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33 People Argue Whether Doing The Bare Minimum At Work Is Valid Or Unfair To Coworkers
From a very young age, most of us were conditioned to believe that working hard is the only way to achieve success. We’re supposed to trust that our efforts will be rewarded someday, even if we don’t see a single sign of that happening any time soon…
Eventually, however, most adults realize that going above and beyond may never pay off; it might simply be a waste of time and energy. Workers on Reddit have been discussing why there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing the “bare minimum” while on the clock, so we’ve gathered some of their most honest replies below. Enjoy reading through them, and be sure to upvote the ones that you wholeheartedly agree with!
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#1
I fully expect to be swore at here, but here goes... I'm an employer. I have 4 employees. Each one was told what the job entailed and how much they would be compensated for it at interview. They come in, they do their job, they go home, and I don't see what right I have to expect any more than that. If that qualifies as the "bare minimum" then sign me up.
Any of you wondering why an employer is reading this sub, it's because A: I agree with the principle, work is trash, and B: it's like a handbook of how not to do it as a small business owner.
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#2
Every time i’ve ever gone “above and beyond” for a job, my reward has just been picking up everyone else’s slack. if everyone else gets to do the bare minimum and make the exact same money as me, then why should i bust my bum?
Mark Stewart 6 hours ago
Going "above and beyond" won't help you when management decide it's time to trim staff to help the bottom line either
#3
”the bare minimum” is such a stupid way of saying ”following what you accepted when you signed the contract”.
Historically, it has been frowned upon to do (or at least to admit that you do) the bare minimum in the workplace. We are all expected to pretend that we’re going above and beyond to impress our bosses and please the shareholders. But in recent years, people have started to realize that it’s not worth it to try so hard if your efforts aren’t ever going to be rewarded.
In the United States, the average annual salary increase is only 3.6%. But some years, that doesn’t even account for the rate of inflation, and even a small raise isn’t a guarantee for every employee. Apparently, only 47% of employees received a raise in 2025.
#5
There have been people doing the bare minimum at work since work was invented.
#6
I manage a team as a landscape designer.
Those that push themselves beyond what we're paying them are discouraged from doing so.
I need my people to be consistent, which means leaving energy for the end of the day to do what makes one's life a life. The dude pushing barrels at twice the rate we asked will push a 1/4 the next day.
I find that by doing this my people respect me and follow my directions more efficiently. I believe this is bc they don't have to mentally budget their remaining strength/energy.
I'm sure paying above the market rate also has something to do with it, but I hope my philosophy makes the job easier.
I also do daily check-ins to make sure my expectations reflect theirs.
It's so easy, effective, and cheap. I have no idea why other folks don't do this. I suspect it's a fundamental disrespect of the labor value.
Something that many workers pointed out in the replies to this post is that doing the “bare minimum” is just a harsh way of saying that a worker is doing what’s in their job description. Thrive Global warns that doing more than what’s expected of you is more likely to lead to burnout than to a promotion.
“It’s no wonder why organizations want the Above-and-Beyonders—it’s free labor! But we shouldn’t kid ourselves about where that discretionary effort comes from,” says Bree Groff, author of Today Was Fun. “It comes from the bedtime stories that employee is not reading to their children. From the exercise class that employee never went to. From the sleep that employee never got. It comes from somewhere; we just don’t like to think about the cost.”
#7
Absolutely, right after we discuss a commensurate compensation! ;) cracks me up that employers aren’t expected to pay you “above and beyond” what they agreed to, but expect employees to deliver additional services beyond what they’ve been hired to do.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 4 hours ago
Expect you to go above and beyond while paying you below and lower
#8
Might get ended for this, but if you’re in a position where you have a chance for upward progression going above and beyond is beneficial. I’ve worked harder than maybe necessary and have been promoted and given raises where I’m sure I wouldn’t if I did the bare minimum. Hard work can pay off in some situations.
5 hours ago
Disagree. If you are too valuable in your position they'd rather keep you there because they would never be able to find someone else with the skills to replace you.
#9
I've done like two jobs this far and every time I get a new one I think "well I'm going to do the *barest minimum* amount of work and then go home and ignore it all until the next workday" and guess what????
I end up being "that girl who answers all the calls on her day off". it has happened to me twice and I literally don't know how do y'all manage to leave your job at your... job.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic in the comments below, pandas. Are you tired of doing more than the bare minimum in the workplace? Or are you of the opinion that we should always push ourselves? Feel free to weigh in, and then, you can find another article from Bored Panda discussing similar themes right here.
#11
Saying someone that does the job they are being paid to do is doing "the bare minimum" is horse poo. That's what the job is. If it required more, it should have been established from the beginning.
There are people out there who define themselves by their job and their "above and beyond" attitude. I feel sorry for them. Devoting your life to a company that doesn't care about you is nothing but a waste of life to me.
Geoffrey Scott 6 hours ago (edited)
Worked an "A" "B" "C" "D" shift scheme ( 12 hr shifts) The "D" shift guy (nights) refused to do even the perfunctory aspects of the job and the "A" shift guy(days) only did what he was required to do. That left me, "B" shift guy, and the night person, "C" shift, cleaning up what had been left undone. Every time I would come in on my shift there would be 4 bills of lading and resin samples waiting to be processed (received into system). I got canned when a shipment that was due to arrive so a line could keep running sat in the yard until I got there. I KNOW this because I checked the arrival log in the dock office and it indicated the load was dropped at 2300 the previous evening. My boss asked me why this was not unloaded and I kind of got cranky with him and told him he had NO idea how his department worked. The only satisfaction was after me being walked out, he found out exactly how his dept. ran.
#12
You mean doing what's in my job description?
#13
I’ll never forget working in a team of 3 they managed one out to save money then tried putting me on a pip for not doing 1.5 persons work. Go fk yourself im paid 1 salary for one job.
As long as someone’s doing the job they signed up for I couldn’t care less tbh.
Companies get you in on one wage then slowly up the workload, no thanks.
#14
Considering that many politicians, that block wage increases and policies that would help the working class, do the bare minimum and often just don't show up; it's fine. You can always do more but shouldn't be forced to do more than necessary. Like if I take my car in to get an oil change I don't expect them to detail it for free.
#15
"Now if work my a*s off and Initech ships a couple extra units, I don't see another dime. So where's the motivation? And here's something else, Bob. I have eight different bosses right now."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Eight bosses."
"Eight?"
"Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled. That and the fear of losing my job, but you know, Bob? That'll only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.".
#18
Here’s my two cents for what it’s worth. “Bare minimum” is supposed to be a negative, but the reality is that most quiet quitters do their job. They just don’t go above and beyond. No UNPAID overtime, no answering emails or calls on off hours, no extra work for free. That does not make them bad workers. They just refuse to give up their work, which is a supply demanded by their employers without compensation.
If you want a worker to do more work, pay them more money, give them more benefits, compensate them in some way that actually benefits them, and I’m not talking stupid stuff like pizza parties. It’s not a hard concept. We glorify CEOS and Executives who I guarantee on average do far much less work than an average employee for far more pay. That’s they real toxicity in the work place, the real reason the system is breaking down. The “grind” was always a scam, and it’s only gotten worse, it now workers understand and are starting to stand up for themselves.
lise duhamel (That_U_Scully) 1 hour ago
"Quiet quitting" isn't new and it's actually called work to rule, a long established tactic by employees to not perform anything over and above their job description. It makes employers recognize the extra effort and tasks that employees aren't recognized for but if not completed slow down or harm business. Please stop "inventing" things that already exist.
#19
I joined Facebook at the age of 14 in 2008. A couple of years later I saw a short advice meme that went like
"Never give your 100% at work. They'll expect you to give 110%. Always give 50% of yourself, so if you give even 70% they'll be like darn what a worker"
Anyway, I've never done more than the bare minimum. Been working for 5 years now and this is the way.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 3 hours ago
That's my mother's problem. When she started her horrible retail job, she gave 150%. She's since slowed down, but still at 120%.
#20
Great. Smart person. Does the work they are paid for.
Company doesn't give you money for free.... don't give them work for free.
#21
I’m a manager in an IT dept
I laugh every time i hear about this. I pay employees to do the bare minimum. That’s what we agreed upon when i hired them. If they do the bare minimum I’m completely happy.
People who “do more”, at least in a career setting, do so to improve themselves and push themselves to be better. They want to eventually solve harder problems, take on more responsibility, make more money, etc.
You strive for excellence for yourself, not for your boss or the company.
#22
And what do you mean by “bare minimum”? If I’m at a place that thinks you gotta be working 50-60 hours a week every week just to be considered a “good” employee then to hell with that. All these places think the tank and file need to be as motivated as the owner who’s taking in all the profits. I’m only on this earth for a little while, you think I wanna spend my time bootlicking?
Timothy Patel 1 hour ago
Agree, these business owners need to get a grip. If they want their staff to go above and beyond, then they need to profit share. What is really scary is Elon Musk requiring staff to sleep at the job site after a 12-hour shift. He keeps comparing how he works, but he is reaping the WHOLE reward, but not putting in the WHOLE work. American workers do not have ANY rights to prevent this type of a***e.
#23
If an employer pays the bare minimum they can get away with, I'm going to do the bare minimum I can get away with. What is my incentive to perform well if I'm not being offered fair compensation? What is the employer's incentive to pay me better if I'm going to put in the same effort for a lower wage?
#24
Pay peanuts get monkeys.
#25
I mean, doing the minimum is kind of the point of a Union contract.
It's up to the company to negotiate with the union what the new 'minimum' will be each year and what benefits/concessions they are willing to apply to get the new initiatives approved.
Doing the minimum is necessary leverage to ensure standardized and fair treatment across the work force.
#26
Coming from someone in HR, quiet quitting is such a bs concept. It's capitalistic propaganda that favors employers taking advantage of their employees without providing sufficient compensation.
Doing the "bare minimum" is still doing exactly what you were hired for, and that should be sufficient. You were hired to do x job duties at y salary. Just because you aren't willing to do x and z at the same y salary does not make you a bad employee. You shouldn't have to go "above and beyond" to be a good employee. Employers aren't owed any amount of what is essentially unpaid extra labor by their employees.
Timothy Patel 1 hour ago
Thank you for calling this "quiet quitting" BS. The first time I heard this term was in the Wall Street journal and other "quietly xxxx" nonsense. WSJ is ALWAYS trying to scare workers into doing more. My son frequently quoted them, until I pointed out this was their MO.
#27
The "extra mile" MUST come with "extra bucks", bc there is no such thing as "bare minimum". there is a contract where functions are listed that your employer wanna be done in exchange of money. both employer and employee agrees and sign it. so, if you you do your job, you done your job, you fulfill your part in the contract and that´s that.
imagine you contract a plumber to fix your wc, the guy (or gal) fixes your wc and you pay him the asked fee. can anyone criticizes his work, since he´s done the "bare minimum" and go saying the plumber is quiet quitting bc he didn´t wanna fix the kitchen, too, for free?
#28
I think it depends on compensation. If you are taken care of, paid well, have good management, have good benefits, then you are compensated well to go that extra mile. Work to wage essentially. If you get bit fullfilment, no benefits and the pay is minimum then you work to that. The one caveat, If it’s entry level and you have a clear path to move up and be compensated well, you might really want to show you should be promoted.
#29
If I were an employer, I’d expect my employee to finish the job as expected. I wouldn’t give a darn how it happens as long as it happens.
That said, I’m an employee and follow this philosophy. I do my work but I’m not bending over backwards for you.
#30
Quiet quitting sounds like an employee setting boundaries. I’ve been quiet promoted twice at work and then quiet fired and now I’m just straight up quiet quitting. Don’t appreciate me busting my bum and all my hard work? Ok then no worries. I’ll just keep to myself then.
#31
There’s a way to do it without effecting coworkers and there’s a way to do it absolutely effecting coworkers.
Finding that fine balance is the key to antiwork.
#33
You wanna work for the wage you WANT. not the wage you get. Move your way up. If you do the bare minimum you’ll always make minimum wage.
What do you think ?
liam newton-harding 6 hours ago (edited)
It's NOT the "bare minimum"...it's what you, the employer, decided, in the contract you wrote up. I am doing what you expect me, and everyone else, to be able to do.
Inservio Smurf 9 hours ago
Everyone needs to keep in mind this only applies to the theocratic third world, murica specifically. In civilised nations you have a contract and work as part of a team, feel protected and heard by worker protection laws, and negotiate actively with your superiors without fear of dismissal on a whim or wage extortion. The murican management style of "any worker will do, no worker is irreplacable, and every worker should be glad I'm hiring them at all" does not apply in civilised nations.
Michael Largey 2 hours ago
As a teacher, doing the bare minimum would not have affected my employer nearly as much as it did my students. And doing the minimum would have made the job so boring that it actually would have been hard work.
liam newton-harding 6 hours ago (edited)
It's NOT the "bare minimum"...it's what you, the employer, decided, in the contract you wrote up. I am doing what you expect me, and everyone else, to be able to do.
Inservio Smurf 9 hours ago
Everyone needs to keep in mind this only applies to the theocratic third world, murica specifically. In civilised nations you have a contract and work as part of a team, feel protected and heard by worker protection laws, and negotiate actively with your superiors without fear of dismissal on a whim or wage extortion. The murican management style of "any worker will do, no worker is irreplacable, and every worker should be glad I'm hiring them at all" does not apply in civilised nations.
Michael Largey 2 hours ago
As a teacher, doing the bare minimum would not have affected my employer nearly as much as it did my students. And doing the minimum would have made the job so boring that it actually would have been hard work.
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