(NewsNation) — Workers say there’s plenty of blame to go around as they’ve become the face of a new workplace phenomenon called “quiet quitting” — or doing the bare minimum at your job.
“A lot of talk about ‘quiet quitting’ but very little talk about ‘quiet firing,’ which is when you don’t give someone a raise in 5 years even though they keep doing everything you ask them to,” Randy Miller, a software developer, tweeted in a reply to a tweet about quiet quitting.
The concept of “quiet quitting” first registered in the public’s mind after a video — which now has more than 3 million views and nearly 500,000 likes — on TikTok went viral earlier this month, pegging employees as passive-aggressive job transitioners.
“We’re talking about quitting the hustle culture, the idea that you need to be on 24/7,” psychotherapist Amy Morin explained on “Banfield.” “It’s about saying, ‘I’m going to set some healthy boundaries and work on my work-life balance.’”
Piggybacking on Miller’s point, others on social media pointed out how bosses will fire employees quietly, not only holding outs on raises but also with disrespect and added workload without increased compensation.
Fortune took a stab at the reasoning behind the trend, arguing that social distancing and work from home measures created a less intimate employer-employee relationship.
Additionally, Psychology Today wrote about the “slow fade” trend, which, even though was about romantic relationships, speaks to the conflict-avoidant nature society is moving toward.
Both trends suggest a workplace culture that is due for a complete overhaul.