machado: hey quiet quitters, you have one life. why spend it doing the bare minimum?

first, it was the ‘ great resignation ‘ — also known as the ‘big quit’ and the ‘great reshuffle’ — a trend that became most noticeable in early 2021, when record numbers of people quit their jobs. by early 2022, we were hearing about the ‘great upgrade,’ a term coined by bharat ramamurti, the deputy director of the national economic council, to describe higher quit-rates in low-wage jobs as workers sought higher salaries. 

workers are quitting to go take new, better-paying jobs. it's not the great resignation -- it's the great upgrade. and it's exactly the kind of economy @potus said he wanted to help build. pic.twitter.com/7ibpd1theh

— bharat ramamurti (@bharatramamurti) january 10, 2022

in fact, the notion of quiet quitting, which recently became a thing on tiktok with hundreds — hundreds! — of videos of people declaring that they were no longer doing more than was required in their jobs is about exactly that: no more going that extra mile at work, no reaching above and beyond, and definitely no exceeding expectations.

instead of quiet quitting, what about “joyful joining”?

and while the notion of ‘quiet quitting’ continues to gain traction among the burned out, employers are also taking notice. some bosses see the trend as a positive — a sign that it’s time to engage their employees in new ways, such as allowing them to structure their roles based on what they enjoy doing most, or helping them to define what tasks are priorities and what can be paused, or perhaps let go of altogether. other employers — who take quiet quitters to be people who choose to just coast in their job — are raging about the how ridiculous it is that the subject is even getting airtime.

in fact, even arianna huffington, the founder of the huffington post, who famously passed out due to exhaustion from working 18-hour days (waking up in a pool of blood with a broken cheek bone), used linkedin to jump on the backs of quiet quitters and their supporters, writing that quiet quitting isn’t just about about quitting a job, but also “a step toward quitting on life.” 

“ so instead of quiet quitting, how about “joyful joining”? she writes. “rather than go through the motions in a job you’ve effectively quit on, why not find one that inspires you, engages you and brings you joy?”

“i am truly in awe of this attempt at shifting the energy back to hustle culture — which the initial post was all about moving away from,” michael beveridge, the head of creative at online tax accountant hnry told smartcompany .

the problem is not employees. it’s work

first of all, too many people are overworked and underpaid. canada’s labour market continues to be racialized and gendered — even hair that’s grey affects job security . plus, finding meaning and purpose in large inflation-pressured companies can be soul-sucking. and when, for the love of mary, are we going to figure out that we can’t lay people off, distribute their responsibilities among already overloaded teams and expect happiness and joy, let alone more than a shrivel of job satisfaction?

so what’s a quiet quitter to do?

according to toronto-based labour and employment lawyer nadia halum arauz, it’s best to have an “open conversation” with your boss about the things that are bumming you out about your job — too much work, work-life boundaries, or too many responsibilities, maybe — to give them a chance to address your woes. they may not be able to make the changes you need, but the discussion might protect you in the case of termination, she told ctv news , should they notice a drop in your productivity.