Fernando is 34 years old and has been working in an agricultural company for eight years. He started in a junior position and worked his way up until he stagnated. Under the orbit of a boss with whom he did not get along and who never agreed with his proposals, I had been thinking about quitting for a year until the pandemic hit.
With a hit job market and not knowing very well what chances he would have of getting another job, he decided to dedicate himself to fulfilling the bare minimum in his role and stop worrying about the situation. Without knowing it, she was beginning to make “quiet quitting”a phenomenon that accelerated in the United States in 2020 but has always existed and that here could be translated as “silent resignation” A state in which Fernando is still immersed, in a vicious circle of apathy and resignation.
the break
According to a survey of Gallop of 2022at least 50% of America’s workforce They are quiet quitters. The proportion of employees most committed to their work is around just 32%. According to the consultancy, the big drop in the degree of commitment began in the second half of 2021, along with an escalation in resignations. Reasons outlined for this lack of interest include a lack of opportunities to learn and grow, a lack of connection to the company’s purpose, feeling neglected or poor relationship between employees or with bosses.
It is clear that neither of these arguments is new. And in fact, the idea of ”doing the plank” in a job is as old as work itself. But why now this growth? The biggest trigger seems to have been the pandemic, a moment of uncertainty and crisis that led many to rethink their life decisions and consider that this should be more than just work. Especially after getting some flexibility from the hand of the “home office”in which today is pushed back as companies seek to return to face-to-face.
At the same time, the arrival in the world of work of centennials, more focused on enjoyment and detached from the mandate to always be productive, encouraged the rise of this practice. According to Gallup, the age group where this trend grew the most was in those under 35. From his hand, the visibility of the issue on social networks also increased, with TikTok at the forefront, which spread the concept like wildfire.
Although perhaps we have to look beyond the United States: it is said that it all started in China, when the now censored hashtag #tangping, a Chinese expression for our “do the ironing”was used in protests against the culture of long working hours.
the local version
Of course, Argentina is not the exception. Here too, many have been dedicated to doing only the bare minimum for a long time, and likewise, the habit has grown exponentially from the pandemic onwards. However, this should not be confused with the attitude of the “gnocchi”the one who gets paid but does not work and, hence his name, the 29 appear to take their salary.
“The ‘quiet quitting’ has always existed, what happens is that now we are much more aware when asking ourselves if what we are doing is giving us what we want,” says Leo Piccioli, economist, former CEO and expert in leadership and technological change. In his vision, people work for the three Ds: money, development and fun. “And when those three D’s don’t add up to what we want them to add up, we lower our arms, we do the plank, we leave without leaving,” he illustrates.
From the business side, this is usually quite angry and often ends in dismissal. But the opposite also occurs: trying to resolve the conflict by increasing the salary, thinking that this is what the employee is looking for. “Y It is a temporary remedy because it is not attacking the underlying problem, which is that the job is not aligned with the person’s long-term”, says Piccioli.
What should companies do then? “My advice is always to concentrate the payroll, have people who give more value and who are better paid. It hurts in the short term, but the company, the leaders and the people are going to be happier”, says the specialist.
In search of balance
“Silent resignation” at work generally stems from frustration and resignation. And although it may seem like a very comfortable practice, it has profound implications for emotions and mental health. “According to work psychology, the employee is in a good climate when understands that what he earns is in accordance with what he receives That corresponds to your work and effort. And when this does not happen, two situations are generated: chronic stress and burnout”, explains Silvana Weckesser, psychologist.
At the same time, the bad working environment implies a conflictive link not only with the boss himself, but also with colleagues, who are not doing “quiet quitting” and perhaps that is why they work more than they should to cover the absence of those who do it. According to the expert, all this can be reflected even in physical conditions such as hypertension, excess weight and insomnia.
The advice, then, is to think about what happens to us with the work we are doing. Whether we really like it or not, or whether we’re just doing it for money. “There are many people who are not willing to review this or investigate if there is another possibility in the labor market that they like better,” explains Weckesser.
Other experts also point to the possibility of setting healthy limits at work, but not for that reason stop performing by putting value on the task. For example, “quiet quitting” It can also be removing the mail application on the phone, not taking work home or not working overtime, neither in nor out of the office. “This search for more space for life outside of work is especially seen in millennials. The verticalism of ‘you have to comply and have a job’ is much less visible. Today we are more aware of the need to live beyond work”, synthesizes the psychologist.
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