(Expansión) – Quiet quitting or silent resignation has become a great trend as a result of its viralization on social networks, especially on Tik Tok, but we should not see it as a passing phenomenon but as a manifestation of what is already the future of work, increasingly led by younger generations, especially those of generation Z.
Beyond analyzing where the term came from or who created it, it is important to understand what it responds to, so I will present my personal interpretation. Let us remember that many workers are experiencing burnout syndrome, which refers to exhaustion and being fed up in response to stress, high demands or job dissatisfaction. This syndrome was especially triggered after the health crisis when employees made, for a long period of time, an effort to get ahead and keep their jobs.
In this way, silent resignation is a way to deal with burnout and it is because of this weariness that we are talking about a phenomenon of massive resignations worldwide. In the study “Post-pandemic labor adaptability in Mexico”, it is reported that 7 out of 10 employees say they will stay in their current job only while they find another.
It should be noted that the term does not refer to a formal waiver of a job, but rather a waiver of extra effort, beyond what is established in an employment contract or by law, with the aim of seeking to have a balance of life and take care of the personal welfare.
According to some analysts, of the many who have written about this trend, quitting quietly means doing the bare minimum of the job, without working overtime; an expert from the World Economic Forum calls it the “art of not taking work too seriously”.
What do I consider to make sense of quiet quitting ? Where is the fine line between giving your best and not overdoing it by unbalancing your personal life? The answer, from my point of view, is productivity, which has nothing to do with overtime, but is more related to satisfaction, happiness and work motivation, and this would hardly be possible without mental health.
Also, there are those who say that quiet quitting is to stop wearing the shirt, which I consider is just an interpretation. Putting on the shirt can mean many things, for me as the leader of an organization, it is commitment, identity, empathy and a sense of belonging.
The positive aspect of this phenomenon is the wake-up call to companies and their leaders to the need to establish limits and break with the culture of overwork without additional compensation, since quiet quitting has a personal purpose, which is to get the job done that is required to have a good life balance, putting comprehensive well-being first. However, there is a great risk if it is taken in an extremely negative way, since the collaborators could choose to make the least of efforts, be apathetic, conformist or even fall into mediocrity.
From the above, the importance of establishing clear bases in organizations about what is expected of workers in a given position, without over-demanding and expecting them to work excessively, affecting their physical and mental health.
Let us not forget that what organizations are currently looking for in their collaborators, in addition to experience and specialization, are interpersonal skills, which have proven their value in times of contingency, such as resilience, empathy and teamwork.
Human Resources strategies must be aimed at achieving a balance, remembering that if we want motivated and productive collaborators in companies, we have to guarantee a mutual commitment, as well as fair and flexible working conditions that support the balance of life required by the new generations.
Editor’s Note: Ricardo Rodarte is Director General of OCCMundial. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University in Business Administration and Finance and has a certification in Management Accounting. Before joining OCC, he collaborated with Procter & Gamble, in Finance, and with Cargill, in Controllership and New Business Development. Follow him on . The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
