They called that goldbricking not so long ago. Loafing on the job was another term.

Not taking your job too seriously has a new name: quiet quitting.

The phrase is generating millions of views on TikTok as some young professionals reject the idea of going above and beyond in their careers, labeling their lesser enthusiasm a form of “quitting.” It isn’t about getting off the company payroll, these employees say. In fact, the idea is to stay on it—but focus your time on the things you do outside of the office.

The videos range from sincere ruminations on work-life balance to snarky jokes. Some set firm boundaries against overtime in favor of family. Others advocate coasting from 9-to-5, doing just enough to get by. Many want to untether their careers from their identities.

Of course, every generation enters the workforce and quickly realizes that having a job isn’t all fun and games. Navigating contemptible bosses and the petty indignities that have always been inflicted on the ranks of working stiffs has never been easy. And many people who say, when they’re young, that they don’t care about climbing the corporate ladder end up changing their minds.



The difference now is that this group has TikTok and hashtags to emote. And these 20-somethings joined the working world during the Covid-19 pandemic, with all of its dislocating effects, including blurred boundaries between work and life. Many workers say they feel they have power to push back in the current strong labor market. Recent data from Gallup shows employee engagement is declining.

Clayton Farris, 41 years old, said that when he recently heard about the new term circulating on social media he realized he’d already been doing it by refusing to let work worries rule over him the way they used to.

“The most interesting part about it is nothing’s changed,” he said in his TikTok video. “I still work just as hard. I still get just as much accomplished. I just don’t stress and internally rip myself to shreds.”

Across generations, U.S. employee engagement is falling, according to survey data from Gallup, but Gen Z and younger millennials, born in 1989 and after, reported the lowest engagement of all during the first quarter at 31%.

Jim Harter, chief scientist for Gallup’s workplace and well-being research, said workers’ descriptions of “quiet quitting” align with a large group of survey respondents that he classifies as “not engaged”—those who will show up to work and do the minimum required but not much else. More than half of workers surveyed by Gallup who were born after 1989—54%—fall into this category.

One factor Gallup uses to measure engagement is whether people feel their work has purpose. Younger employees report that they don’t feel that way, the data show. These are the people who are more likely to work passively and look out for themselves over their employers, Dr. Harter said.

Paige West, 24, said she stopped overextending herself at a former position as a transportation analyst in Washington, D.C., less than a year into the job. Work stress had gotten so intense that, she said, her hair was falling out and she couldn’t sleep. While looking for a new role, she no longer worked beyond 40 hours each week, didn’t sign up for extra training and stopped trying to socialize with colleagues.

“I took a step back and said, ‘I’m just going to work the hours I’m supposed to work, that I’m really getting paid to work,’” she said. “Besides that, I’m not going to go extra.”

Ms. West said that she found herself more engaged during meetings once she stopped trying so hard, and she received more positive feedback. She left the job last year and is now a full-time freelance virtual assistant making about 75% of her previous salary. She adjusted by moving back to her home state of Florida.



Zaid Khan, a 24-year-old engineer in New York, posted a quiet quitting video that has racked up three million views in two weeks. In his viral TikTok, Mr. Khan explained the concept this way: “You’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond.”

“You’re no longer subscribing to the hustle-culture mentality that work has to be your life,” he said.

Mr. Khan says he and many of his peers reject the idea that productivity trumps all; they don’t see the payoff.

Some online commenters pledged to relax on social media when they had downtime at work. Others say they will follow their job descriptions to the letter, instead of asking for additional assignments.

A new crop of quiet-quitting videos is starting to pop up, denouncing the move as a cop-out, not a cure-all for burnout or discontentment at work.

People who coast have been fixtures of the office for decades, but many of today’s less-invested employees have been able to skate by thanks to remote work, said Elise Freedman, a senior client partner at consulting firm Korn Ferry.

If the economy sours, Ms. Freedman said, less-engaged workers may be more at risk of layoffs. “It’s perfectly appropriate that we expect our employees to give their all,” she said.

Josh Bittinger, a 32-year-old market-research director at a management-consulting company, said people who stumble on the phrase “quiet quitting” may assume it encourages people to be lazy, when it actually reminds them to not work to the point of burnout.

After years of saying “yes” to everything, in hopes of standing out, Mr. Bittinger said he’s learned to say no more, reserves evenings for himself and avoids checking email on vacation.

“I get my job done, my projects done. I’m performing well and I get good feedback,” he said. “And I’m able to still take time to just step away from everything.”

Write to Lindsay Ellis at lindsay.ellis@wsj.com and Angela Yang at angela.yang@wsj.com


LINK: https://www.wsj.com/articles/i...ing_now_article_pos1

Apologies to all my ex-bosses but work has never been my life. Family is always first. My time is my time. Don't drunk-call me every other night and expect me to drop everything. Of course, this was me 20 years ago, it's not a new development.

When I worked for medical electronic start ups years ago, 60 hours a week was the minimum for Engineers if you wanted to keep your job.

I admit, it'd depend on the job, and one's passion for it. But I need to own my job, and feel like I can make it better and work toward that. Punching a clock for a paycheck, or approaching work as such, would seriously depress the fuck out of me. Admittedly though, it takes a toll. But it also provides for my family economically and through health insurance. So,.. it balances for the most part.

I always worked as hard as I needed to work to get the job done I committed to do, then a bit beyond. But I was adamant that my time was my time.

Except... being as I was the senior systems and network guy, I was pretty much expected to be available 24x7x52. It comes with the territory. But I had Rules. Rule 1 was: If you bothered me during my time, it damn well better be for a damn good reason.

I was an “remote worker“ long before it became fashionable 2 1/2 years ago. Every decision on when to work and when not to, was mine. When and where and how I did my work was of little concern to my employers; other than client-facing activities.

I was a deliverables-based guy. As long as my work was on time, of high quality and made the client happy (or at least satisfied) … my other time was none of your business.

I’ll tell you though… Remote work is not for everyone. Not by far. I guess if we have a whole world of people staring at computer screens, that’s something I’d prefer not to see/embrace.

Wait for the outrage when employers adopt a policy of "quiet paying" or "quiet layoffs" in response.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I always worked as hard as I needed to work to get the job done I committed to do, then a bit beyond. But I was adamant that my time was my time.

Except... being as I was the senior systems and network guy, I was pretty much expected to be available 24x7x52. It comes with the territory. But I had Rules. Rule 1 was: If you bothered me during my time, it damn well better be for a damn good reason.

Not to mention that pissing off the sysadmin is not a good strategy for career advancement, he has way too many invisible ways to get even.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
Not to mention that pissing off the sysadmin is not a good strategy for career advancement, he has way too many invisible ways to get even.

Yeah, annoying the guy that controls the vertical and horizontal is not a wise strategy

Heh... We had this CFO--the guy was arrogant, supercilious, a real butthole. He was domineering to his department and a complete jerk to everybody else... except me. He tried his attitude with me a couple times. I let him know, in no uncertain terms, I was having none of it. I don't know whether it was respect for my standing up to him, the realization I could paralyze him and his entire department by simply doing my job and no more, the CEO warning him to lay off, or what, but I was the lone person, other than the CEO, he didn't screw with.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
Wait for the outrage when employers adopt a policy of "quiet paying" or "quiet layoffs" in response.

Looking forward to it. If I still had employees working for me, I'd get them out the door so fast they'd think they'd never been there.

I've managed projects for a living for years and this is not a new phenomenon. Often times project team members do as little as possible while missing or barely meeting deliverables, and are indignant when I try and remind them of their responsibilities to the project/client. I'm 100% with the "A job is not the end all to life", but there's 100 miles between that and doing a good job at the job you're paid to do.

Although he was a bit broad brushed with his comments, I think Musk got it 100% right when he noted American workers today are lazy and unmotivated. That needs to change if the US is to remain competitive.

I see this discussed all the time on a Reddit page about work and working.

The takeaway I see from that and this article as a Gen X-er is that this Z Generation are for the most part a bunch of lazy ass entitled little twats who simply don’t want to work.

You should see these Reddit types discussing this, they’re PROUD that they’re loafing and doing the bare minimizing. Another article I saw related to this said that it may be older workers that are the ones still keeping the economy running.

I have one employee that adopted this philosophy. I spoke with said employee yesterday and made it clear the expectations of the position. If they aren’t met by Friday, this isn’t the correct position for you.

As far as myself, when I worked for Harbor Wholesale, my job was my reason for existence. Right up until my wife and I took a two week vacation where I had little to shitty cell service.
Three days back at work after vacation, Mrs. Cooker and I decided to give three months notice, sell our house and move to where we vacation, with the promise that we work the same hours, or close to with the same days off.

I still stress at work, and have all kinds of shitty things to deal with, but when I go home, for the most part, it’s a thing if the past or tomorrow. I don’t take work home, and when I have all my managers working for me, I only work about 45 hours a week.

Work balance is important. This is NOT work balance as PAsig points out. I have done a good bit of manual labor and factory work and those individuals that loafed were not treated well because it made more work for you.

I am with Musk, fire the bastards and they can be proud of their unemployment check while they move back to their parent's basement.

I just hope these quiet quitters stay out of healthcare where their behavior could directly impact the lives of others.

We call them “sorry” in the trades.

I do not agree with not doing what you are paid for. But after working the last 37 years, I no longer see value in putting in 70 hours a week when I am paid for 40. I consistently see expectations grow higher and higher, more work is expected and it is way past 40 hours.

I was at my last employer for 24 years and quit last year. I got a great appraisal, completed more work than I had ever done and was given the worst pay raise of my life (1.5%) while the company was making record profits. They also told me that I needed to double my work load. I asked my boss why, so I could get a 1% raise for working 70 hours a week? They would bring in new hires off the street and pay them more than me with 24 years. I quit that job for more pay and 40 hours of work. BTW, the department I was in has had 1/3 of the employees quit since I left due to similar reasons.

I do not live to work, I work so I can live. I have seen guys give 40 years to a company, make one mistake and get fired. Work is not my life, the days of companies being loyal to good workers is over (at least from where I have worked).

I do my job well in 40 hours, I exceed every expectation given to me. I see these engineers out of college working 60-70 hours a week and I know it is for naught. There is no place to "move up" where pay is more and stress/hours are less. I have seen a few smart enough to quit and move into another field. I am not quiet quitting but I can see some merit in not selling your soul to your employer.

You've got to admit that consistently going above and beyond and getting zero recognition and zero bonus gets really, really old. I've always told the boss to "show, don't tell" concerning appreciation.

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
I do not agree with not doing what you are paid for. But after working the last 37 years, I no longer see value in putting in 70 hours a week when I am paid for 40. I consistently see expectations grow higher and higher, more work is expected and it is way past 40 hours.

I was at my last employer for 24 years and quit last year. I got a great appraisal, completed more work than I had ever done and was given the worst pay raise of my life (1.5%) while the company was making record profits. They also told me that I needed to double my work load. I asked my boss why, so I could get a 1% raise for working 70 hours a week? They would bring in new hires off the street and pay them more than me with 24 years. I quit that job for more pay and 40 hours of work. BTW, the department I was in has had 1/3 of the employees quit since I left due to similar reasons.

I do not live to work, I work so I can live. I have seen guys give 40 years to a company, make one mistake and get fired. Work is not my life, the days of companies being loyal to good workers is over (at least from where I have worked).

I do my job well in 40 hours, I exceed every expectation given to me. I see these engineers out of college working 60-70 hours a week and I know it is for naught. There is no place to "move up" where pay is more and stress/hours are less. I have seen a few smart enough to quit and move into another field. I am not quiet quitting but I can see some merit in not selling your soul to your employer.

That's more eloquent than my previous post.

Pretty much the bedrock of a lot of union labor.