The latest trend term is quiet quitting. Does this sound like someone is just up and leaving work for good? To me it does! However, what the term actually means is employees are putting boundaries up to protect their personal time.
Quiet quitting is a new name for an old behavior, say the old ways was “being slack” or “lazy” if the company asked you to do more work. Since the pandemic many have been reevaluating their job, their manager, and yes even their company. They are seeing more workload and less respect for time. Time to reflect, unwind, and rest.
Quiet quitting, or rather understanding and performing for what you are there to do, is good for the employee and potentially negative for the company. Imagine a layoff for a restructure….who is that work going to? Well more than likely an employee who is already carrying an adequate or slightly higher than adequate workload. If so, the stress will mount which implores a common behavior from the employee: pull back. By putting boundaries in place they will be able to focus on quality work and their mental/physical health. Now the company will start falling behind on their metrics but perhaps in this latest environment they can re-evaluate themselves?
