Why Quiet Quitting May Be Good For You
Wondering what quiet quitting is, if you’re already doing it, and what quiet quitting means for your future? In this article, I’ll share with you how to recognize the signs of quiet quitting, how you may be quiet quitting already, and how you intentional or unintentional quiet quitting might be a sign that it’s time to actually quit your job and move onto something better.
What is quiet quitting?
Quiet quitting is when we disengage and put in the bare minimum to get by, and it’s directly related to capitalism, consumerism, and the “make money at all costs” culture so many of us have been bathed in since birth. It is an answer to our mind-body saying, “Enough is enough. I can’t keep giving my all to this corporation, this boss, this non-stop busyness any longer.”
How to quiet quit: the common signs of quiet quitting
The signs of quiet quitting often include:
not attending meetings
arriving late or leaving early
reduction in productivity
less contribution to team projects
not participating in planning or meetings
lack of passion or enthusiasm.
Why did quiet quitting start?
While “quiet quitting” may be a trendy phrase, this practice isn't new. Workers have quietly quit their jobs for years to look for something new, often driven by factors such as low wages, excessive workloads, burnout, or limited prospects for advancement.
The pandemic thrust quiet quitting into prominence as it upended work culture entirely. With more time for introspection, people began to reassess their careers, prioritizing work-life balance.
Why quiet quitting may be good for you:
In my view, there are two kinds of quiet quitting. There is intentional quiet quitting and accidental quiet quitting. If you find yourself in either one, that’s okay. Both can be good for you.
How to quiet quit: Intentional quiet quitting
Intentional quiet quitting is where you actively say, “Hey, I’m going to divest my energy from this job because I resent the job, I resent my boss, I just don’t like the work I am doing, and/or I don’t care about the work I am doing.”
In a situation where you have very limited perceived power, saying, “I’m not going to take this anymore, and I’m not going to keep pouring my energy into something that does not serve me well,” can be a very powerful decision.
But it’s important to be intentional about this and still honor who you are as a person. We can also see, as I explain below, why staying in this mode is not the solution, just a temporary way to manage the situation.
Accidental quiet quitting
Accidental quiet quitting occurs when you just have nothing left to give. Your life is structured in such a way that the tank is empty. The glass is not half full; it’s empty. You just can’t give anymore.
This could be due to the demands of the job. Corporate and salaried jobs expect you to answer the call to get the work done, no matter if it’s on your day off or during the weekend, evenings, or early mornings. We have a global commerce where we’re sometimes working with people in different time zones, and so there’s this expectation that you’re always switched on.
And that can be great! It can even feel exhilarating when you’re on a project and everyone is collaborating toward a common goal. But if there’s no end in sight and you keep burning the candle at both ends, you’ll eventually get to a point where you have nothing left to give.
We must mention that as women, we are often tasked with keeping up the household. Everyone in the house may be contributing, or not, but we are often the ones who are managing the entire inner workings of the household where we keep everything flowing, assign tasks, do the planning, and remember important dates. We carry the emotional load and labor. We also may be caregivers to our children or aging parents (or to both at the same time, see the “sandwich generation”), and so something has to give. That’s where the accidental quiet quitting often comes in.
We divest our energy from the job in order to take care of everything else. There is nothing there to give more from.
I say quiet quitting can be good for you, whether it’s intentional or by accident.
When you find yourself engaging in the signs of quiet quitting, it is because your mind-body is telling you that what you have going on right here right now is not working and is not sustainable. Listen to yourself. Pay attention to this intuition because it’s a sign that you need to get in the driver's seat and make a change. It just might be a sign that it’s time to quit your job and move on to something better.
If you stay in quiet quitting mode for too long, what kind of life is that? Passing the time away going into a job, not really caring about your performance or the impact you have on other people around you?
This can be good in the short term because you can gather your energy from the job to figure out what you need and the changes you need to make.
But I urge you not to stay in this mode too long because we’re always practicing. If you stay in quiet quitting mode for a long time, you’re practicing wasting your time and practicing not caring about the work you do, which really means that you are practicing not caring about your time.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wake up each day and care about the work that you’re doing?
As they say, a woman’s work is never done. It’s ongoing, so if you have to work—and that work can include working in our home, volunteerism, caregiving, and our careers—make sure that it’s work worth doing.
Work is part of our life force energy and our power, and we can be so powerful if we channel it in a way that is uniquely ours and aligned with who we are, which facilitates ease and fulfillment.
That’s a life that feels good.
When it is time to quit your job and move into the work you love, I’ll be here to support you.
My name is Theresa Lewis.
I run a special program called Navigating Career Crossroads, a virtual, 8-module coaching program which helps women break out of unfulfilling careers and find joy in life.
When you decide it is time to quit your job and move into a career you love, I’ll be here to help. The first step is to submit a quick and easy Interest Form to tell me a bit about you, your story, and your goals. From there, I’ll be in touch to discuss next steps.
If you’re not quite ready to explore making a career change but would like to continue learning about what is possible for you on the other side of your current job, I’d love for you to join my email list. I send out regular notes with bite-sized tips about how to transition into a career you love, no matter what season of life you are in. You can join my email community by providing your details here.
Thank you for joining me today. May the future of your work be more fulfilling than you ever imagined possible.