The term “quiet quitting” gained popularity on TikTok in 2022. It characterizes workers who are doing their jobs as assigned but failing to exercise initiative, put in extra time, or volunteer for new tasks or responsibilities. The term was partly inspired by a Chinese hashtag, #TangPing, which translates to “lay flat” and was used to express opposition to the prevalent overworking culture in China.

Quiet quitting is the act of choosing not to take on tasks beyond one’s allocated responsibilities and/or of losing interest in one’s job on a psychological level. Quiet quitters still carry out their main work duties, but they are less inclined to giving more than is primarily required, such as staying up late, arriving early, or working overtime. This might not appear worrisome at first. Ultimately, these workers are just refusing to go above and beyond their main responsibilities rather than abandoning them. However, a team that is prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty is a vital differentiator for a lot of businesses. Since most professions aren’t fully specified by a formal job description or contract, employers must rely on workers to step up and take on additional responsibilities as needed.

Bryanna is an administrative assistant working remote for a company in United States of America; she decided to “quiet quit” her job. The decision didn’t mean she would leave her position, but rather limit her work to the hours specified in her contract. Though “quiet quitters” defend their decision or nudge to take a break from work to embrace life outside work, doing it in an unbalanced approach will potentially affect your career negatively, your productivity levels and your company. Executives at companies are very concerned about productivity levels because of the prevailing fears of an impending economic global slump. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, work productivity in the United States decreased 2.5% in the second quarter compared to the same time in the previous year, marking the largest yearly decline since 1948. These days, businesses use productivity scales as a benchmark for excellence; some even regulate their employees’ keyboard usage.

The rise of quiet quitting indicates that workers are beginning to feel that the bargain has become lopsided, with employers expecting more labor from them but providing insufficient compensation in return. And critically, as the economic outlook worsens and outright quitting becomes less feasible for many people, thus this quiet quitting alternative is likely to become increasingly common. This is where the question comes, how I avoid quiet quitting as an employer or employee? The following suggestive notes can help you or your team stay productive while maintaining a consistent task completion culture without burning out.

1. Avoid Job Creeping: As a manager, it is only normal for there to be some job creep or the progressive growth of an employee’s primary responsibilities over time. However, following almost two years of pandemic-related firefighting, when a growing number of tasks that were formerly deemed “above and beyond” have become standard components of employees’ professional duties, the advantages of exhibiting good citizenship may start to seem little in comparison to the expenses. Therefore, it is probably a good idea for managers to reevaluate their staff members’ main job tasks to better understand what labor is truly required and what may be considered additional. After that, managers may concentrate on encouraging employees to do their most important jobs at a high standard while yet allowing them time for personal care.


2. Protect your career: If you are an employee and you quit your job quietly, it may negatively impact your career by eroding your motivation. Therefore, if there are certain issues or work conditions that is affecting your motivation to complete your tasks, it is advisable to discuss them with your manager or boss. During this conversation, it’s essential to voice your concerns respectfully while stating the conditions that will enable you to deliver on your tasks. If this discussion goes well, that will be great for your continued motivation. However, if it doesn’t go your way, it’s best to tender your resignation instead of quitting quietly. By resigning, you can sign off your last days on the job impressively and protect your professional reputation. This way, you can ensure that you will get a good recommendation for your next job instead of quiet quitting and sign off your last days on the job on a high note to protect your brand and ensure you will get a good recommendation on your next job.


3. Brand reputation is everything: Quiet quitting runs the danger of harming an organization’s reputation and making it more challenging for that business to draw in top personnel in the future. This is especially true if a valuable employee’s manager is the cause for their quiet quitting and resignation. Later, when that unhappy worker eventually goes, he or she can begin sharing the bad experiences they had with others they know, which might be detrimental to the company’s brand/image.


4. Listen: The finest leaders pay attention to their employees’ needs, even though many managers frequently think they know what’s best for their team and how to get the most out of them. Allowing staff members to voice their ideas can assist in determining where funds and other resources should be allocated in order to promote good change. But in order to make the best choices possible, this calls for attentive listening strategies that depend on gathering both quantitative and qualitative data, which is where doing staff surveys can be quite beneficial.


5. Bonding culture: A significant factor in influencing employee satisfaction and engagement is an employee collaboration culture. Developing a bonding culture by encouraging your team to express their ideas and opinions and then actively listening to their comments are also ideal places to start. Building a feeling of community and solidifying team dynamics may be beneficial since it makes it more difficult for individuals to distance themselves from their coworkers when they have an emotional connection.

In Closing: More could have been said in this article; however, the quality of experiences that you can deliver for your staff as HR, has a big role to play in preventing them from quiet quitting. But you can only generate the best experiences with employee using employee feedbacks, avoiding so much job creeping and creating a barest minimum conducive work environment and reward system for thriving.