I'm a little late to the party but perhaps I've been 'quiet quitting' on myself and doing the bare minimum to get by over the summer while faced with grieving the loss of a grandparent, dealing with child sleep issues, sickness and cancelled childcare amongst other things.
There are so many opinions and observations about quiet quitting, I am not an expert btw. I have only read approximately two articles and a few LinkedIn posts but here are a few thoughts:
👉 Two years ago, my job changed completely (blame the C-word) and the bits of it I loved stopped. So did my motivation, enthusiasm and energy for the job. I couldn't see any progression and had no hope that the creative parts would be restored so I did what I needed to do to get the job done but I didn't have the same drive to go above and beyond as I had pre-pandemic. I was also home schooling, studying part time and missing human connection. I guess I was 'quiet quitting' and eventually in 2021, I quit loudly and told all of you about it because I had a new trajectory that was going to be life giving for me, full of creative opportunities and freedom to grow my career on my own terms.
👉 I have also worked in jobs and witnessed the quiet quitting that occurs when a manager has no respect for work / life boundaries and the only way to communicate that calls while at hospital, on holiday, or out of hours, is to switch off your phone when you get home and commit to only working your contracted hours.
👉 I also know quite a few people who just want to do their job and go home at the end of the day. They don't want to climb the corporate ladder, they don't want to attend staff parties, they don't want feedback, they don't want to burn out completing a project that hasn't been properly resourced. I'm not happy about that, I'd love for everyone to find their job fulfilling, energising and motivating but the reality is, some people just aren't interested in that.
My reflection on quiet quitting is that, like most things in life, there are many sides to the story and multiple layers behind what you see on the surface. I do also think that there are some things to learn:
✨Employers/managers have a responsibility to understand their employees and discover how to get the best out of them. Even something as basic as love languages as part of an induction (Love at work, are you crazy? - lovelanguages are a simple way to find out how to get the best out of your relationships https://5lovelanguages.com/start/workplace/)
✨ Don't be afraid of finding out what the life aspirations are of your team, champion them and welcome opportunities for them to pursue these.
✨Avoiding burning out your employees by building in thorough strategic planning, resourcing, writing realistic job descriptions and having clear expectations on work/life boundaries.
✨Making space, time and intention for creative thinking, inspiration and connection. These are the things that cultivate an environment of trust, remind us we’re human and show that we’re valued for more than our results.
I am obsessed with people feeling valued and fulfilled at work. Instead of labelling people or making assumptions, let’s use our power to create positive employee experiences, get to know the humans behind the workforce and bring wonder to work!
If you need support with that, I'd love to help. You can email me carly@carlycookcreative.com or send a message through my website.