Putting in too much effort at work? Try quiet quitting, a new idea spreading around social media. The name is misleading, as it doesn’t actually mean quitting your job. The term means doing the bare minimum of what is expected of you at work and not putting extra effort into your job. 

The term quiet quitting began to spread after TikTok user @zaidleppelin posted a video explaining the term. “You’re not outright quitting your job but you’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond. You’re still performing your duties but you’re no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be your life.”

Many comments on the video point out that this is the way work should be. This idea is also known as working to rule, meaning employees do only what is stated in their contract or in written rules. The rebranding of the idea from working-to-rule to quiet quitting is strange. It seems to imply that setting boundaries with employers about your work duties is almost equivalent to quitting. 

So, why is this an issue? Gen z is constantly being criticized for a lack of work ethic. Older generations believe that young adults are lazy and unwilling to put in the work needed to succeed. The problem with this is that the older generations were able to live off of the money they made. In today’s economy, many people are living paycheck to paycheck but are getting criticized for not being further ahead in life. 

A Sonoma State University student that wanted to remain anonymous said, “I think older people have a harder time subscribing to the ‘work smarter not harder’ mindset because they were sold the American dream, hook-line-and-sinker. Every GenX aged person I’ve talked to about the quiet quitting concept cannot let go of the idea that this is the employee being lazy.”

This criticism by older generations is unwarranted. People are working, they are just avoiding extra stresses that make it harder to manage a healthy work-life balance. 

The anonymous SSU student added, “I think quiet quitting as a concept is good and having a work life balance ensures the employees have better mental health over all.”

Why is doing the above and beyond the expectation in the workplace? Quiet quitting is about employees pushing back at their employers who are expecting them to complete extra work without compensating them fairly. The work is still being done, employees are just no longer putting in extra effort that just leads to burnout.  

Many part time jobs from large corporations do not value the work or time put in by their employees. If a job is not going to value their employees, why would employees value the job? Most jobs do not pay a high enough wage for employees to live off of, and they should not be expected to put their job before their mental well being.