‘Quiet quitting’ ... have you heard of it?

CanadianGran

I thin it's a silly misnomer. I would call it fulfilling my contractual obligations.

I work hard and do a good job while I am at work. I shouldn't be thought less of if I arrive on time and leave on time. If the company wants more from me, they can pay me longer hours, or negotiate a different contract.

Yes

My DH at one time worked for an American company. They admired the first person there in the morning and the last to leave. It didn’t seem to matter how long they took to do things.

In the Netherlands they believe that if you can’t do the job between 9 and 5 and complete all tasks then you were incompetent. Everyone stopped at 5 and went home. They had a better life balance.

My two DC work hard until 5 then stop unlike their father who worked long hours.

I think the youth today tend to work to live not live to work. I envy them that.

I also think that as people are contactable 24/7 a lot of Companies expect you to answer queries via email or text all hours of the day, night, weekends and holidays. Why should you?
Work life balance has to start somewhere. I don’t see it as ‘coasting’ it’s just working the hours that you are paid for and overtime if you work extra hours.
Of course there are Management jobs that require you to work as and whenever you are needed, but the wages usually compensate you for that.
But I still think that unless it’s very urgent emails and texts from the office should wait until the next working day.

It's what we used to call "Working to Rule" - ie you did as per your work description. I used to go way above my pay grade until I realised that the more I did the more I was expected to do while others sat around doing little or nothing. So, I asked for an upgrade to the appropriate level and was refused. My response was to Work to Rule or Quiet Quit. My upgrade came soon after. Basically it was industrial action.

I was always a hard worker, not that it was particularly appreciated ( until I left!) because it was drummed into me from a young age and I just couldn’t help myself. I used to get to work early and leave late- silly when I look back at it really. Protestant work ethic ?

Hmmm..

I'm really not sure on this, because I have found that people who actually work less than the hours contracted, but spend time on their phones, nipping out to buy things they need at home, and generally taking the pee seem to be thought more of, as long as they include sucking up to the boss in their 'ways to avoid work' box of tricks.

Because I work with people, though I couldn't ever just leave them uncomfortable because my shift ended on the dot.

I would sooner stay, and ensure things were done, and the paperwork completed.

I pretty much perfected this when I was doing my O levels. Working just enough to get reasonable results. Carried on with it through most of my working life except for a couple of jobs where I was really involved in what I was doing and worked silly hours because I wanted to make it all work.

I thin it's a silly misnomer. I would call it fulfilling my contractual obligations.

I work hard and do a good job while I am at work. I shouldn't be thought less of if I arrive on time and leave on time. If the company wants more from me, they can pay me longer hours, or negotiate a different contract.

I hadnt heard of the phrase until OP mentioned it. However I would like to bet that some of us here have done it - especially those who are of an age to begin coasting towards retirement. You dont feel valued anymore, and know you wont get promotion. You are just hanging in there for your state pension.

Entirely understandable to quietly quit.

I was never happy in a work situation- always just wanted to be at home!

So yes, that’s probably me!

The social contract between employer and employee is now broken. In the past there was an implicit understanding that if you worked hard and loyally for an employer they would "look after" you and promote you when you deserved it.

That has all gone.

Now most employers (not all) will screw their employees for all they can get and drop them like a stone when it suits them.
I have never felt loyalty to any employer. Not since they began to disregard experienced qualified professionals in favour of kids straight out of uni who had a shitty little bit of paper we did not have. A degree - and often not a very good one.

Once I had made up my mind to return to education I coasted for the last 18 months of my time in that employment. I arrived and left on time, filled up the hours, and no more. I did what I was paid to do and nothing extra.

I worked my ass off at uni (1980s) because it was something for me.

Now Im self employed I work harder than I did for any employer because I have the best boss in the world.

All of my dc are ambitious so I don’t think it’s something they’d be interested in doing, they’ve got plans they want to achieve.

I suppose it depends partly on your job, though, and how much you enjoy doing it.