Quiet quitting: Does it come down to bad workplace managers? | Mary Chao
Maybe it's the pandemic. Maybe it's social media. Or the need for work-life balance.
Quiet quitting is all the buzz around water coolers, virtual and in-person. It's a new name for a behavior that's been around since the beginning of work. For some workers, it means not taking on additional tasks without extra pay. For others, it means doing the minimum.
The craze kicked off on TikTok, with influencers touting the coolness of doing the bare minimum at work to avoid burnout, as Gen Z takes to task what's really important to them: friends and family.
Pandemic shutdown weary, that message resonated across a cross section of generations. Do what you're paid for. Don't be exploited. With a shortage of workers in many industries, employees now find themselves in the position of having the upper hand.
But should you really do the minimum to skate by? Not if you want to move up.
Beth Scherer, director of consulting and outsourcing at CBIZ, who works with companies around the country on human resources, said there are always people who go above and beyond at a company. Those are the few at the top who get noticed, she said.
Most companies have a bell curve when it comes to employee engagement and productivity, Scherer said. A small group at the top, a small group at the bottom with the majority efficiently getting the job done. Being with the majority with a work life balance is perfectly fine, she said.
"We shouldn't be taking advantage of them," Scherer said. "We need them to do the work."
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'The work is piled on folks who are left'
Quiet quitting is a new name for an old concept. But it's trending due to pandemic influences, Scherer said. People who have quit the work force often have not been replaced, so the work gets spread around the remaining workers.
"The work is piled on folks who are left," Scherer said.
There's a disconnect between what managers think employees should do and employees doing too much work, she said.
According to a study released last month by Harvard Business Review, quiet quitting is less about an employee’s willingness to work harder and more about a manager’s ability to build a relationship with staff.
Many people have worked for a manager that forced them toward quiet quitting. This comes from feeling undervalued and unappreciated. The managers may be biased, or engaged in inappropriate behavior. The lack of motivation was a reaction to the manager. Yet most mid-career employees have also worked for a leader for whom they want to perform well, including working late or starting early, because the manager was inspiring, according to the HBR study.
We all make a decision as to whether we will do the bare minimum or go the extra mile at work. The Harvard Business Review study is right, it often comes down to how people are treated by management. If your manager has already stereotyped you, would you be inspired to go above and beyond? Conversely, if your manager believes in you and looks out for you, will you let your manager down?
Whether it's acceptable to quiet quit also comes down to the type of profession, not a generational divide.
Frankie Fiero, 20, of Clifton, said that if she were asked to work extra hours at her office job, she would expect to be compensated for it. But if she's working toward a career goal, she would gladly put in the extra work.
Different professions have different expectations, Scherer said. In engineering, it's common that staffers work the expected hours, but in a profession like law, extra hours are expected until you become the person that brings in the business.
In media, going above and beyond is par for the course as it is a competitive field. My Gen Z daughter understands that as a film major, currently giving 110% to enter an unstable profession where she has to stand out. Much as her Gen X mom had to some 30 years ago.
Just as the pandemic shifted the nature of work with the job market now favoring worker bees, the profession also dictates whether it's acceptable to quiet quit.
It's a matter of supply and demand.
Mary Chao is a columnist who covers the Asian community and real estate in North Jersey. Email mchao@northjersey.com.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Quiet quitting comes down to bad managers - Mary Chao
