EXPLAINER: Experts break down quiet quitting

A 2022 Gallup study showed that 85% of employees worldwide are not engaged or actively engaged at work. 

UHCL workplace scholars including Chuck Crocker, director of Career Services, and Alex Milam, associate professor of industrial and organizational psychology, identify the heart of the issue of quiet quitting lying in workplace engagement. 

“The concept of quiet quitting is really being used to describe people who aren’t engaged in their work, who are doing just what they need to do to not get fired,” Crocker said. 

Quiet quitting emerged as one of many trends in light of the “Great Resignation.” Since the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout and resignation rates continue to increase. 

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this is emerging as people are emerging from the work-at-home world and wondering if it’s all worth it,” Milam said. “Employees are reexamining their priorities in life and balancing whether giving extra effort at work pays off. 

Milam describes quiet quitting as a mechanism used to readjust work-family balance that may be missing in employees’ life. 

“In that respect, it probably is healthy,” Milam said. “However, quiet quitting is likely also a response to not feeling engaged at work, which isn’t necessarily a good thing either. We spend so much time at work, becoming disengaged can happen as a result from poor leadership, a toxic work environment, increased demands, or a number of other things. So people respond by not giving that extra effort that is so often expected of us.”

Milam and Crocker noted the concept of quiet quitting is not new. 

“We have had similar phenomena such as presenteeism, which essentially means you are at work, but not really productive; or time theft, which means you are wasting your company’s money by not getting a lot done,” Milam said. 

Milam cited engagement as a reason organizations would not say quiet quitting is harmless. 

“Organizations spend a lot of energy trying to foster work engagement from their employees,” Milam said. “Also, ‘doing just what is required of their job’ sometimes means not taking the opportunity to get to know one’s coworkers, which can have an impact on team productivity, group synergy, and myriad other great work outcomes.”

The rise in many making more significant efforts for work-life balance comes as research reveals the greater toll work engagement has on mental health. 

“We have a concept in our field called Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs), which refers to the workplace behaviors that one engages in that really helps the organization and one’s coworkers,” Milam said. “These were always generally seen as positive behaviors until about 15 years ago when the research started showing that OCBs were also related to high levels of stress, and work-family conflict. People who go the extra mile often pay a price. I think the pandemic has given some people the opportunity to stop engaging in these OCBs, and I imagine for some, it has given them a better quality of life.” 

Milam said American cultural values play a role in the negative connotation quiet quitting has. 

“We are always encouraged to go the extra mile, give that extra effort,” Milam said. “In an individualistic culture like ours, standing out this way gets us noticed at work. People who engage in OCBs are more likely to get promoted, have more options when they get laid off, and generally have a more successful work experience. So when we hear about a strategy to not engage in OCBs, we are primed to react negatively to this. It is not valued in our culture, as you say.”

Milam said in the present day, those who engage in OCBs are more than likely to stand out compared to their quiet quitting co-workers.

“At this point, it may be incumbent on managers to redefine what is expected of employees, and perhaps offer some off-ramps where people feel like they have permission to quietly quit from time to time,” Milam said. “This is a fairly new area, and I’m interested in what the research will tell us over the next 5-10 years.”

Crocker recommends students keep their values in mind when looking for a job and career.

“I’ve always believed that one of the factors in choosing a career is values,” Crocker said. “One thing we encourage students to think about and ask themselves is ‘What are your values?’ What do you want out of a job? What is your dealbreaker? What do you need to have?”

Crocker encouraged students to think of their dealbreakers and ask questions to assess whether a job is for them or not.

“Ask them open-ended questions like ‘Tell me why you like working here,’” Crocker said. “‘Tell me about your leadership style,’ ‘How do you lead this department?’ Ask about 401 benefits. Know what you are getting into.”

Crocker said employers must consider why their employees are quitting. 

“In my opinion, employers from the executive level down to middle management […], the decision makers, need to listen to their employees,” Crocker said.  The bottom line is listening to the employees and faculty and staff, what are they saying, how are they thinking. Pick up on things that might be low-hanging fruit.”