Quiet Quitting: It’s Not About Time

Quiet quitting is a phrase that has been so heavily discussed and debated it now is representative of several different ideas. However, when first coined on social media it was attached to a video showing a worker participating in post-working hour activities. This would imply that the original intent was to describe a separation of work and self, allowing all work thoughts and activities to exist strictly during prescribed work hours, not necessarily a defunct work drive.

Words are living inventions that can change with use. What at one time is considered the improper use of a word may become its meaning over years of prolific misapplication. Therefore, if articles continue to come out about the dangers of “quiet quitters,” the meaning of the phrase may very well come to mean those who are “checked out” mentally and are content to receive payment in exchange for doing little to no work. Whatever the current or future definition, it is becoming clear that this trend can create an unfair and even dangerous working environment and cannot be written off as generational nonsense, but should be openly addressed by leaders in the workplace.

This begs the question; how do you address something that doesn’t have a clear meaning? For professionals in the safety industry, this question should be very familiar. Root cause identification is an integral part of risk management. When the reason behind a repeat incident is unclear, you do not spend all your time and effort trying to define that negative occurrence, instead, you begin investigations into the root cause. If that is never discovered, there will not be any sustainable improvement to the situation.

Whatever form quiet quitting manifests itself as, the thing usually motivating it is work relationships, and at the root of every relationship is the issue of trust.

Quiet quitting, whatever form it takes, is a means of establishing boundaries. The less trust there is in a relationship, the more boundaries seem necessary to put in place. The quintessential opposite of this is a micromanaging boss. They have little trust that the other employees are capable of completing tasks autonomously, so they set up all sorts of limitations to how and when work is performed. Incidentally, this kind of “handholding” management style commonly produces feelings and tensions that can increase the percentage of quiet quitters in a workplace.

So how does a leader establish a healthy, trusting work relationship with their peers? Well, it’s definitely not by digging in your heels and authoritatively stating that you are the boss and anyone who doesn’t do as they’re told will no longer have a job. Nor is the answer espousing another rendition of the claim that working relationships parallel familial relationships. Whatever your company’s mission statement says, your peers are not (usually) your family. They are people that are working alongside you. The answer to building trust in this setting will be as variable as the work itself, however, there are a few certain principles that will help finetune your specific relational needs.

The Harvard Business Review released an article discussing quiet quitting and the need for leadership to take responsibility for establishing trust in work relationships. Their research showed that three factors influence the amount of trust between bosses and those that report to them: positivity, reliability, and knowledge. Leaders need to be able to connect with others (even over differences in opinion) in a way that leaves a positive impression to build trust. They also need to be consistent, reliably showing that their words translate into action, and continually acquiring the knowledge needed to maintain their role.

The most important thing to remember about quiet quitting is that while it may be a behavior that centers around putting limits on time for work, it goes much deeper than that. Quiet quitting is not really about the time. If you want to get to the bottom of why you may be seeing this trend in your workplace (or why you may be tempted to participate in it yourself,) take a closer look at your work relationships. Do you relate to your peers? What level of trust is there between your coworkers? What steps do you take or recommend to improve that trust?