"Quiet Quitting": Fighting Back Against Toxic Labels

Last year, a client of mine sent me a clip from a mainstream news outlet about a new term that was making the rounds — "quiet quitting."?

I prefer to focus on evidence-based practices, so I rarely comment on what the media has decided is important to report about burnout. I thought the term would go away, but it has stuck around.?

And here’s the thing: this term makes me angry (anger signals to us that an injustice is occurring) because it sidelines the progress that needs to happen in some organizations so that employees can be humans. With that, I’m addressing what I have observed and where I think some of the confusion lies.

Media and influencers are using the term "quiet quitting" to describe what employers are experiencing as it relates to employee engagement with work. Major news outlets from NPR to Fox News to CNBC to ABC have posted articles reporting this trend.

Some have included explanations of how this is actually a terrible term, and?that “quiet quitting” actually just amounts to setting healthy boundaries. But others have used it as an opportunity. They’ve used it to drag younger generations of workers through the mud by saying they’re lazy and don’t have a good work ethic.

One of the chief complaints is that folks are choosing to work only during actual work hours or refusing to engage in work-related activities (like checking email) after work.

Instead of seeing people as the problem, I'd like us to take a look at the culture that has created the expectation that we live to work, rather than work to live.

American Work Culture

When I was growing up, I learned a particular set of work ethics that told me the following messages:

1. Your worth is measured by your success at work.
2. To be successful and move up at work, you have to put in 110% at all costs, even if that means sacrificing a personal life. It won't last forever. Just until you've "made it." So keep going!
3. If you aren't successful at work - if you aren't getting promoted - it's because you aren't working hard enough.

In my work with individuals and organizations, I find these values are deeply entrenched into our ideas about success - and it's problematic.

Many of us have subscribed to a work culture that runs us into the ground, causing frequent career changes, maybe even into careers we are less passionate about, because we feel we can't "keep up." This is a culture most of us had no role in creating, but we’ve learned is “normal.”

Work culture in America has been problematic for some time, but I wasn’t aware of the differences until I started dating my partner. He works for a French company and has colleagues all over the world, so I’ve been able to observe the cultural differences.

Here are some examples:

• In Germany, there is a Works Council that stands in the gap for employees. They have to approve all training that’s required for workers in for-profit jobs, among other things that protect employees rights.
• In France, if you have a company larger than 50 people, you cannot require your employees to check email after work hours. French workers have a "right to disconnect."

But in America, these concepts are mostly foreign. Focus within organizations is more on the wellness of the company than the wellness of its workers, which makes sense on the surface because we have to care about profits.?And while we have unions to advocate for workers in some industries and states, other industries and states are unrepresented.

What many don’t understand is that unwell workers will experience a decrease in effectiveness, and a widespread lack of effectiveness can significantly impact the bottom line.?That's why strategically mitigating organizational and individual burnout is so pivotal.

And that’s why I think we need to ditch the term "quiet quitting."

When we see employees setting boundaries, we need to honor those as burnout prevention, rather than vilifying them as “quiet quitting.”

We need to see an employee that is trying to maintain boundaries SO THAT they can show up to work as their best selves.

While I understand the term was coined on TikTok by workers themselves, I want to encourage you to think critically about how you describe setting boundaries at work.

The term “quiet quitting” gives the impression that folks are not meeting the required expectations of the job. While in some cases, that may be true, the term has been generalized to include behaviors that are quite frankly, healthy.

The term also implies that people are not good employees if they are setting boundaries. That is not true.

In general, we are not helping ourselves by using this term.?

Instead, we are supporting toxic work environments by framing workers as the “bad guys,” instead of shining the light on the toxic work culture that is internalized into employees (probably before your company ever came into the picture) and holding people accountable when they don't meet realistic expectations.

I want to be really clear on this: if you are standing firm in your boundaries and that allows you to have a life outside of work while also meeting your commitments, you are not "quiet quitting." You are setting reasonable boundaries that allow you to be a human being with a life outside of work. And research shows us that psychological detachment from work is a significant piece of preventing burnout.

I think it’s important to point out that psychological detachment doesn't just benefit you. It benefits your organization, too. When you are more rested, less fatigued, and have given your brain a break from work, it gives you the bandwidth to be the best leader or employee you can be.

But we need to be aware of something else: setting healthy boundaries in the workplace doesn’t just have to come from its workforce.

If you are a leader within your organization, there are steps you can take to make your work environment healthier for your people — an environment that increases effectiveness and protects outcomes, whether that’s profitability in business or student achievement in education.

I know that can feel overwhelming. When deciding to make a change, it can be difficult knowing where to start.

That’s why I want to invite you to join my upcoming webinar, Your Next Step to Navigating Employee Burnout.

In our time together, we’ll cover…

• Why self-care isn’t solving the problem of burnout for your people.
• How to determine your next step to addressing burnout within your organization
• Evidence-based practices that can help move the needle in your business — from burnout to organizational health

…So your employees can show up as the best version of themselves.?

They will have the capacity to work toward their career goals alongside supporting the mission and vision of your company.

They will remain emotionally healthy and protect their effectiveness, ultimately protecting their impact on the profitability of the business.

That’s a winning outcome for everyone!

If you’re ready to make changes and need guidance on making that happen, this webinar is worth the time investment. We’ll get you started on the right path.

https://subscribepage.io/burnoutwebinar

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