Quiet Quitting Defined

Have you heard about “Quiet Quitting?” When employees aren’t actually quitting their jobs, but are slowing down the pace of their output to what they feel their salary is worth. It’s a newer trend that is bolstered by quick social media outlets such as TikTokInstagram, and others. While the trend of pairing Quiet Quitting with social media is new, the phenomenon of QQ isn’t. (See the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (MSPBJ) article on QQ.)

At the same time, there is a more subtle transformation that has taken place in our world in July 2022 – the first month that there were more Millennials in the workforce than Baby Boomers from multiple research points. Yes, we’ve hit the tipping point. And this is GOOD! And it’s healthy! While the Pew Research Center indicates that this happened in 2016, the force and effect of it have recently hit us, along with its dynamic changes on the insides of organizations. No longer do Boomers control all aspects of business as they once did. This gives way to a more meaningful dialogue than “profit at all costs” thinking. It’s time to evolve our thinking and re-imagine what business will be like for these new generations – how can we make healthier choices for our organizations? How can we value people so much that Quiet Quitting becomes a thing of the past? I hate to even say “I’m a Boomer,” because our generation of workers has devalued people too much instead of giving that ultimate valuation to them.

And yet, there is new hope right around the corner for us as a world. Millennials understand the need for this evolution and the hope that accompanies it and they are ready to move into it. We Boomers didn’t even know there was a whole vocabulary surrounding it already. Teal. Integrative. Turquoise. Self-Management. Wholeness. Evolutionary Purpose. 2nd-Tier Thinking.

No matter your generation, it’s time we embraced ourselves as human beings who can create human-centric organizations. Join me on our Journey toward Human-Centricity. The Re-Creation of Business. Together, we are the voice.