Quiet quitting: a trend or a phenomenon?

A combination of Twitter and TikTok posts caused an emergence of the novel term “quiet quitting” in early 2022. 

According to the posts, quiet quitting is used to refer to the passive disengagement one may have with one’s job, leading them to put in minimal effort and perform only their responsibilities and nothing more.

TikTokers, such as Sarai Marie, who is known for her content surrounding workplace attitudes and advice, have used the phenomenon to argue for a healthier work-life balance, while some employers have used the term to criticize Gen Z employees for slacking on the job.

The reality, however, is that quiet quitting is not new. Dominic Packer, professor of psychology, thinks it is merely a new way to refer to a workplace norm.

Packer studies the way groups shape the identities of individuals. He does not agree that quiet quitting is a generational anomaly exclusive to Gen Z.

“The biggest thing to me is a seeming lack of evidence that it’s a new phenomenon,” Packer said, “that there’s more of whatever it is — call it quiet quitting, call it disengagement — than it has been before.”

A Gallup study showed that during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, employee engagement increased. 

Packer said this could be due to the mission-oriented mindset many businesses adopted as the pandemic began, and extra effort may have energized employees and led to greater engagement in the workforce. 

Since then, engagement has gone back to baseline, and many employers have been left with skewed expectations of their employees. 

“This changes the story,” Packer said. “Because it’s not that there aren’t disengaged people — people who sort of quietly quit — but are there necessarily more of them now than in the past? Maybe not. And, is it something we should blame on younger workers, which is often the narrative? …I don’t think that’s supported by the data.”

Katherine Le, ‘25, said she worked as a retail cashier for her first job and was motivated to work beyond what her boss expected. 

She said she was soon the top seller of her district, but when her productivity began to decline, her employer was quick to intervene. 

“At some point, my output decreased,” Le said. “And my boss was like, ‘What’s up with you? What’s wrong with you?’ …I felt like I already gave 150%, so there shouldn’t be a problem with me going back to 100%.”

Packer said the more people identify with a company or group, the harder they tend to work toward their goals. However, a toxic or unfair work environment can lead to a disconnect for employees.

As one example, he said people can become disengaged if they feel they have no voice.

“If you have a boss who is not at all interested in what you have to say, or if it might seem risky (to say it)…that’s a demoralizing kind of thing and tends to reduce identification,” Packer said.

Le said her employer made her feel like he did not appreciate her and did not recognize she was already going above and beyond in her productivity.

Yucheol Hwang, ‘25, works as the building manager of the Dialogue Center and said he has a positive professional relationship with his boss.

He said his employer is generally understanding and accommodating, which motivates him to be a good employee. 

“It makes me want to do more for my job than what I’m asked for,” Hwang said.

Packer said he encourages organizations to consider the following questions when analyzing the role quiet quitting plays in their workspaces:

“How can you think about (your work) more as something with which you help people identify?” Packer said. “How do you create something people would want to identify with?”