The term “quiet quitting” has received a lot of press recently. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it simply refers to an employee that decides to do exactly what their job requires, and no more. New term; not exactly a new phenomenon. This is merely the latest iteration of unhappy employees coping with job dissatisfaction. As some quiet quitters explain, “we’re just acting our wage.”
While quiet quitters justify their new work habits as a way of regaining a healthy work/life balance, it has given rise to another trending phrase: quiet firing. In contrast to quiet quitting, quiet firing occurs when an employer makes a job unpleasant or unrewarding for an employee without actually taking the step to fire them.
We Need to Talk About Your Flair
Either one of these terms sound like the makings of a toxic work environment right out of the movie Office Space. In fact, several of that movie’s characters demonstrate these terms quite effectively. Waitressing at a restaurant that encourages wearing gaudy pins (called flair), the movie character Joanna, opts to wear the exact minimum requirement of 15. She and her manager share the following exchange over her choice:
Manager: “Let me ask you a question, Joanna. What do you think of a person that only does the bare minimum?”
Joanna: “You know what, Stan, if you want me to wear 37 pieces of flair…why don’t you just make the minimum 37 pieces of flair?”
Likewise, the employment demise of Milton’s character throughout the movie is a perfect example of quiet firing. His paychecks are discontinued, and his desk moved repeatedly until his work station is located in storage. Gone are the merry squirrels he enjoyed watching outside his window. Even his red, Swingline stapler is taken. Having made his life sufficiently miserable, management is confident the situation will “work itself out naturally.” Still, Milton remains.
The Ratio of People to Cake Is Too Big
The continued relevance of a movie like Office Space shows that it still serves as an illustration of corporate America. That viewers so easily relate to the plight of its characters is a sad indicator of employee morale. Unhappy employees are nothing new, but it’s interesting that the popularity of terms like quiet quitting and quiet firing comes amid a particularly strong labor market.
In August, employers added an additional 315,000 jobs. A recent Wall Street Journal article states that now may be one of the most rewarding times to switch jobs. The gap in pay increases between those who switch jobs and those who don’t, is the widest it’s been in decades. It begs the question: why are so many willing to remain in unfulfilling jobs during one of the strongest labor markets in years?
Ironically, it’s often a desire for perceived financial security that compels workers to quietly quit rather than quit outright. They’re actively practicing risk avoidance even while becoming less active at work. In the process, they’re missing out on the opportunity to find a job that’s truly rewarding. Additionally, they may not even be creating the financial security they desire.
Employers are more willing to overlook quiet quitters when there is a lack of qualified candidates available to replace them. This has been true of the current labor market, but there is good reason to believe those dynamics will soon change. It’s becoming painfully evident that the Fed is willing to take aggressive action to curb inflation. This strategy necessitates a cooling labor market and a higher unemployment rate. Quiet quitters, and those already quietly fired, may very well find themselves among the first to boost that rate.
