A new term was recently trending on social media and was even spotlighted on NBC’s Today Show: quiet quitting. According to an August 2022 ResumeBuilder.com survey, almost 21% of 1,000 working Americans say they themselves are quiet quitters.
What is quiet quitting? The term quiet quitting doesn’t actually involve quitting. Simply put, employees are doing the bare minimum in order to avoid burnout. Quiet quitting can look like closing your laptop at 4 p.m., only doing your assigned tasks and not volunteering for additional duties. Quiet quitting is not a new trend. I have witnessed this in the workplace over the last 14 years and am sure employees have been doing for decades. Let us explore the effectiveness of quiet quitting as it relates to addressing burnout and career advancement.
Burnout. While quiet quitting can align with work-life balance, it may not be the most effective way to achieve that kind of harmony. Setting healthy boundaries and prioritizing self-care can help you realize the work-life balance that’s best for you. Below are some effective techniques:
- Manage your time. Give yourself enough time to get things done. Don’t overschedule yourself and delegate tasks to shorten your to-do list.
- Consider your options. Communicate your needs with your employer by requesting an alternate work schedule.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle and build a support system. This is essential to achieving work-life balance.
- Eat well
- Include physical activity in your daily routine
- Get enough sleep
Career Advancement. Some career fields encourage working long hours to be successful. The end result of this approach is burnout. You can adopt the following strategies to avoid burnout and achieve your career goals:
- Find joy in your career. Fashion a career around work you love to do. This will lead to increased happiness, and you will be less likely to burnout.
- Reflect on your accomplishments. Being in a rush to get the job done and advance our careers may cause us to miss our achievements. Accordingly, take time to acknowledge your accomplishments both big and small. Taking time to acknowledge our wins will give us positive energy and motivation to press on.
- Maintain a well rounded life. Build a life that includes elements outside of work.
Malissa Lewis serves as the Chief of the Loan Repayment Branch in HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW). She leads a team of nineteen analysts who work to strengthen the healthcare workforce and build healthy communities through the administration several workforce loan repayment programs.
Prior to the Loan Repayment Branch, she served as a section chief in the Division’s Scholarship Branch. Malissa has over 11 years of public health experience and leadership experience.
This article first appeared August 22, 2022.