Why more young people are resorting to quiet quitting

COVID-19 has apparently had a more lasting effect on society than it first seemed, from hospital bed shortages and long-term illnesses that have been challenging health systems globally to supply chain disruptions in our connected world. It has also had, it seems, a lasting effect on our individual well-being, our planning for tomorrow and how we live today.

As the world returns to filling its plane seats, its supermarket shelves, offices and classrooms, everywhere you turn you hear about the challenge of finding skilled labor or employees ready to put in the hours and the grit of the old labor market. Something has shifted, it seems, concerning people’s long-term employability, which stems from a greater emphasis on an emerging attitude to work-life balance, which is seeing many choosing to reduce their work-load or “quietly quitting,” despite the skill and labor shortages in the post-pandemic world.

The year 2022 saw the world take a few steps toward normality, only to be hit by war, an energy crisis, inflation, a rising cost of living and even recession. But COVID-19 — which is still a factor challenging healthcare and straddling any speedy recovery to pre-pandemic levels of economic performance — has also led to adverse currents in societies. These challenge long-held myths and the reality that slaving away at work gives humans a sense of direction, fulfillment, happiness and relevance.

In 2023, the battles over workplace culture will add more pressure to employers in tight markets everywhere, as workers will continue to flex their muscles in an ever-tightening labor market.

Returning to office has replaced working from home, as employers felt they had lost control over their employees. They have tried to lure them back to the office to prevent a crisis in productivity as, despite an increase in individuals’ labor output in the early days of the pandemic, this failed to survive the hybrid work arrangements. This led to another term emerging, “productivity paranoia,” which has seen employers go to great lengths to drag people back to the office to prevent “procrastination and lower commitment,” even adding output measurement software to weed out the good from the bad in their teams of employees.

This cat and mouse game will continue in 2023, as employees have rallied around the concept of quiet quitting, a term first coined on TikTok, whereby an employee continues to dispense the cores of the job but only does the bare minimum. Long gone is the idea of late-night working and going above and beyond the call of duty. This has apparently especially resonated with Millennials and Generation Z, who are now fighting to rewrite the rules of workplace culture. Many of them have opted to become boomerang employees — returning to a job they previously left — or sought career cushioning, always being on the lookout and ready to leave their current position for an alternative opportunity that respects their new-found work-life balance. So, are we becoming greedier or is this emanating from a sense of insecurity? The short answer is perhaps both.

In my view, such new trends have risen as a result of the rapid rise of technology and the role it has played in making us all ever more connected, with our virtual lives being visible to others, in addition to us constantly working, which has meant that work has encroached on our personal lives, with only a thin screen separating home time from office time. The COVID-19 pandemic was the crisis that afforded people that pause to reflect and reevaluate their priorities, and it seems Millennials and Gen Zers concluded there was a need to push back against the old work culture that eats into our personal time.

Globally, the International Labor Organization has found that one in five young people are not in education, not in employment and not in training, known as NEET. As many as three in five young women are NEET. Figures like these should worry employers and politicians alike, as the old norms of economic and social activities have been shaken to levels not previously experienced.

People have reasoned that stress, burnout, health issues and uncertainties have driven people both young and old to shun the traditional job market. In addition, in more developed countries, the government support and excess savings available might have been a catalyst too. It is easy to find excuses for both sides of the argument, but one thing that is certain is that some of the newly adopted trends could amount to self-sabotage or become a disruptor of the work environment.

I am from a generation that sees work and productivity as a cornerstone of our human existence, even as technology increasingly facilitates but does not replace human input or output. Many of us have grown up to believe that our work has always given us meaning and purpose in life. I still believe that labor is the conduit to people thriving and the term labor is an umbrella for achievement, be it a nine-to-five job, the creative endeavors of the arts or the technological reimagination of our world.

People are entitled to push back against burnout and reject exploitation, but let us agree that, for centuries, we have also derived joy from the fruits of our labor, regardless of how much money our economic activities have yielded. Let us also hope these new trends will help us to refocus and readjust, but not permanently give up on a productive life. If that takes root, then the world should maybe adopt the brace position.

• Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist, media consultant and trainer with more than 25 years of experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.