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Employees Stop Going Above And Beyond At Work And Join The “Quiet Quitting” Trend, Here’s What People Have To Say About It (21 Answers)
Article created by: Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Poor pay, tremendous workload, a better job offer, plain burnout, and lack of opportunities for career growth are nothing new. While employees in different areas are no strangers to any of these, many of them have recently found a way to rebel.
Quiet quitting! This term refers to workers who deliberately choose to do tasks strictly within their job description to avoid working long hours. Not more, not less. Quiet quitting is said to help an employee deal with burnout, alleviate long-term stress, or give them space while looking for another job.
Since there are still many mixed opinions about quiet quitting, it’s best to listen to what people who have been in those situations or have practiced quiet quitting have to say. “What are your thoughts on ‘Quiet quitting’ / ‘Acting your Wage’?” someone asked on Ask Reddit.
Below we wrapped up some of the most interesting stories and honest replies, so scroll down to find what they have to say!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Just today I decided to do this. I get here 2 hours early to make sure everything is straight so that I can give my boss any updates needed from the night crew. I am supposed to have a 30 min unpaid lunch, I usually work through this. I will also stay later than anyone else just to cover for my bosses so they can go home at their normal time. I am hourly and get overtime so it worked out. I am supposed to only create the training material and make sure everyone is highly trained. This is a industrial environment so we take it seriously. It also causes me to have to come in on my days off sometimes to meet with trainees. I also deal with contractors which is something that no other person in my role has to do. This causes me to some days work from 5 am to 10 pm (I did this Monday and Tuesday this week already) as I am not allowed to work over 16 hours a day. I have never complained as the money was good.
Today my department is told all overtime has to be approved daily. I asked if this included me and it does. Because certain individuals have been caught not working while they are on overtime, the entire department has been punished. I asked if I could go ahead and get my stuff approved as I get up and leave my house around 4:30am and I don't want to have to call him that early. I was told he sees no benefit of me coming in that early or staying that late.
So I will only work my 8 hours, and I am cutting my phone off during my lunch break. I will not cover for them again nor will I work late to help get us back running. I have turned over the contractor paperwork and will no longer be handling it. Seeing as all that I do is not beneficial, it should not cause us any disruptions.
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#2
I was in the Army when a Colonel told me to act my pay grade. Stop doing extra and do what my rank was assigned without the bows and ribbons. Take my lunch, quit working through it. I was worried about things that could wait until the next day.
Work your wage, yo.
#3
The phrase “you get what you pay for” applies to employers too. They shouldn’t expect to get premium production at a discount.
#4
Has anyone here ever worked somewhere, had a supervisor quit, then had to do the supervisor's job, but while being told they can't actually make you officially the supervisor yet, just so they don't have to give you a pay rise? I've known several people who have had this happen to them, and they get strung along with the promise that *eventually* they will have the title and pay rise. No one should fall for it.
Bacon Tentacles 6 months ago
That was me about 8 years ago. Took me 3 years to get a decent raise. Then I left the following year to earn a bigger salary for less work. No regrets.
#5
I think the pandemic really reset people's priorities. A lot of people were working from home or unemployed, and spent time with their families, or relaxing, or on self improvement. After a couple years of that, we all realized that maybe working those extra hours every day isn't that important. Their jobs kept going on, even though they were putting less effort into them.
I've noticed a big change at my office. If I stay until 5:30, there's only a couple cars left in the parking lot. It used to be busy there until 6 or 7 most days! And the place is pretty empty on Fridays, everyone is "working from home".
People seem to value their personal time a lot more, and I think it's a good thing. Work to live, don't live to work!
#7
"Quiet quitting" is a propaganda phrase used by managers and CEOs to try to shame employees who "act their wage".
#8
This whole concept is completely absurd to me. I do realize that in the US you are probably expected to work harder than what you're contractually required to do but for instance here in the Nordic countries most people have always "acted their wage." We don't live to work, we do our job and go home to live our lives.
#9
I resent the term "quiet quitting", as a person who is protective of their time outside office hours. This doesn't make me a bad employee, it makes me a better one. I'm very good at my job, and am able to do it better than some in fewer hours, and I don't suffer from burn out because I make sure I get time to switch off. Measure my performance on the work I do, not the time I'm available.
This term really is corporations responding to the mass realisation that they can't bully and trick 1 person into doing 2 people's jobs any more.
#10
We should also include in the conversation "quiet firing" which is where they keep adding more and more tasks with no pay raise.
#12
Not everybody wants to move up and run the place. Some of us just want to put in their 40 hours and go home, and as long as I can pay my bills I don't need a promotion. So i'm not putting in extra hours and doing extra tasks that aren't in my job description. The favor some people are trying to gain from employers is for future promotions or perks. I have no interest in those perks. I can turn down that stuff because I don't work for free. Clock in at 9 clock out at 4:59 having completed all my assigned work whistling as I skip out the door. If they're going to pay me the bare minimum that they can get away with, this is the effort they get.
#14
Worker productivity has been increasing while wages have remained stagnant. Good to see something addressing the problem.
#15
We *are* “acting our wage,”
It just so happens that wage in the teens buys the effort of a teen.
#16
No company has ever gone above and beyond trying to benefit me. They do the bare minimum, I do the bare minimum.
#17
I just decided to do this yesterday and I am so much more relaxed.
Work has gone crazy for me recently. I have developed the habit over my career of working my butt off to accomplish as much as humanly possible. It took 3-4 people to replace me at my last job.
The workload here has skyrocketed. My personal life is miserable and I'm just so stressed over everything.
I made the conscious decision to just do what I can to get my work done, and be ok with it if not everything gets done. I'm the only one setting this unrealistic standard for myself. I don't have to kill myself to do it....and I'm starting to relax and feel just a bit better.
Edit: I grew up and entered the working world under the understanding that if worked hard I would be rewarded. And looking back on everything, that has never actually happened. The only thing that did happen was I was taken advantage of. I had people in my early employment years try to convince me to do their work for them on the side. I was denied raises and underpaid. At my last job I was 100% convinced I was being underpaid. I gave them advanced notice I had received an offer I was taking seriously. I handed in my two weeks notice and they stonewalled me up until the last day. Then the VP pulled me into his office, told me they couldn't lose me and offered me a massive raise.
I asked about the problems with the company that lead me to quit that I knew they knew about and asked them why they hadn't fixed any of it yet. Didn't get a good answer. So I told them no and left.
Proudest day of my career so far. I'd always been so nervous about authority but just knowing they needed me and I didn't need them gave me such a confidence boost it was amazing.
#18
Minimum wage = minimum effort. 99% of companies can afford to pay good wages, they're just greedy.
#19
It's funny to me how people think this is a new thing.
The term for it is new, but people everywhere have always been doing it.
#20
I support it. If you're under paid then you shouldn't overwork yourself for someone that won't give you a good wage.
#21
You mean doing the correct amount of work you're being paid for? Sounds like not-slavery
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