Quiet quitting

Definition of quiet quitting

The term "quiet quitting " has emerged from the United States to take its place in the French professional landscape from summer 2022.

The objectives of quiet quitting

Quiet quitting is not a conventional resignation. It manifests itself in an attitude in which the employee performs the strict minimum required in his job. He/she concentrates solely on the tasks clearly defined on his/her job description, declining any additional responsibility, scrupulously respecting his/her working hours and often refusing to help a colleague in difficulty.

Consequences for companies

For companies, the consequences of this silent loss of commitment are manifold:

• Reduced employee motivation: tasks can take longer to complete
• Time wasted identifying the employees concerned, without affecting the company's overall productivity. Solutions must be found to anticipate or mitigate the phenomenon: meetings on project progress, more dialogue with employees, etc.
• Dismissal of employees as a last resort, requiring a new recruitment phase

The origins and spread of quiet quitting

This new quiet quitting trend has spread mainly via social media, notably via the hashtag #quietquitting. It is directly linked to the health crisis and the evolution of new ways of working, such as the globalization of remote work. Employees now aspire to work that is balanced and in phase with their personal lives, pushing them to balance their workload to preserve their mental health.

Quiet quitting's main audience

This approach, which is above all a quest for meaning at work, focuses on preserving well-being within the company. It mainly affects the younger generation, in particular Generation Z (born between 1996 and 2012). These are young working people coming out of school, who attach greater importance to their well-being at work and the balance between their professional and personal lives. In fact, a study by Malakoff Humanis shows that 23% of employees aged under 30 claim to have poor mental health, compared with 16% of all employees. The staircase is therefore higher for this young audience. This shows that quiet quitting reflects a search for meaning and recognition in the professional world.

To sum up

Quiet quitting is a phenomenon of silent disengagement by employees, who perform the bare minimum in their work, mainly in response to the search for a better work-life balance, and the quest for meaning at work, particularly observed among the younger generations.