Quiet Quitting VS Work-Life Balance

Quiet Quitting, a term that has gone CRAZY over the past few weeks on social media. The definitions of Quiet Quitting vary, it can be seen as:

• working within your designated hours only, to protect your personal time and work-life balance
• doing the bare minimum in the workplace
• slacking

The argument, we’ve found, is where the line exists between maintaining your work-life balance and not working hard enough.

50% of American employees are considered “Quiet Quitters”, a shocking statistic. It is likely that this is a result of post-pandemic exhaustion and reflection on our priorities, following turbulent times. Home working could also be contributing to the rise of “Quiet Quitters”. Alan Sugar has claimed people working from home are “lazy gits who should be fired if they don’t go back to the office”. Could he be correct? That depends on which definition of Quiet Quitting you choose to agree with.

Is Quiet Quitting a long-awaited cultural shift, or the wrong response to burnout?

Since we all endured Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, the workplace has been evolving and mutating drastically over the past century. The history of the development of the workplace may inform the view of today’s working attitude, so let’s take a look.

Firstly, we cannot ignore the change in family structures over the past century, and the impact of this on the workplace. In 1920, women made up just 20% of the workplace (in the US). 3 whole decades later, in 1950, that percentage had only increased to by 8.8% to 28.8%. In 2020 that percentage stands at roughly 50%. Having an equal proportion of men and women in the workplace is only a recent phenomenon. Despite this, we still hold the same expectations for family life outside of work: a happy, healthy, clean, well-fed household. The experience of having both parents working is a relatively new way of living. Combine this with the pressure to have the most friends, fun, possessions, and the latest iPhone, is it any wonder people are burning out?

Are Gen Z the Quiet Quitters?

However, this scenario applies to families and the Quiet Quitting term is being, mostly, applied to Generation Z. Gen-Z includes those born between 1996 and 2015 (roughly). The stats say that “46 per cent of Gen-Zers don’t plan on having kids, compared to just 37 per cent who are, and 17 per cent who are undecided”. So, it is safe to presume there is less of a cross-over between Gen-Z and people with children. While the previously stated work-life-children balance is still true for that group, let’s examine why the childless Gen-Z could be Quiet Quitting.

It is impossible to give a single explanation for this. We will explore a few options, but if you have a Gen-Zer in your workplace who you think might be Quiet Quitting you can ask yourself these questions:

• Is this normal for them? Have they always worked in this pattern?
• If no, what could have caused this? Work or personal life?
• Has anything changed in the workplace that could have affected the person? Have there been structural changes that may have impacted them? Is this a management issue?
• Do they have personal issues outside of work, health or family or otherwise, that they need support with?
• How can you encourage this person to perform to their highest ability without shaming them for the work they are doing?

Quiet Quitter or demotivated?

Reverse ageism is at an all-time high, hitting young workers more than ever. Do you have a systemic issue of ageism? Young workers are often looked down upon in the workplace. Could they feel devalued and demotivated as a result of this? Recent studies have show it might be the youngest members of the team who are suffering with workplace ageism. Michael North (New York University’s Stern School of Business) believes that ageism towards Gen Z workers derives from the perceptions that they are “entitled, lazy radicals”. Lauren Stiller Rikleen says that when she published her first book, on hiring and promotion, she was asked to speak at a wide variety of companies. “I noticed that everywhere I was speaking, in the question-and-answer portion it was always hostile questions about younger people entering the workplace,” with words like “disloyalty” and “entitlement” used repeatedly.

If we underestimate and devalue the younger people in our workplace, how will they be able to perform to the best of their ability? “Steve Jobs was 21 when he founded Apple. We don’t know how much younger people actually have to contribute. Hopefully, more employers are realising it.” – Leia (who left the corporate world, as a result of ageism, to found a marketing start-up).

These are enormous questions, with many implications. Seek professional HR support before you approach a topic like this. It is very easy to make a situation like this drastically worse when trying to help.

In his recent podcast, Steven Bartlett and Simon Sinek addressed Quiet Quitting. Sinek stated that he agrees with young people who believe we are “too married to our work” and that something has to change if our work has “ultimate say on our time”. BUT, he believes this is being taken too far and that hard, unpassable lines are being put everywhere. Protecting your work-life balance is one thing, but when you’re asked to go the extra mile occasionally and your answer is no every time, the question you have to ask yourself is:

What is the life that you’re trying to build?

If you’re not willing to EVER go the extra mile, then eventually that will impact your personal life. And the cycle continues. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an employee who can manage their time well and set boundaries that lets them maintain a good work/life balance. But are they taking this to the extreme with hard lines and no flexibility?

Finally, the last scenario: they’re just lazy. What do you do if you deem that there is no issue with your employee and that they’re just slacking? Firstly, it has long been considered more cost effective for firms to keep employees than see a revolving door of staff joining and leaving, if a worker shows signs they are Quiet Quitting it may be a time to re-evaluate how the business engages their workers. We say this with a non-accusatory tone. Quiet Quitting is a difficult situation to handle, and it is not the employer’s fault.

In a 2022 Wellness at Work survey found over half (51 per cent) of young full-time workers said the pandemic has “decreased the importance I place on my career.” Almost two thirds of all British workers (63 per cent) said they had recently experienced burnout. We are still in unprecedented times, get in contact if you’d like help with this tricky topic. We can provide coaching and mentoring services, as well as support with restructuring… along with disciplinaries when needed.