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It’s five in the afternoon and you’re sweating in front of the keyboard, piling up mountains of work. Looks like another late bloomer. When you get home, your dinner will be on the dog. Still, this week the entire team is dealing with it. But what is this that you see at the top of your screen? His colleague, with the computer off and his coat on, calmly leaves the office. Again! This person has not contributed ideas in meetings lately and leaves every day on the dot. They are barely inhabiting their job description. Could it be that they are…quietly resigning?
“Quitting silently is a way of working where you do your job in the truest sense of the word,” says businessman Ben Askins. ‘You follow the law to the letter, in the sense that you show up when you should show up, but you do the bare minimum. You do everything necessary to avoid being fired, but you don’t go any further. You don’t put in any extra effort. You do what you have to do to fulfill your employment contract.’
Is that attitude scandalous: ‘Oh, it’s so unfair, you should work hard!’ – Or can it be justified? And what are the signs? Ben, whose 766,000 TikTok fans follow him for his clever work-life advice, explains how to tell if your colleague is quietly quitting, why they might do it, and whether trying it yourself is a good or terrible idea…
Quitting smoking silently involves behavioral changes. There will be an element of clock watching: they will start coming and going almost exactly on time, even pushing their luck.
What are the trademark characteristics of QQ?
Quitting smoking silently involves behavioral changes. There will be an element of clock watching: they will start coming and going almost exactly on time, and even try their luck. You will communicate less and emails and messages will be a little shorter. They won’t talk to you as often. You will notice his waning enthusiasm. If they have lost love for their work, it will also reflect in the way they deliver the work, or the work itself, and how much they are doing. They will also show less initiative and you will feel that they avoid taking on any new projects or volunteering. If they deal with clients, they will have less contact with them than before and you may receive feedback about this.
Who is really to blame here?
I have no problem quitting smoking quietly. Too often, we focus on what the employee is not doing, rather than what the company is not doing. If you are a business owner or manager, you need a high-performing team to do your best work. If half the team quietly retreats, are doing something wrong, not them. You should ask those responsible questions about why employees leave and what needs to be done to get them back on track. Technically they are doing what they are paid to do. If you want them to do a little more, it’s up to you to incentivize or motivate them to recommit and deliver.
Why do people quietly quit?
I think “quietly quitting” is part of the natural cycle of working long term anywhere. We all go through ups and downs. If you work at a company for ten years, there will be periods when you are there, enjoying yourself, savoring the challenges, working late, putting everything into it. But from time to time you will go through times when work is not a priority. There may be something going on in your personal life, perhaps related to your family. There will be some reason why your career takes a backseat and you put in less effort.
“Quitting quietly is a way of working where you do your job in the truest sense of the word,” says entrepreneur Ben Askins (pictured).
Should you try it if you’re exhausted?
If you’re exhausted, it’s for a reason. Something is out of control. If so, quitting smoking silently becomes a legitimate measure. If you were running a marathon, you might occasionally slow down your pace to make it to the end, so there’s nothing wrong with building up your energy, recharging, and then doing it again. If you’ve had an intense few months, you may need to take it easier for a while. We cannot always be connected, all the time.
What if you are the boss?
Start an honest conversation. Listening gives people a boost and often the problem turns out to be a few small things that can be fixed. Ideally, you would reach out and say, ‘I’ve noticed that you’re not quite yourself.’ And in this and that case, their work has not been up to its usual level. What’s happening? Is there anything the company can do to help? Money and salary may be part of it, or perhaps they feel like their role has stagnated and they need a change and challenge. They may want to work more flexible hours. Or it could be a personal event that affects your professional life. There are many things you can do to help an employee re-engage.
If you are an employee, could QQ backfire?
Quitting smoking silently could absolutely be counterproductive for you. If you’re normally performing at 80 percent and now you’re working at 60 percent, your manager will notice. A good boss would recognize that if a normally diligent employee has become disengaged, it’s their job to figure out what’s wrong and help them overcome it. But if a company feels that you have gone too far, it could take that step to fire you. My argument is that if they fire you immediately without discussion, you were right to get out of there.
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