For the millions of people hardwired to constantly overwork and overachieve; it’s no wonder people are pushing back on ‘hustle culture’ and looking for ways to gain more control of life inside and outside of work.
Cue: ‘Quiet Quitting’, which according to The Guardian, is the newly coined term for when workers ‘only do the job that they’re being paid to do, without taking on any extra duties, or participating in extracurriculars at work’.
While the name ‘Quiet Quitting’ sounds more irrational than its implications, the reasons behind the ‘trend’ are valid and should be treated with empathy and caution. The concept of ‘Quiet Quitting’ is a mindset shift that breaks free from the emotional and physical demands of hustle culture, allowing people to level the power and avoid burn out.
In other words, it’s not about outright ‘slacking’ at work, but more maintaining work-life boundaries that allow people to separate their identity from their job.
Re-accessing well-being at work
It’s our belief that ‘Quiet Quitting’ is a positive step for companies to prioritise employee’s wellbeing and avoid overworking them. This is especially important given the constant pressure of an ‘always on’ society means people have found it difficult to put their own health and well-being first.
You only have to ask around your social own social circle to hear that people rarely take proper lunch breaks (yep, even when working remotely), that people find it hard to find time for daily concentration bursts to get through workloads, and most people agree they have too many meetings throughout the day.
And while lots of companies have become aware of the detrimental effects of unchecked employee health and wellness, many are causing more damage in their pursuit to fix the damage, with initiatives like one-off mental health days, which offer little long-term support.
So, if anything, ‘Quiet Quitting’ is an important reminder for companies to re-access their approach towards employee well-being and focus on practices that help people maintain a healthy (and happy) lifestyle inside and outside of work.
Tips for helping employees achieve work-life boundaries
For forward-thinking companies, people-first well-being initiatives can be created so that people know their personal health and wellbeing is vital.
As ‘Quiet Quitting’ will only get louder, we’ve created a list of ways to support employees in achieving healthy work-life boundaries:
- Listen to people’s needs
Create time to have honest conversations about people’s stress levels, engagement, workloads, and boundaries. No one knows a company’s culture more than its people, so give everyone a voice and let them be part of the solution and feedback process.
- Co-create healthy practices
Embed the right practices to help people perform their best. The small things that show people they’re valued – like a late start if people have gone above and beyond and worked over hours the day before.
- Prevention is always better than cure
Don’t wait until it’s too late to offer support, such as waiting for an exit interview to hear that your team member has been struggling with burnout. Things like regular well-being checks, manager one-to-ones, and stay interviews will keep conversations consistently flowing.
- Give people permission to switch-off
Instil trust and autonomy, so people know they can switch-off when they need to and Find their Flow.
- Lead by example
Aside from leading with empathy, also lead by example with healthy habits, such as avoiding any emails after hours.
When people feel trusted, valued, and appreciated and have a better work-life balance and a better sense of belonging, they’ll do their best work, they’ll be more engaged, and they’re also more likely to stay longer.
Let’s work together to create a better world of work.
Through HappyHQ’s workshops, courses, culture mapping, consultation, and more, we’re here to guide companies on their people-first culture journey.
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