Quiet Quitting: What TikTok Teaches Us About "Silent Quitters"
Following the “big quit, ” the “quiet quitting” emerged in July 2022. The Gallup polling institute uses this term to describe people who “do not go above and beyond at work and are content to simply fulfill their job description.” Does “quiet quitting” reflect a gradual disengagement from one’s professional responsibilities? Could it be a precursor to a career change?
Sylvie Rascol-Boutard, University of Montpellier and Aurélia El Yacoubi, University of Montpellier
In an effort to understand this phenomenon—which is supposed to be silent—we went to investigate a rather noisy place: TikTok. There, we analyzed all the videos posted between July and December 2022, as well as their comments, which appeared when we searched for the keywords “quiet quitting” or “silent resignation.”
The videos feature a wide variety of profiles from around the world.The manual and subsequently automated textualanalysis we conducted—which was the subject of a presentation at the 2023 conference of the Association francophone de gestion des ressources humaines (AGRH)—highlighted several key aspects of this phenomenon.
Reasonable or lazy?
“No longer putting in effort,” “no commitment, ” “disconnecting from the company’s values, ” “defining oneself in ways other than through work.” Those who are experiencing “quiet quitting ” primarily express a loss of meaning and a sense of unease at work. The obvious signs of this “quiet resignation” are disengagement, demotivation, and detachment from work. Among their wishes are the pursuit of a work-life balance and greater respect for their private lives. “Quiet quitting” can even be presented as a matter of course: it is simply a matter of “doing one’s job normally” or “working in a reasonable manner”; it is sometimes even vigorously defended.
Some people continue to work as usual but without exceeding certain limits they set for themselves: “no overtime, ” “no additional tasks.” They say they “do the bare minimum”; they may also deliberately “turn in work late,” or even claim they “don’t follow the schedule.”
Many people test the limits of what is (and isn’t) acceptable. “Taking breaks” is allowed, but taking too many is unprofessional—or even prohibited. The issue is the blurred line between what the employee does and what is acceptable to the employer. Often, the “quiet quitter” is labeled as such because, if the line is crossed, it is done in a way that is barely noticeable or not particularly reprehensible. We’re talking here about “withdrawal” behaviors.
More critical views of “quiet quitters” then emerge from people who present themselves as being in management positions. To them, the silent quitter is lazy, a “slacker.” They claim such employees lack ambition and are “deceiving their employer.” They argue that their behavior is counterproductive and a waste of the company’s time; moreover, they “have no desire to grow.”
Take a step back
Several reasons are cited to explain the silent resignation. The first relates to compensation that falls short of expectations given the work performed: the desire is to “work in a manner commensurate with [“one’s”] salary.” This would thus rectify a perceived injustice.
Another set of reasons relates to the perceived work overload. The “quiet quitter” has “no time, no vacation”; he or she suffers from “burnout.” He or she may also feel that [“his” or “her”] employer does not recognize [“his” or “her”] work. Some of the reasons cited also relate to societal issues to which they are reacting: a “deep unease [‘inherent in’] the world of work” as a whole; “post-COVID reflection and self-examination”; or even the “aftermath of the Great Resignation.”
When this takes the form of withdrawal behavior, is it an early stage of career change? These “silent quitters” may, perhaps, be in the process of gradually disengaging from the organization. Withdrawal behavior could be a coping mechanism used by the individual—a strategy of psychological disengagement—to, for example, protect themselves from potential burnout.
While waiting for a change, our TikTokers would maintain a minimal level of activity. They might also assess their level of commitment at work in order to become more engaged in their personal lives, describing this approach using a trendy term. Finally, because they would be on their way out—at the end of their contract, for example—they would naturally disengage from the organization and their work. We therefore have several hypotheses here regarding the future course of their careers, which further in-depth, longitudinal research could help explore.
For HR: Identifying Faint Signals
Nevertheless, this research offers human resources managers new avenues for identifying career transitions before they actually occur.
Before a career change occurs, subtle signs often emerge. “Quiet quitting” could be one of them. By identifying even subtle signs of disengagement—such as a refusal to take on responsibilities or work overtime—the human resources manager can pinpoint individuals who need to be re-engaged in the workforce. The manager can also facilitate their career transition, whether it takes place within or outside the organization.
Our research does not allow for definitive long-term conclusions: “silent quitters” may decide to leave or not, to continue behaving this way or not. And the social network studied is not without limitations and biases. However, the richness of the verbatim quotes, the diversity of the respondents, and the consistency of the data and its analysis with the literature on career change make this a truly fascinating body of material, particularly for understanding a phenomenon that claims to be “silent.”
Sylvie Rascol-Boutard, Associate Professor (HDR) in Management Sciences, University of Montpellier and Aurélia El Yacoubi, Ph.D. candidate in Management Sciences, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.