The 2022 Quiet Quitting Trend

• Blog author, Cynthia Ross Tustin.
• Today’s post? Random thoughts and a minor rant about the 2022 quiet quitting trend. It makes me glad I’m retired, read why.
• Might be feistier than usual. I’m quitting sugar and sublimating with sarcasm
• Posted Friday, August 26th, 2022
• Shout out to Feedspot for naming me #66 on their 2022 Top 100 Retirement Blogs and Websites

Quiet Quitting – The Concept

Is the 2022 quiet quitting trend really a new trend? Apparently, the term Quiet Quitting began somewhere on Chinese social media back in 2021 and it’s now being employed (pun intended) here in North America as a form of protest by many workers. Supporters of this new trend say that they aren’t literally quitting (duh), at least not the “take this job and shove it” kind of quitting. They’re simply rejecting the concept of going above and beyond, and just doing what’s in their job description.  Absolutely nothing more. Quiet quitters argue that the new trend is a way to reclaim work-life balance and rebel against a toxic overwork culture.

Tang Ping – Chinese for Quiet Quitting

The term quiet quitting is traced to Chinese social media last July. And in China, the phrase they use is “tang ping” which means lying flat. It was meant as a criticism of their government-controlled 9-9-6 work schedules (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days per week). The Chinese government publicly supports a 5-day/40-hour work week. Stats show otherwise, and they work for comparatively lower wages than here in North America.

The Chinese government is actively refuting the 9-9-6 work schedule. Shocker! Tang Ping was meant to challenge unwritten, communist government labour policies. I can see how the concept of tang ping or quiet quitting would resonate with Chinese workers who feel overworked, underpaid, and over supervised by their government. But should the average Canadian employee be using that phrase once you know the context/origin of it?

Quiet Quitting – Just A Clever Marketing Phrase?

 Yes, “quiet quitting” is catchy; it literally rolls off the tongue. A great catchphrase makes it sound like a fresh and revolutionary concept. But then so did “clean coal” and “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. Both of those gems were actually created by the same PR firm – air pollution and potential moral turpitude made righteous with all with the right spin. Granted you’re not going to Hell for suddenly and silently changing your work habits, but that old chestnut has always had consequences. 

I’m so glad I’m retired because my response to those who think they’re starting a new trend would be “horse shit”. Then I’d end up in HR and have to fake apologize to a reasonably well-paid snowflake that just doesn’t want to return to a post-COVID office. Am I generalizing? Yes. Am I a bitch for assuming that this is a snowflake problem? Yes.  Boohoo. I love retirement, it means never having to fake apologize.

Quiet Quitting is Not New

Truthfully, I’m neither work-life balance nor laziness averse. It’s the word new that actually creams my corn! Do today’s younger workers really think they’re inventing a new concept? Again, yes I’m retired. But geez Louise, only for a year. Work culture hasn’t changed that much since I “loudly left”…way back in 2021. People resentful and unhappy at their jobs have been doing the bare minimum for decades…just ask anyone working for MTO or the DMV (or so the gossip goes).

Sure it may feel like you’re the first group to ever think of “stickin’ it to the man” and that you’re in charge of your own destiny. But new it’s not! If it was truly original thinking, we wouldn’t already have time-tested, lazy worker, vernacular like Puppy Mill Fridays(rude); ROAD – retired on active duty; screwing the pooch (yah, also rude); or watercooler patrol. The trend…so not new!

Companies Were Created to Help Their Employees Achieve Their Personal Bliss

Companies, businesses, and manufacturers were created to help their employees achieve their balanced life goals and personal bliss. Said no owner, entrepreneur, small business person or corporation…ever! Companies, businesses, and manufacturers function to make money, grow their businesses, and serve their customers. Although, there are certain companies, businesses, and manufacturers that do make and sell certain products that could help an individual achieve their personal bliss; that is sooooo totally a different conversation!

Generally, working harder gets you farther ahead. Companies want team players; the kind of people who believe that when everybody works hard, everybody wins. And hard workers usually spend more time at work not because they’re forced to (unless you work in China), but because they love their job and it’s often in their nature.

Is Quiet Quitting Passive Aggressive?

Failing to communicate your anger or distress, coupled with using inaction to convey your message is the definition of passive aggressive. I’m not suggesting that your work culture isn’t toxic. I’m saying that if it angers you and you suddenly change your “go the extra mile” work habits and don’t explain why to your employer, then “quiet quitting” is probably textbook passive aggressive behaviour. In the old days, (did I just say “old days”? OMG, I’ve become my grandfather) if people were unhappy at work and wanted things to change, we worked to rule. It’s the solid foundation that the labour movement was built on.

You may not need to organize a union; but if you’re pissed say so.  Silently doing less than you did before and hoping your employer “gets the message” is like me not speaking to my husband for two days hoping he’ll intuitively know to put the toilet seat down. (Okay, so it was only an hour of silence. But he left it up in the middle of the night. I fell in when I sat down! How could he not hear the splash or the cursing!) 

If you’re boss has no context as to why it’s “Puppy Mill Friday”(still rude) everyday at your desk; human nature takes over, and he or she will draw their own conclusions. And human nature won’t assume that you’re prioritizing your own wellness in an effort to shift the work-life balance paradigm in an overly monetized, “greed is good” work culture. Human nature assumes you’re disgruntled and lazy. Consequences!

Again, I realize I’m retired from the workforce, but I’m still contemporary enough to know how employers think. A quiet quitter doesn’t get promotions and they don’t get good references, so you’ll still have the same problem. And rather than the employer realizing the error of their overburdening ways, you’ll likely find your self in what is euphemistically called an employee coaching session. It’s meant to be a positive phrase to describe a conversation with HR…hey, just like “clean coal” or “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. But it’s really just step one in the corporate dismissal process. And that will feel just like Hell.

There are so many good reasons to retire! It is the ultimate in work-life balance. There’s travel, hobbies, and grandchildren. But some of the unspoken reasons are unfulfilling work, working for people you wouldn’t hire in a million years, or working with people that you’ll probably have to fake apologize too. Announce your retirement if you can! Life’s too short.

Cheers,

Cynthia

PS

Here’s my “call to action,” really just shameless begging (see, with the right spin, everything sounds positive). It is my hope that if you’ve enjoyed today’s post, you’ll share my humour with your friends, family, or total strangers and encourage them to subscribe. Please and thank you.

*all photos courtesy of iStock unless otherwise attributed.