“Quiet Quitting” and the Future of Work: Turning Challenges into Opportunities
“Quiet Quitting” is not a new topic, but it’s something that continues to affect our work force, productivity, and the way we operate in business. I personally see this happen more and more every day in the projects I oversee. It can be extremely frustrating as a business owner, or leader.
The more I think about this topic, though, the more I see opportunity. Many view quiet quitting as a way to be lazy or to avoid work. Sure, that may be part of it, but what I see is a new opportunity to succeed in a world trying to do the minimum.
What is “Quiet Quitting”?
Quiet quitting is a term that was first coined by coach and employment influencer Brian Creely. He was discussing an article about employees who are simply “coasting” at work.
The term really boils down to doing the bare minimum that your job requires. Do tasks assigned, work your 40 hours, no extra effort. Whatever your job descriptions says you HAVE to do, you stop there.
Quiet Quitting became very popular during & just following the COVID pandemic.
First, there was the idea of the “Great Resignation”. Employees realized that there are other opportunities to make money outside of a normal 9-5 job. Many saw the potential of being able to work from home or even more to start an internet based business. With the pandemic keeping many people in their homes, E-Commerce skyrocketed. This opened up new money making opportunities than ever before.
While some took the opportunitity to leave, others took the opportunity to stay, but still try to find better work/life balance. Why work hard when you can do the very minimum and still make a decent salary?
The concept has evolved over the years and took on different names (coasting, white collar welfare, etc), but the ideas is the same. Do just enough to not get fired, then go home.
How Many Are Quiet Quitting?
According to a poll by Gallup on Quiet Quitting, 50% of the U.S. work force can be put in this category. Based on US Bureau of Labor & Statistics numbers for 2023, that would mean at least 80 Million US workers are quiet quitting!
Let’s be honest, that’s a SHIT LOAD of people. According to Gallup, these are just the people are are considered “not engaged” at work, if you add in the group that is also “actively disengaged”, that total gets closer to 69% or ~110 million people.
By this point, you’re probably thinking, “AJ, this sounds awful. Everyone is lazy. Everything is terrible. The sky is falling what can we do?!”
Let’s get in to that now!
What Opportunities does “Quiet Quitting” Create?
To understand what opportunities exist with this trend, we have to try to categorize some groups and look at what’s available for them to succeed. I’ve narrowed it down to 4 options I want to discuss. There’s probably more, but this i a good starting point:
“Quiet Quit” for better work/life balance, no other reason
There’s a lot of goodness here. It’s important to find balance in your life so you can reduce stress, spend more time with your family, live a healthier life, and take better care of your physical and emotional state.
However, there are also many people who quiet quite because they are truly lazy and just want a way to sit at home melting on the couch and playing video games for longer.
If you’re on this site, reading this article, I’m going to assume you want something more from your life & this is not you
If you ended up here and you fall in to that lazy category, this site isn’t for you. You won’t hurt my feelings if you stop reading right now.
“Quiet Quit” to focus your energy on another business or hustle
Now we’re starting to talk to my people. Your day job can be physically & mentally straining. Putting in extra work may not provide the opportunity for you to grow the way you want to. Quiet Quitting can give you the opportunity to collect your check, live with stability, and go follow a real passion, like DJing or a designing a Clothing Line
(for the record, I do not identify as Quiet Quitter AT ALL - if im going to do anything I’m going to give it my all)
Everyone is lowering the bar?
When I first started working, it was a majority of serious all stars in our department. I knew if I wanted to be ahead of the curve I had to be constantly learning, take on challenging tasks, work late nights & weekends, and really go over and above.
Now consider the “Quiet Quitting” environment. If the majority of employees are barely showing up, they have lowered the bar for what it takes to be successful. Putting in a little bit of extra effort almost automatically puts you in the top 30%. Do something extra special from time to time and now you’re in the top 10%.
Don’t look at this as an opportunity to slack off, but instead as an opportunity to really stand out because your competion has backed do
I’ll echo something my dad said to me when I went off to college that always stuck with me…
“This Is Your Time To Shine
Become a Better Leader- Understand why “Quiet Quitters” Exist
According to the poll by Gallup, there are 4 elements driving a decline in engagement among employees under 35:
Having opportunities at work to grow & learn
Having someone at work who encourages their development
Feeling like someone at work cares about them as a person
Knowing what is expected of them
As leaders we have a lot on our plates to worry about, but read that list again. These are NOT hard things to go implement. In all honesty, if we're not doing these already, shame on us.
To help give better insight to how to do these 4 steps better, I definitely recommend reading Gary Vaynerchuk's “12 and a Half”. It's all about the emotions that are important to acocunt for and keep track of at work. In business the numbers don't always tell the full story. Human emotion drives a lot more than we might realize.
Conclusion
Whenever you see a popular trend like “Quiet Quitting” you always need to look at it from 2 ways:
How can I take advantage of this as is?
What new gap or problem does this trend create or highlight
The first is usually the obvious one and the route most will take. True success comes from finding and taking advantage of the hidden opportunities that exist where others aren’t looking!
Let me know how you’re taking advantage of “Quiet Quitting”, send me a message on Twitter, would love to hear what you all took away from this!
Until Next Time!
-A.J. Zampella