Managers freaking out over 'quiet quitting' shows some bosses are out of touch and have always expected their employees to work extra

Liz Gross stared blankly when she heard the phrase "quiet quitting".

"Quiet quitting sounds a lot like doing your job, but I could see what has led us as a society and economy to a place where this is a thing that we're talking about," Gross said.

The phrase first appeared on TikTok. Quiet quitting is doing your job and keeping firm boundaries. The minimum requirements should be prioritized over overtime. It is a way to make work more sustainable.

Quiet quitting has spread throughout the internet. Managers want to know if they can fire the quiet quitters. Quiet quitters are probably not going to have a job for very long. Quiet quitters may be the first to be laid off.

"When you say you're quitting, it's very obvious to people how stupid that is," said Horn, a 39-year-old writer.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a commentary on managers and corporate cultures, not the actual employees who felt the need to quit.

Quiet quitting has been around for a long time, and it isn't even quitting. Workers are doing their jobs according to their instructions. It's emergence during a time when people are rethinking work and how it fits into their lives has made it into a lightning-rod for the changing labor market. Quiet quitting isn't about the workers who are doing their job, it's about the managers who have to adjust to employees who are no longer willing to extend themselves above and beyond

Quiet quitting reveals systemic 'cultures of overwork'

Wages and job standards have been set by employers for a long time. Employers seem to be playing defense as they realize they can't ask as much outside of the formal requirements of work.

"If we didn't have a widespread problem with corporate cultures of overwork, under appreciation, and frankly distant or ineffective managers and leaders, we wouldn't be talking about quiet quitting," Gross said.

Liz Gross

After more than two years of a world-changing event like war and climate change, workers are rethinking their work, especially as they notice their jobs making the same demands that they used to.

"There is a large portion of the workforce that went above and beyond, over the course of time, but particularly during the Pandemic, and received absolutely no reward for that," Gross said. People shouldn't be expected to go above and beyond if there is no incentive to do so.

At the same time, employees might see this as a chance to push back on some of the unfair treatment they might see from their employers, according to a professor in the HR studies department at Cornell University. More than a year of employers desperate to hire while workers leave their jobs in droves for a better deal is what he is referring to.

Employees slowing down isn't a new practice. Workers have participated in everything from work slowdowns to work to rule, a labor union tactic where you adhere strictly to your job's rules and do nothing else.

Horn said that it's labor feeling its power, and that it's just generally workers realizing that when their boss is treating them badly, they can tell them to shove it.

Employers are learning they have to pay people what they're worth — and that includes work outside of their jobs

Workers have been successful in sending tremors through the labor market by quitting or unionizing. They aren't used to that.

"Leaders and managers of all generations have had to seriously consider what is realistic and acceptable to ask of employees that are in the workforce now."

According to the Federal Reserve of New York's annual survey, the lowest wage workers would accept for a new job is $72,873. Wages have not kept up with productivity for a long time.

Kate, an IT worker in her early 30s, told Insider that she is paid to do her job even if she has a good paying job. If your employer wants you to do more, they need to give you a reason to do it. It should not be expected.

Kate has always excelled. You have to do at least this good all the time if you want to get a raise or promotion.

She said she nearly doubled her salary after participating in the Great Resignation. Over four million people quit their jobs in June, a trend that has been going on for over a year.

Managers can't replicate the pre-pandemic trend of expecting workers to go well beyond their stated goals and duties.

"If you've had people exceeding expectations and you've done nothing for them, then they should reset the bar, because you've done nothing to raise it for them."