A less maniacal approach to one's profession and a greater regard for life outside of work is emerging under the name of "quiet quitting". The Guardian wrote that quiet quitting advocates reject the culture of the lust for work and limit themselves to performing only the tasks required of them. The trend is confirmed by a Gallup report. [here the report]
In recent months, the expression "quiet quitting" has become quite popular on social networks and in particular on TikTok, translating as "resigning in silence" or, more freely, "resigning without resigning". It refers to a tendency, confirmed by some surveys and widespread among young workers, to redefine their approach to work in less maniacal terms and not to let it take up more time than it should. More generally, it describes a shared desire to untie one's identity from one's professional career.
Used by many people as a caption in videos that in some cases have obtained millions of views on social media, the expression quiet quitting summarizes a substantial refusal to put work at the center of one's life and a willingness to concentrate one's time and strength in other activities, whether they are leisure or even related to a second job that can satisfy a passion. We are talking about it not only for the popularity of the phenomenon on social media but also for what it says about inclinations and feelings widespread in the world of work after the pandemic among younger people.
Instead of pulling late at the office on Fridays, engaging in team building initiatives or volunteering to support newly hired people, the Guardian wrote, quiet quitting advocates reject the culture of work craving and limit themselves to performing only the tasks required of them. And it is an approach that can in some cases also translate into avoiding behaviors of simple cooperation that are not specific to work and not expressly requested, but often fundamental in any group activity.
Several experts tend to associate this phenomenon with a significant drop in feelings of gratification and satisfaction at work, and in part with the medium and long-term consequences of the pandemic. "Since the pandemic, people's relationship with work has been studied in many ways, and the literature would seem to argue in general that in all professions that relationship has changed," University of Nottingham professor Maria Kordowicz, who deals with organisational behaviour in business, told the Guardian.
According to Kordowicz, the spread of this attitude among people is at least in part a consequence of reflections favored by the pandemic, on the meaning of work and mortality. And it is also linked in part to the disorientation experienced by many people during the pandemic in trying to find a balance between work and private life, especially in the case of work done remotely. All these conditions would therefore have led to the current widespread lack of motivation and enthusiasm, and ultimately to a reduction in commitment at work.
The shared impressions of people's dissatisfaction seem to be confirmed by an annual report by the American analysis and consulting company Gallup on the experience and evaluations of workers around the world regarding their professional lives.
According to the report, Before the pandemic, engagement and wellbeing were rising globally for nearly a decade -- but now, they're stagnant..
"Living for the weekend," "watching the clock tick," "work is just a paycheck." These are the mantras of most global workers. With only 21% of employees engaged at work and 33% of employees thriving in their overall wellbeing, most would say that they don't find their work meaningful, don't think their lives are going well or don't feel hopeful about their future.
Stress among the world's workers reached an all-time high -- again.
Whether employees are stressed because of work, or their stress is carrying over into work, one thing is clear: The world's employees are feeling even more stressed than they did in 2020 (the previous all-time high).
Forty-four percent of employees experienced a lot of daily stress in the previous day. While almost half of the world's workers felt the burden of stress, working women in the U.S. and Canada region were among the most stressed employees globally.
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South Asian and European workers' hope declined
Both Europe and South Asia (which includes India) dropped 5 percentage points in wellbeing in 2021, with South Asia having the lowest wellbeing in the world at 11%.
Workers in these regions not only felt like their current life was worse than it had previously been, their hope in the future also dropped.
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Here's the one place the job market recovered
Only 45% of workers globally said now is a good time to find a job in their country (up slightly from last year, but less than the record 55% in 2019). The U.S. and Canada were the regional outlier for this item, leading the world at 71%, up 44 percentage points from the previous year.
The next closest regions are Australia and New Zealand at 59% and South Asia at 50%. The regions with the least promising job opportunities are the Commonwealth of Independent States (35%), MENA (28%), and East Asia (27%).
Despite challenges, this is the best region to be a worker
Even though employees in the U.S. and Canada region are some of the most worried and stressed in the world, they're also the most engaged.
The U.S. and Canada region is also No. 2 for wellbeing, and for the largest increase in wellbeing in 2021. Half of them say they are "living comfortably" on their household income (compared with 22% globally), and the job market in 2021 was exceptionally good compared with the rest of the world.
The global economy loses trillions to low engagement
Wellbeing and engagement interact with each other in powerful ways. When employees are engaged and thriving, they experience significantly less stress, anger and health problems. Unfortunately, most employees remain disengaged at work. In fact, low engagement alone costs the global economy $7.8 trillion. The relationship between wellbeing and engagement is vital because how people experience work influences their lives outside work, and overall wellbeing influences life at work.
- Organizations need to think about the whole person, not just the worker. Leaders should:
- add wellness measurements to their executive dashboards.
- prioritize employee well-being as part of the employer's brand promise
Part of the discussion, especially in Europe and Italy, is sometimes developed in parallel with a broader debate on the phenomenon of precariousness and labor exploitation. Within this debate, the practice of not working beyond what is due – rather than being a deliberate choice, made in full compliance with contractual obligations – is more often described as a utopian and risky practice, which increases the chances of dismissal and subsequent difficulties due to the lack of alternatives in the labor market.
In the Anglo-Saxon context , quiet quitting has been associated essentially with two cases. One is one in which reduced participation in work activities responds not to professional dissatisfaction but to a need for personal fulfillment in different contexts. And the other is the one in which in particular situations work is perceived as a source of stress and worries that become at some point unsustainable, leading to different and more radical choices.
