Arianna Huffington’s Post

Spot on. I quit my corporate life when it gave me all it had for me, and so I could pursue the passion it allowed me to discover. When the time was right, quitting allowed me to elevate myself to the next level of who I am and wanted to be. It’s like I had a “Joyful Joining” with my purpose-driven future self.

I'm not an advocate of quiet quitting, and strongly agree with your view that rejecting hustle culture doesn't equate to doing the bare minimum, but I also appreciate that quiet quitting is often a response to problems within an organisation (e.g. toxic work culture, high workload and/or unrealistic expectations, micromanagement) that aren't being acknowledged, addressed or resolved. Whilst I believe quiet quitting to be a counter-productive response (it can lead to burnout, instead of acting as a preventative tool against it), I do understand the human nature of it. I've not surveyed the whole quiet quitting population, but I'd argue a lot of them really want to leave & find work that inspires and engages them. So, "why don't they?". There are so many reasons. Some real, some perceived (which doesn't make them less real), for example: - they're already burnt out, and feel so exhausted and stuck/lost, that they lack the energy or focus to effectively search for a new job - they feel switching to a different job at a different company won't make much of a difference in terms of finding joy or meaning at work - they feel they don't have the freedom to quit their job (often due to socio-economic or systemic barriers)

How about joyfully joining your family at home after work instead of donating unpaid work hours to your employer while ignoring your children? It’s beyond ridiculous that this is even a conversation.

I disagree that it’s a step towards quitting life. It could be a step towards actually living your life. Why go above and beyond when there often is no reward. Why have work your mind when work is over? What’s wrong with deciding that work is no longer the main focus of your life. Sounds like living to me.

What you have described isn't quitting but is rather working within the scope of your role. It is worrying that you are trying to frame working beyond this scope as the new normal, whilst also lamenting the all too common burnout felt by those doing just that. This feels like trying to have your cake and eat it too. You're right that a job should be enjoyable on it's own two legs, with a clear delineation in scope, responsibilities and goals, making it conducive to a healthy work-life balance. But this requires effective cultivation and curation of such a role by those often in managerial positions, something the boots-on-the-ground worker has little to no control over. Simply telling workers to find a more inspirational, engaging and enjoyable role elsewhere (which carries the same subtext as simply saying "if you don't like it then leave"), ignores the root cause of the problem, namely the poor management of such roles which has led to employee dissatisfaction. 'Joyful joining' is treating the symptom, not the wound. That's just my two cents though, what do I know?

How about starting with: NOT "rewarding" high performers by piling on more work while mediocre employees are only given what they can handle? It happens all the time, and all the platitudes in the world about finding joy in work won't change this unless management realizes that not everyone wants MORE responsibility as a reward for a job well done. Also, let's face it - not all types of work will be full of joy - sometimes a job is just a job, and sometimes that is enough. Not every aspect in our lives has to be about striving and self improvement. Sometimes one area of good enough is the means to make other areas of life possible. Sometimes just doing well enough to get the job done and make it through the day is enough, too. Implying that everyone must find joy and meaning in their work is just another version of "hustle harder," but now it's a character judgement, too. It's OK to be just ok with your work and do just what needs to be done. If your expectation is that you'd better be joyful, dammit, then the resulting disappointment and shame when you're not radiating joy is worse than just "quietly quitting." "Joyful Joining?" = "Hustle Harder" rebranded. Gross.

Sounds like work culture needs to change then, rather than the employee. That's easy for a CEO to say from their position. I'm sure you struggled to get where you are—but as someone who has worked full-time job after full-time job (none of which has ever been able to fully provide for my financial or medical needs) it shows when the work doesn't want us. Corporate culture still revolves putting the shareholder above the employee, which always leads to a system of just needing someone to fill the seat and just do the work without stepping outside their metrics. When bosses don't listen to complaints, continue practicing unethical practices and supporting unethical policies in both the workplace and grander community/world—it shows on every employee in the company. It certainly speaks that so many people are dissatisfied that this way of life is not the way to go into the future. Corporations need to adapt to the needs of modern life, pay living wages and make sure heathcare is adequately provided (always a good push for universal healthcare to take the burden of private business). Show you care for the people you want to work for you, and they'll want to work—looking for a side hustle is showing that you as a workplace have failed

I could not disagree more and I have to say that this post looks like a knee jerk reaction to an individual that did not take the time to understand and listen. This is why people quiet-quit. If 95% say that that recognize there is an issue and 83% say that they plan to make change I want to know what the SMART goal is. Clearly there is a problem with our culture and work and if companies don’t want people to “go through the motions” maybe they shouldn’t give people the same old tired lines and show us already.

I know it’s overly talked about but the hospital culture of never taking a day off, being penalized for doing so and going above and beyond for a boss that never recognizes your efforts is going to continue to crush the spirit of the workforce. People cannot be afraid of doing what is necessary and then coming home to their family. For most of us, a job is a means to an end unfortunately and will create burnout beyond belief. I am glad as a whole, people can switch more frequently more easily. Not sure the mobility is not as stigmatized, however.

Quiet Quitting is not about doing the bare minimum and anyone who claims it is hasn’t read the literature or directly benefits from employees going above and beyond without properly compensating them. That’s why they are trying to make Quiet Quitting sound like employees are lazy and unproductive. The only people who say that quiet quitting is doing the bare minimum are managers/corporations that know that they take advantage of employees and directly benefit from the hustle culture. However, I do agree that Quiet Quitting is a terrible name and doesn’t reflect what it actually is. We are seeing more articles and post like this because employers are scared. They are scared that their top performers have figured out that they actually don’t get any benefit from making work their life. So employers are either going to have to hire more people or pay those they have what they are worth. Employers can no longer just expect people to pick up the slack if it’s not their slack to pick up. Work is work and life is not work. So no, quiet quitting is not quitting life….it’s about taking back your life outside.