Quiet Quitting or Wise Working? It all comes down to communication

Laura Drury challenges the phrase ‘quiet quitting’ and asks if we think about it differently, will it have a more positive impact?

With it being International Week of Happiness at Work, I reflected on a conversation I had with friends recently. One of them announced that, after her holidays, she would cut her working hours down from 60 to 50 every week.

This friend is ambitious, brilliant … and burnt out. She’s still driven but has (finally) realised that her body can't do what her mind wants it to.

Another in the group exclaimed, ‘Ooh, you’re quiet quitting!’ Except not quite… at 50 hours!

What is Quiet Quitting?

For those of you unfamiliar with the phrase, Quiet Quitting simply means doing the job you’re contracted to do, nothing more, nothing less, and came about after a TikTok employee shared a video about it stating, "work is not your life”.

Knowing my friend well, I was relieved that she had come to this decision, but also a little sceptical. Whilst she has the best of intentions for self-preservation, she also loves her job. Let me re-phrase that, she loves to work. So the pressures she felt she was under, weren’t solely down to her employer, they came from within. It was her own work ethic causing her to be unhappy.

Therefore, for me, the phrase Quiet Quitting didn’t sit right. My friend still loves her job, and has great results, but has just decided to change the way she works for health reasons. Her current approach meant she couldn’t switch off, wasn’t sleeping properly, and as a result, wasn’t working productively or effectively either. This impacted her mental health, wellbeing and caused panic attacks.

And she’s not alone. As we’ve emerged back into a new world of work since Covid restrictions ceased, the line between work and life has blurred, and the working day has intensified. Being privileged enough to work with many different schools and organisations I can see for myself the impact it’s had. For those organisations with an ambitious culture, this will be intensified.

I can understand why people should choose to reduce their hours, particularly if they are feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated. However, nothing is ever that black and white. My friend is a workaholic and her colleagues have often commented on her unrelenting work ethic. She’s one example of many people that have a similar passion for work.

On the flip side there are those organisations, where the contract is merely notional, and the expectation much higher.

What are the consequences of working such long hours?

There can be negative impacts on family life, as well as the inability to relax or feeling constantly switched ‘on’. That odd text that might ping at 9:00pm which then prevents you from sleeping. You feel drained and incapable of working well the next day.

If your current approach to work is impacting your sleep, it has very negative outcomes. Professor Russell Foster - author of Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock and How It Can Revolutionise Your Sleep and Health - says that the tired brain remembers negative outcomes but forgets the positive ones.

He also describes how our circadian rhythms are completely individual and changeable. Therefore, to work effectively and productively, we need to consider working the best way to enable good sleep.

What about the cost for organisations? Loss of productivity, loss of profit and loss of motivation!

Is this really anything new or a new phrase to describe disengagement? According to Gallup, in the USA, Quiet Quitters make up about 50% of the workforce. A large majority of those are under the age of 35. If we consider COVID, the environment, and the economy (and other recent events) that have impacted our lives, it’s hardly surprising that most of us are questioning what’s important. Particularly if you’re young, and that bright, exciting future is looking somewhat diminished.

In my opinion, it all comes down to my favourite topic, effective communication. We are all still readjusting. However, some organisations are better at detailing the boundaries than others. If you are feeling disengaged, demotivated and uncertain, the best course of action is to find someone and talk about it, ideally your manager.

Clearly establish what the expectations are to progress. If Quiet Quitting is as popular as it seems, perhaps more honest, open conversations are required and for that, we need psychological safety. If you’re a leader, consider whether your employees are in a position to ask for help and how you can support them - as well as yourself.

What about those where the mind is willing but the body unable? The answer is the same, share your concerns with others. Have a conversation about workload, carve out time to reflect and plan what to do and when best to do it, and how to manage your time. Also, be realistic about what can be achieved in the time you have!

Expectations and perception

It all comes down to expectations and perception. Have you been told you have to work extra hours and be available at all times? Or is that an assumption? There’s nothing wrong with only working the hours you’re contracted to if you’re doing your job well. The phrase ‘working right’ springs to mind. There will always be times when you have to go above and beyond, work later than you’d like and when work will impact life. In the same way, life will sometimes mean we have to step back from work a bit too. Providing that understanding is there, between you, your manager and your peers, this will be accepted.

It’s the word ‘quit’ that stands out the most. If you’re working, you’re not quitting. So I’m going to suggest we FLIP it. It’s not Quiet Quitting, it’s Wise Working.