‘Quiet quitting’ is corporate America’s newest swipe against employees

So, let me get this straight. Employees deemed “quiet quitters,” who decide that they are going to do what their job requires of them and nothing more, are a problem, and if they’re not giving 110 percent every day, they have essentially quit their job.

Uhhhh… nope.

Let’s not call it “quiet quitting” anymore. Let’s call it what it really is – working.

Cause here’s the thing, people who are “quiet quitting” are working. They’re just not sacrificing themselves and their families for their job.

The whole trend for “quiet quitting” started in April 2021, when a guy in China decided to post about his decision to not buy into the “work is life mentality” anymore. The trend there is known as “tang ping” or “lying flat,” and is essentially younger workers rebelling against the demanding work ethic of the Chinese culture. His post went viral, and, of course, thousands of young workers similarly posted their “quiet quitting.”

The growing number of “tang ping” posts prompted the Chinese government to publish commentary against “quiet quitting.” In fact, the trend was so disturbing to government officials, President Xi Jinping warned against it.

“A happy life is achieved through struggle, and common prosperity depends on hard work and wisdom,” he wrote in a CCP journal in October of 2021. “It is necessary to prevent the solidification of social strata, smooth the upward flow channels, create opportunities for more people to become rich, form a development environment where everyone participates, and avoid ‘involution’ and ‘lying flat’.”

Here in America, “quiet quitting” somehow morphed into a diatribe against employees. Article after article focused on the impact “quiet quitting” was having on employers. Sure, they mentioned how employees were finding the work-life balance they’d always hoped for, but underlying all of that was the damaging effect it was having on business and the economy.

It’s as if Corporate America looked at it and said, “We can’t have this! Let’s change the narrative.”

Those who are quiet quitting say they are doing their job; they’re just establishing boundaries. In some cases, that may mean working 9 to 5 and not taking work home. Or maybe that means not answering emails at 10 p.m., or on weekends. It could mean taking breaks and not working through lunch. It might even mean not logging in to a Zoom call during their vacation because, well… they’re on vacation.

The bottom line is “quiet quitting” is nothing new. Workers who are fed up with killing themselves for a company without reward or recognition have been doing it for years.

In the old days, this used to be called “Working to Rule.” It essentially meant doing the job that your employer hired you to do.

The only thing that has changed here is that someone has given a new name it - a name that has morphed into a term where the finger of blame points at employees for being lazy and ungrateful.

How dare the employee do what the benevolent employer has asked them to do! The oh so gracious employer has provided them with wages - they should be more appreciative of this compensation for the job they were asked to do and be willing to do more as a show of gratitude.

I can’t imagine why any corporation would want to make sure employees don’t pay attention to the rantings of 20- and 30-year-olds with access to a cell phones and social media. Maybe because they have a valid point in not killing themselves for a job anymore?

It’s time to stop demonizing workers, and start understanding that even when people are doing their job, even if they aren’t giving 110 percent, they’re still working. And that isn’t really quitting at all.

Liz Carey is an author, freelance reporter and writing instructor living in Lexington.