Employees aren't the only ones 'quiet quitting.' College students are, too.

Jaxon Porterfield is a second-year graduate student at Missouri State University. Outside of their course load, Porterfield is a graduate assistant and barista at Green House Coffee + Affogato Bar.

In their role as a graduate assistant, Porterfield is responsible for writing lesson plans, teaching classes, grading work and providing office hours. Porterfield said they know they are putting in more time than the expected average of 20 hours a week by the university.

Since entering their second year, Porterfield has found themselves "quiet quitting," or putting less effort into schoolwork as an effort to preserve their mental health, compared to when they started in the program. They said this has allowed for them to find a greater balance between school, work and personal life.

Though current research indicates that Porterfield is not alone in their quiet quitting, many college students are still struggling to find a healthy balance.

What is quiet quitting?

The term "quiet quitting" doesn't quite accurately describe its true meaning. It doesn't mean one is actually quitting their job. Rather, employees are beginning to draw a line in the sand when it comes to work-life boundaries. This trend has been associated with the burn-out which followed the height of the pandemic.

Lately, quiet quitting has been associated with the workforce. According to management consulting company Gallup, 50% of American workers are quiet quitting right now. But new research indicates that quiet quitting exists in higher education, too.

According to Intelligent, one-third of college students are quiet quitting to preserve their mental health, based on a survey of 1,000 public, private and community college students.

Porterfield said they aren't stepping back from their schoolwork and graduate assistant duties because they're no longer interested. Rather, they want to work the amount they are being paid for.

"I tend to focus my energy in ways that I think are equitable to what I think my compensation is, which I think looks a lot different than other individuals who are in the same position as me," Porterfield said.

Porterfield's concerns aren't unique.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 50% of job seekers were hesitant to start a new position because the salary didn't meet their expectations this year. This is probably because most recent graduates expect an average salary of $70,000 or more, yet employers expect to pay entry-level candidates just under $53,000 on average.

Porterfield's quiet quitting mindset is prevalent in their teaching. Frequently, Porterfield is teaching college freshmen, who they have noticed are the most nervous when it comes to meeting expectations.

"I will try to emphasize that my class is not necessarily going to be the most important thing to those students," Porterfield said. "The hour and a half to three hours a week that they spend with me in that classroom is not going to be the integral experience that they think they need for their college experience, and that's okay. They should put in as much effort as they think will benefit them for my class and no more, as long as they are doing what meets the expectations of the course."

A 'mental health revolution'

Emily Tanner is also a graduate student at Missouri State. Her graduate assistantship is managing the marketing department's social media platforms. She said she's noticed a shift in discussions about mental health among people her age.

"I think we're really in a mental health revolution," Tanner said. "It seems like more people are talking about it, but nothing's getting better."

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Intelligent's survey indicated that one in five college students described their school-life balance as unhealthy.

A graduate student completing her final semester at Missouri State, Acacia Boerboom works alongside Tanner in the marketing department, managing the website. She said she often asks herself what's more important: school or her own happiness.

"This semester, I think I've had to just kind of give up on the mental health aspect and just honestly put it aside and go on autopilot," Boerboom said.

On the other end of the spectrum, Tanner said she feels like she has a good grasp on prioritizing her mental health, along with her schoolwork. She said after nine semesters of college, she's learned what techniques work best for her. The most important is taking some time, whether it's just an hour a day, to step away from work and school.

When it comes to mental health resources on campus, Tanner said she believes they are advertised well.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, two in three recent graduates expect employers to support their mental health and participate in open conversations about it.

Missouri State's Counseling Center offers eight free counseling services to students per semester.

In late August, the center rolled out a new model called "personalized care," which offers more services for students. These include different types of specialized individual and group therapies, interactional self help mobile apps and monthly educational workshops.

Lyd Brandon, a junior at Missouri State, has been utilizing the counseling center's services since they were a freshman. Brandon said they value the center's services, but disliked the time they had to wait before meeting with someone. Brandon said they had to wait two or three weeks before meeting with a counselor after contacting the center.

With the new personalized care model, the center is now accepting walk-ins for initial consultations, Rhonda Lesley, director of the counseling center, said. These consultations last between 20-30 minutes and allow center staff to direct students toward a path that will work best for them.

Lesley said the largest commonalities for why students are visiting the counseling center are results of the pandemic, including self-isolation and grief from the loss of loved ones. She added that she believes the Missouri State community is coming together more to benefit the mental health needs of students through organizations and projects outside of the counseling center.

"I just feel like there's a greater awareness of the student needs and making sure that students are being supported in the right ways," Lesley said. "That's an exciting outcome from COVID, which is tragic in so many ways."

Perspectives are changing in relation to higher education

As some students are "quiet quitting," others are quitting altogether, or pursuing other paths, like entering the workforce. This is reflected both nationwide and locally.

On a national level, post-secondary enrollment dropped 2.6% from the fall 2020 semester to fall 2021 semester, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. At Missouri State, enrollment dropped 2% between the 2020 and 2021 fall semesters and then dropped 2% again this year.

Springfield resident Ruby Reddecliff left Missouri State in 2020. She said the pandemic changed her perspective on higher education.

"It just kind of made school seem pointless," Reddecliff said. "I didn't want to pay for something that I wasn't actually trying at, so I actually did quit. I understand why people would just go through the motions because there's a lot of pressure to be in school."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield college students 'quiet quitting' for mental health