With these "Quitting" related phenomena, we have two predominant reactions: do the minimum required or give up.
"Now it turns out that Quiet Quitting is doing exactly what I was hired to do," "Doing your job is not being a quitter," "In my job you were asked to be 'immune to stress,'" "Not tolerating abuse is now being a bad worker," "Would you like your doctor to take the easy way out?"
Quiet Quitting is a term that has gained a lot of popularity on the internet and has recently opened up controversial conversations on practically all social networks. This term basically refers to limiting ourselves to doing what we are asked to do at work, without giving extra, to "performing according to our salary".
When we say there is a lot of questioning, it is because there really IS a lot of questioning about it. Isn't Quiet Quitting what we all do, just work? Isn't that passively demanding a better salary? Why "quitting" if we don't really quit our jobs? Why should I make an effort if my company doesn't?
In 2021, China's newly graduated youth faced a complicated landscape. They were to join a shrinking, crisis-ridden and highly demanding post-pandemic world of work.
Little by little, the term "Tang Ping" (which means something like "to lie down") began to emerge in forums, websites and social networks. An initiative that proposed to lead a slower lifestyle and away from the high demands of the working world. "It's not patiently waiting for you to die, I'm still working, but I'm not overloading myself," a laboratory technician told AFP news agency.
The term Tang Ping grew so much on the Internet that it ended up being removed and censored in some social network search engines in that country, and caught the attention of the government, which called not to "devolve" and "isolate itself".
Going back a bit further, its Western equivalent, "Quiet Quitting," emerged in 2009 when economist Mark Boldger referred to a declining ambition in Venezuela. But it wasn't until mid-2022 that it resurfaced on Tik Tok, and immediately caught the attention of its users.
Although he uses the word "Quitting" or "Quitting", it's not literally about that. It is about giving up the idea of giving more than necessary, going above and beyond, and making your work the center of your life. The use of the word "renunciation" has generated a lot of controversy, because it is understood and related to sabotage. That is why there are some opinions that it is a term invented by the corporate world to discredit the labor demand for fairer wages.
For some people it is a "minimum wage, minimum effort" philosophy, for others it is simply finding time for oneself.
More objectively, doing what our contract or job description tells us to do is exactly what we should do, and that's what Quiet Quitting proposes. So where's the controversy? Some people question where is the "extra" that companies ask for, the "commitment" and the "putting your shirt on." Does that come in a job description?
Out of this conversation have come proposals such as a "Loud Quitting". Why should we quietly demand a wage more in line with the demands? Why invent a term to ask for a minimum of dignity at work?
And although the discussion is still ongoing, what is certain is that this phenomenon is relevant for something very simple: many people feel identified.
The Covid-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, not just the healthcare sector. Such a global experience of death naturally led us to question our existence and purpose. What am I doing with my life? What does it mean to work? The pandemic changed the way we relate to the world of work forever.
It is no coincidence that in this post-pandemic era other phenomena such as the "Big Quit" or "The Big Resignation" emerged. Yes, many "Quit" concepts, we promise it will be the last novel term we will use in this blog.
"The Great Quitting" is a behavior that could explain much of Quiet Quitting. People, during and after the rawest stage of the pandemic, began to quit en masse. In the United States, when the average number of resignations was 2 million per month, in 2021 the number doubled, being 4 million. Similar behaviors were recorded in several economies, mainly in the United Kingdom, Europe, China and Australia.
And while this is a predominant phenomenon in affluent economies, interesting trends have been detected globally with respect to perceptions of work and the possibility of resigning.
Naturally, the main reason for quitting a job is related to salary, at 71% according to a study conducted by PwC in 44 countries. However, the same study revealed that more than two-thirds of people who quit are also looking for a more satisfying job.
Within work environments, 65% of workers were found to discuss these sensitive and potentially divisive topics with other colleagues. But more importantly, these conversations happen predominantly among younger workers (69%) and ethnic minorities (73%).
This gives us an interesting angle on the populations most involved in the issue and those who have brought it to the table in the digital world. The pandemic, new ways of working, mental health conversations, equality and gender have reached the way the new generations perceive the world of work, and also the way they relate to it.
With these "Quitting" related phenomena, we have two predominant reactions: do the minimum required or give up.
But why do we have to resign or do it "quietly"? Is the corporate world listening to this demand?
"I was promised a raise, but it never materialized. I felt humiliated." 24-year-old Georgia Gadsby tells the BBC. After being given more responsibility in her position, Georgia tried to negotiate a raise. In the face of her employers' disregard, she began Quiet Quitting and refusing tasks outside of her job description. They began to see her as lazy and uncommitted. "I didn't mind, I felt like I was regaining power in myself."
The most "obvious" solution would seem to be to resign if we are not comfortable, but what opportunities for change are there for companies, why are there extra demands in the first place that are not remunerated, why is there no trust to have difficult conversations?
In addition to financial and compensation plans, most of the problems that cause dissatisfaction are strongly linked to poor corporate cultures that do not provide psychological safe spaces to be transparent, innovate and have difficult conversations. In short, to be more human spaces.
Over the years at Fuckup Nights, we have heard many failure stories about this dehumanization of workspaces and this led us to develop a program for failure management and healthy work environments. Thanks to The Failure Programwe have the opportunity to diagnose the perception of our clients' work environment and offer our series of courses to renew their organizational cultures and foster innovation and psychological safety.
We have found that innovation and commitment do not survive in the workplace when there are disproportionate consequences in the face of failure, as fear is encouraged, generating discontent and phenomena such as Covering and Impostor Syndrome.
Based on these discoveries, we offer courses on fear and failure management, psychological safety, vulnerability, difficult conversations and crisis management for innovation. Topics that nurture and prepare any corporate culture.
Whatever the phenomenon at work, a culture that fosters transparency, vulnerability and difficult conversations is a culture that is poised to weather any crisis and retain members in resilient and happy teams.
Mass or silent resignations are symptoms of a world of work that needs to listen, transform itself and foster spaces of trust to open up and share. After all, the world of work is made by us, human beings.
At Fuckup Inc we have heard many stories of failure related to dehumanized workspaces. This led us to develop a program to manage failure and create healthier and more prosperous work environments.
The Failure Program diagnoses employees' perceptions of failure and their existing work culture through a survey. The program also offers a series of courses and workshops to renew organizational cultures by addressing key topics such as how to have difficult conversations, create safe spaces and how to turn failure into innovation.
Fill out this form and let's work together to use failure to your advantage!
Edited by
Santiago Da Silva
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Let's transform our perception of failure and use it as a catalyst for growth.
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