Blog Post 36: Quiet Quitting
Several recent newspaper articles have highlighted “quiet quitting” - essentially the notion that an employee will fulfill the requirements of his or her job but do no more. Going above and beyond is what many companies expect of employees; they want high achievers who are motivated to excel by the promise of higher pay and elevated responsibilities. From the employee point of view, not everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder; meeting the requirements of their jobs should be sufficient. Unfortunately, this trend is exacerbated by a stressful backdrop of political and climate change developments, at a time when people are burning out due to the pandemic and juggling work and personal lives.
Quiet quitting can veer toward passive-aggressive behavior. If an employee starts to passively dial back work activities, someone else has to take up the slack, creating stress on colleagues. While the objective is self-care, which is positive, there’s a better way to get to the end goal. An employee who clearly states his or her needs is more likely to affect change - and do less harm to the rest of the team.
Type C people are more likely to take the passive approach of “quiet quitting” instead of proactively communicating their needs, due to the guilt they feel from letting down the team. Type C people are also more likely to suppress their distress from a demanding job and suffer the mental and physical consequences. These passive behaviors will lead to significant challenges for mind and body in the long run. But noticing the long-term price of avoidance behavior is an important tool to help motivate.
Setting boundaries can require difficult conversations, which are tough for conflict-avoidant Type C’ers. Using the “I statement tool,” a conversation starter with a boss or colleague might look something like this: “I am feeling burnt out. I know the team needs me, but I need to take care of myself. I won’t be able to take on any extra work right now. I hope we can work on this together.”