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Perspective: Quiet Quitting

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No one’s being “hush hush” about quiet quitting anymore. It’s being written about, talked about, and hopefully, employers are trying to “do about” the practice before business grinds to a halt. Quiet quitting doesn’t mean someone forgot to turn in their resignation letter or just didn’t show up one day. It’s about stepping back and saying “no” to requests by your boss to give more than what your job description entails.

The urge to quiet quit doesn’t show up overnight. Like burnout, it reflects a slow build-up of growing demands, overwhelming expectations, and lack of appreciation or compensation equivalent to the effort you’re putting into your job. It’s like watching a bad investment sink even lower. You have to decide when to cut your losses and walk. At work, quiet quitting might be a way to cut your losses until a better job comes along.

Quiet quitting isn’t just about the dollars in our paycheck. It’s also about the meaning we find in the work we do. We’re willing to earn less and give more when we believe the work we do holds meaning. It’s no wonder service occupations often pay the least but generate the greatest meaning.

Bosses have the power to reduce quiet quitting. Don’t expect employees to invest more in a job than you’re willing to invest in them. Show them their contributions matter. Fostering a sense of belonging, compensating employees fairly, and building a community of care benefit everyone -- as well as the bottom line.

I’m Suzanne Degges-White and that’s my perspective.

Chair and Professor - NIU counseling and higher education