Is quiet quitting still a thing?

For a while there, you couldn’t go on social media or turn on a news program on television without hearing something about “quiet quitting.”

While that trend may have been shunted aside somewhat, are employees still feeling like they are looking for a way out of their current daily grinds?

It hasn’t really gone anywhere, according to a survey released in December.

Thirty per cent of workers consciously participate in quiet quitting, according to the report from LendingTree.

And nearly three in five (57 per cent) of quiet quitters claim their work-life balance has improved, found the survey of more than 2,000 American respondents.

“The last thing anyone wants is to feel taken advantage of in their job, and laying down some guardrails when it comes to your job responsibilities can help you make sure that doesn’t happen,” says Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief credit analyst.

And quiet quitting isn’t anything new. Nearly three in five (59 per cent) of quiet quitters says that they have been participating in the trend even before they learned about the term, found LendingTree.

What are the legalities?

But can these workers be sanctioned for their less-than-optimal behaviour? The answer is muddy, says one lawyer.

“As long as an employee is satisfying the requirements of their role, it would be difficult for an employer to make a case for discipline or termination for just cause without a significant risk of facing a wrongful dismissal claim,” says Maciej Lipinski, management-side employment and labour lawyer at KPMG Law in Toronto.

“However, an employee’s contract may also specify that the employee is required to perform ‘other duties as assigned.’ This gives management some leeway to revise an employee’s duties and work expectations as reasonably needed.”

“Under these terms of employment, strictly meeting work expectations can involve meeting higher expectations over time – which in turn justifies employers taking corrective and disciplinary measures when employees fall into a holding pattern and requirements for growth, change and improvement are not satisfied,” he says.

Promotions also in the spotlight

While this trend continues to trouble company leaders, some of those same folks are experiencing a similarly named movement: quiet promotions.

Nearly eight in 10 (78 per cent) of American workers have been quietly promoted or been given an increased workload — without a bump in compensation or a job title change, finds a JobSage survey.

Quiet promotion can happen in different forms, finds the survey:

• 73 per cent have been asked by their manager to take on work above their position
• 68 per cent have had more work than others with the same title
• 67 per cent have absorbed work after a coworker above them left the company.

Not surprisingly, many workers are not happy about being quietly promoted: 57 per cent have felt manipulated or taken advantage of by their employer asking them to do more work.

“Plenty can be improved upon in the workplace,” says Kelli Mason, co-founder of JobSage, in the report.

“Terms like ‘quiet quitting’, ‘quiet firing’ and ‘quiet promoting’ all point to disconnects between employers and employees that need to be addressed.”

Worldwide trend

These twin concerns are happening as the movement to greener pastures also shows no sign of abating.

That’s according to the Summer 2022 Future Forum Pulse, which surveyed more than 10,600 knowledge workers across the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Perhaps the biggest reason for employees, particularly in the U.S., considering job hunting is the return-to-office (RTO) push.

Following Labour Day, major employers like Apple, Comcast and Peloton all required their employees to come into the office three days a week as per their respective hybrid work policies.

It’s a risky proposition, though. Among those who say they are dissatisfied with their level of flexibility, 70 per cent will look for a new opportunity, according to the Future Forum survey.

“The great resignation is still a global phenomenon and will continue to be,” says Temy Mancusi-Ungaro, CEO of Reachdesk, a New York City-based tech firm specializing in corporate gifting.

“The hybrid work environment has offered employees more flexibility, but it also has weakened the connection between employees and their coworkers and their employers. With greater mobility, less human connection and other companies still hiring aggressively, we’ll continue to see these numbers remain high.”