of opportunity. Someone might be great at building relationships but struggle with detail-oriented work, for example. Instead of putting a lot of energy and resources into trying to “fix” or change these areas, it can be more beneficial to assign projects that don’t ask someone to always be at odds with themselves. Again, help employees steer their roles towards work that energizes them, instead of depletes them.

Prioritize wellbeing, and practice it yourself, too.

Today, people want to work for organizations that support them as a whole person. Well-being needs to be publicly prioritized, and that starts with the messages – both direct and indirect – that are coming from leaders. Here are some ways to communicate that you mean business about wellness:

Create a culture of communication: The term “quiet quitting” suggests that you should handle dissatisfaction at work “quietly.” In the end, this kind of thinking does everyone a disservice. Managers can combat this idea by promising weekly 1:1 time with their direct reports to intentionally talk about how things are going, and what could be done to help them succeed. If managers don’t know their people are struggling, they won’t be able to help them.
Support time off: Eliminate the stigma and remind your team regularly about upcoming holidays, PTO arrangements, and what expectations your company has in place about working after hours and on weekends. For those who struggle with taking time off, consistent communication will make it known that their restorative time is valued and expected.
Practice your own work/life boundaries: Like Simon Sinek says, “So goes the leader, so goes the team.” A leader doesn’t just make a big impact on culture, they define it. If a manager is answering emails at all hours and doesn’t take time away to reset and restore, you can rest assured that their reports will start to behave the same way – creating an unhealthy, and not to mention underperforming, team.

Personalize the workplace.

Flexibility and autonomy have become two of the most sought-after qualities at work these days. Why? Because people – not organizations – know how they work best.

One of the most powerful actions leaders can take in building a human-centered, future-focused workplace is to embrace this fact, and talk with their direct reports about how they can tailor their work to best suit their lives and working styles, while still being supportive and available to the team. Everyone operates under unique circumstances. It makes sense that the way their work gets should be just as personal.

While the term “quiet quitting” is misleading, the impetus behind it is not new, and it shouldn’t be viewed as a decline in the American workforce. It’s another opportunity for all of us – leaders and employees – to open our minds to new ways of looking at the work/life partnership that benefits all of our well-being. Whether you’re 22 or 52, that feels like an overtly positive outcome.

Authored by Patricia Carl, founder and CEO of Highland Performance Solutions

What’s Really Behind Quiet Quitting (and Why Leaders Must Take Note)

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