Quiet Quitting and Quiet Firing: Symptoms of a Noncommittal Culture

Until recently, I didn’t know what these terms meant. Then, I decided for the first time in my professional career to explore employment opportunities.

The last time I applied for an actual job was when I was in high school. Otherwise, throughout my career I have either considered myself self-employed or employed. Over the years, I have either had my own businesses, have gone to work for one of my clients in a position offered to me or been recruited by a friend to a role in a company they were employed by. In all cases, I have always proven my value to companies by earning the respect I deserve through a genuine commitment to collaboration and productivity. I have never expected any job to be easy. I have never considered myself unemployed and thus, I have never taken unemployment. I am an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are self-starting, self-driven individuals who own their responsibilities. Entrepreneurs value relationships above all else because they recognize relationships are the catalyst for success.

I learned a long time ago that relationships are never a 50/50 investment–they are always 100/100. The richest relationships consist of people who commit 100% to not only the relationship’s survival but its security and growth.

In my job search, I learned that many of the companies posting available jobs were–at the same time–reporting layoffs. I was reminded of the revolving door of our workforce and the dichotomy of our capitalistic corporate mentality. As a result, I came to learn about these odd terms Quiet Firing and Quiet Quitting.

As an expert in branding, these terms to me are nothing more than buzzwords representing the failure of employers and employees to commit. Everyone seems to keep one foot out the door. It’s ironic how capitalism–a market that depends on people investing in one another–breeds such disregard for one another at the same time.

Corporations are like automobiles. They are machines that–at the present time at least–require a driver and passengers. That may soon change as companies–like cars–move toward autonomy. But for the time being, corporations are still dependent on the relationships of people. Employment is a commitment to the relationship between employer and employee. Without these relationships, a company will stop producing, stop performing and stop providing.

Our western culture promotes and rewards the unique and special and encourages us to stand out from one another. We're addicted to the rushes of dopamine we receive from recognition. We are convenience-driven and entitled. We're more of a 'receive' culture than we are a 'give' culture.?How can we expect anything different in the workplace? Our competitive culture breeds it. Our brains are inundated with distraction, constantly processing so much that we don't know what to do with stillness. I'd imagine this is why we’re such a prolific consumer society. Our brains need the rush that comes with having new and shiny things. We're taught to believe we deserve better and more. And, when better and more is just around the corner, we learn not to commit to 'what is' for the possibility of 'what might be'.

I'm not suggesting that we just settle for what is. I believe we must always strive to advance and improve. But, by removing the distractions we can make clear decisions and improve responsibly. We can make decisions with integrity and we can honor those we have made commitments to before we cast them aside for something else.

According to Forbes, the top three richest people in the world at the end of 2022 were the founders of consumer product brands and services. [Elon Musk: Tesla, Jeff Bezos: Amazon, and Bernard Arnault: Louis Vuitton/Sephora/Hennessy]. You will never see the founders of The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund or Habitat for Humanity on the list of the richest people in the world. The chemistry of a giving culture doesn’t precure such egocentrism.

So, why are we challenged to commit? We cast aside integrity and honor.

Any couple in a lasting relationship will tell you that the foundation of their marriage is trust. A wedding certificate is nothing more than a piece of paper if the relationship is void of trust. The two factors that most determine the success of a marriage are whether the partners can be trusted and if the partners will allow themselves to trust each other. And, the most successful relationships are those where there is no question. Trust in such relationships is inherent.

In recent years we’ve seen companies toy with the remote work team structure. Many have seen success in establishing remote work environments and just as many have pulled back the reins and brought employees back to the office. Remote work is completely dependent on trust. And, trust is completely dependent on integrity and honor. Productivity, focus, self-drive, and execution completely depend on the individual’s integrity and honor to their teammates. And, a company must learn to trust their teams to execute while not under their watchful eye.

The hiring process is broken.

Applying for jobs has become a database driven strategy of keyword usage on a submitted resume. Recruiters are faced with literally hundreds (if not thousands) of resume submissions for a single open position. I can only imagine the blur a recruiter must experience when reading and researching the countless positions and skills outlined on hundreds of submitted resumes. And, because so, I can only assume the first phases of recruitment have become more of a mechanical process than an intuitive process. It isn't until the candidate list is significantly whittled away that intuition enters the process.

In fact, I’ve come to believe that–if a candidate doesn’t actually know someone working for the employer–their chance for an interview depends as much on their skill at optimizing their resume for database results [essentially SEO for job databases] as the actual skills they have for the role. If they are lucky enough to have their resume reviewed, only then does their actual skill set matter. Only if they get an interview will they have an opportunity to prove their integrity and honor and only then may the employer trust them with the role.

But, the employer must recognize trust's dependence on integrity and honor and demonstrate such traits, themselves. The interview process is a trust-building exercise. As the relationship grows between the company and that new employee, a commitment must be made by both parties to protect it, nurture it and ensure its survial and growth. It is in this phase that a reasonable commitment to recognizing and avoiding the distractions that can threaten the relationship should be made.

Candidates must do their due diligence to determine the integrity and honor of an employer. This can be done by talking to other staff-members, researching the company’s corporate culture, assessing corporate standards of practice, assessing how the company gives back, understanding their commitment to managing their carbon footprint and more. Yes, a corporation must work to ensure shareholder value, but a candidate must try to determine if they’re doing so at the expense of our planet and its people. Values must align.

Corporations must survive. This is achieved by ensuring sustained growth through efficient operation and maximized profits. If the company has investors, it will typically favor their needs by establishing a corporate culture revolving around shareholder value. To do so, it must mitigate inefficiencies. A culture centered on shareholder value oftentimes comes down to black and red digits on a spreadsheet. Everything becomes a number–including the employees who strive to deliver such value.

It is easier for a company to cut a massive swath of people than it is to cut a single person. Cutting an entire department or division is a strategic corporate decision based on accounting. Such decisions can be easier to publicly justify. Cutting a single unproductive employee is a bit more sticky and is likely why companies quiet fire. The cost to fire an unproductive employee is significant. I suspect it is probably cheaper to quietly encourage them to leave by cut them off than it is to fire them, pay them severance or have them collect unemployment. Passive discouragement can slowly kill any relationship.

Quiet quitter employees will do everything possible to increase their dollar per hour rate. With a fixed salary the only way to do so is to work less by taking advantage of every possible opportunity to not work. Why work harder in a dead-end career for an employer who doesn’t care–so they may think. Might as well milk the system because trying to find a new job in today's job market is a job in itself–and without pay. Nevermind their questionable integrity and failure to honor the relationship they commited to with their employer. Never mind the fact that artificial intelligence is going to eventually replace their role if they don't show their employer that they are worth the continued investment.

As a result, I imagine, both the employer and employee simply tolerate one another until one reaches their limit. This whole issue comes down to a lack of integrity and honor for the original commitment to the relationship and as a result, trust erodes. Who loses in such a relationship? The employer, the employee, the shareholders, and ultimately the brand itself is tarnished in the process.

Distraction is the poison that breaks down relationship commitment.

In any relationship, the things that distract us from our focus are generally the same things that lead us astray. We can also attribute relationship failure to boredom, lack of motivation, dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment, communication issues, and the grass-is-greener or the glass-is-half-empty attitude. Drive diminishes. Commitment is tested because integrity and honor fall out of balance. This, to me, is why companies turn to artificial intelligence instead of hiring people. Machines generally don't have integrity issues. It’s also why young people are settling for 'situationships' instead of committed relationships.

Commitment becomes arduous if the parties aren’t inherently 100% committed to the relationship. It's just easier not having to commit to begin with. Making the effort to show you can be trusted takes work. It can be hard to overcome the relentless distractions of our modern, fast-paced world.

Corporations who retain the cream of the crop employees–the unicorns–must know how to recognize one when they see one. In other words, a company must walk the talk. Corporate culture isn’t just something to attract people to do the work. It’s what transforms a corporation from being an empty shell to being a living and breathing thing. Corporations must be the champions they wish to attract. They must remove their own distractions to create an environment built on trust.

Employees who find themselves in roles that bring them joy, who wake each morning with passion for what they are doing and who believe they are doing what they are meant to do–no matter what the role may be–are the employees who will take pride in being trusted. They will commit themselves to integrity and honor in exchange for their livelihood. Those who look at their job as their life’s work are those who have an entrepreneurial attitude and invest themselves in their work for the greater good of the company. This kind of transformation comes from a genuine corporate culture built on integrity and honor.

Long live the start-up culture of all-for-one and one-for-all.

I’ve had the unique opportunity to work for several different start-ups. One of the things I most appreciate about start-up culture is the entrepreneurial spirit of those who enlist. To work for an upstart, one must believe in possibilities and set aside fear, ego, and self-interest for the greater good of the team. Investors and company employees have a close relationship built on trust. Most often, I have experienced the founders standing right beside the rest of the team fully investing themselves in the cause. Everyone has a boots-on-the-ground attitude. It's a war mentality for survival to maintain footing in the trenches. Every win is a win for the whole team. The founders are often the last to be paid as they make a sacrifice for the survival of nothing more than an idea with a glimmer of hope for the future.

The larger a company gets, the more obligations it has to outside interests and the more it is held to a standard that no longer centers on the greater good of the whole team. Instead it becomes responsible for the greater good of investors. Like society, often it centers on the prosperity of a handful of people at the top and a strategy to keep the rest content with less.

I have worked for founders of start-ups that were completely broke and leveraged cash advances on their credit cards to toss the dice on an idea. Often, they lost. But, once in a while, they would survive. Eventually the project would grow legs and even explode with an IPO and a subsequent corporate sale to another larger company. Those brave souls made hundreds of people millionaires–not just themselves. The company founders who held integrity and honor ensured their original team was among those handsomely rewarded.

Commitment to integrity and honor is the elixir for relationship success.

Not everyone is a born champion. But, everyone has the potential to be one. We must approach each relationship with open eyes and open hearts. The trouble is, more often than not, people are jaded with baggage from the past. Both corporations and the workforce have learned hard lessons from their past relationships with one another. With effort, lost trust can be restored.

Instead of quietly giving up on a relationship, the real solution is what it has always been–open communication. Both employers and employees must come to the table to speak and feel heard. We must clearly outline our expectations of one another. We must reinvigorate our commitment to the relationship and be willing to give 100% to each other. We must regain trust and over time with integrity and honor, that trust can become inherent.

There need not be labels put on our failure to work together. We must live each day with integrity and honor if we want trust to thrive. We get what we give. We reflect what we project. It’s a simple thing, really. It’s all each of us really needs to do and together we will succeed. If we cannot find it within ourselves to do so, well, then we can most certainly expect our jobs to be replaced by technology.

Do you take pride in holding integrity by honoring yourself and others? Are you willing to commit to human collaboration and productivity? Are you concerned about emerging intelligence replacing the workforce? Then be the champion you have the potential to be. Lead by example and reflect the kind of corporate culture you would like to see. Influence change.

Let the entrepreneur in you own your responsibilities to your employer, the planet and your fellow humans. If you are dissatisfied with the corporate culture of your current employer, then communicate your concerns. If you do not feel heard, then let that spirit within you lead the way to a new kind of company of your own. With integrity and honor, either can be a noble path.

Those companies that hold integrity and honor for humankind–the relationships they have with their employees and customers–will listen and adjust as needed. That commitment will build a level of trust that has the power to bring people together to restore balance on our planet.

By: Scott C Leuthold

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