What Can You Do Instead of Quiet Quitting?

These days a new term “quiet quitting” is going viral on social media. It refers to doing the bare minimum at work, instead of over-performing and exceeding expectations.  According to a ResumeBuilder.com survey of 1000 working Americans in August 2022, 1 out of 4 workers are quiet quitting.

Here are the key findings:

– 21% of workers are quite quitting saying they only do the bare minimum; 5% do even less than what they’re paid to do

– 8 in 10 quiet quitters are burned out

– 1 in 10 employees are putting in less effort than 6 months ago; half say this hasn’t gone unnoticed

– 1 in 3 who have reduced effort have cut back hour spent working by more than 50%

– 9 in 10 quiet quitters could be incentivized to work harder

The survey shows that quiet quitters don’t want to do more work without additional pay. They also think that doing more would compromise their mental health and work-life balance. Additionally, they don’t think that it would benefit their career.

Although quiet quitting is a new term, I have been working as a career coach with quiet quitters for years. When people feel stuck and unhappy with their jobs or careers, they usually don’t have a desire to overachieve at work. It’s sad that quiet quitting has become a trend as many employees find themselves dissatisfied. It would be more productive for them to find jobs they love, do things that really interest them, and achieve a strong sense of meaning and belonging.

For those who are ready to make an exit, I recommend Career Exploration using Birkman which reveals a person’s passions, interests and personal strengths, and aligns them with ideal career, job role and work environment. My highly actionable career guidance program measures your profile and creates your action plan towards sustained career satisfaction. As Aristotle said: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”