Quiet quitting is the latest buzzword in the workplace – especially surrounding Gen Z employees. But what does it mean? And is it really a new concept? The answer might surprise you.

With the latest data showing that 23 per cent of small business owners are holding off hiring new employees, it’s more important than ever that our staff feel valued and engaged in the workplace.

Keep reading to find out exactly what quiet quitting means, whether you have anything to worry about, and how you can prevent it.

What is quiet quitting?

You might hear the term quiet quitting and think you’ll need to start writing a new job advertisement to replace a leaving employee – but this isn’t the case. Quiet quitting means an employee is only doing the bare minimum in their role.

The goal of quiet quitting is putting in the minimum effort required to keep your job, but no longer volunteering to go above and beyond in your role or only working your contracted hours.

This trend is a hot topic of conversation as more and more people stress the importance of wellbeing and a healthy work-life balance. It’s sometimes known as ‘acting your wage’.

An example of quiet quitting is doing your assigned work but not volunteering for additional work, or perhaps not working overtime. In a small business, this could have consequences on business operations – but how do you make sure you’re creating a healthy workplace environment where work gets done but your staff feel appreciated?

Quiet quitting – small business examples

Quiet quitting isn’t just prevalent in the corporate world, it may be happening in your small business. Here are some examples of quiet quitting in a small business environment:

• you may own a small restaurant and consistently rely on your staff to work unpaid overtime when its busy – by refusing to stay late, your staff may be quiet quitting

• if you ask your receptionist to make regular sales calls (which they may not be comfortable with) they could quiet quit by only completing their contracted responsibilities

• asking a worker in your construction company to make deliveries in their own vehicle on a weekend wouldn’t be included in their official duties – so refusing would be an example of quiet quitting

Work-to-rule – what’s the difference?

Whilst quiet quitting is a new term, it isn’t a new concept. The idea of doing the bare minimum in your role (often to prove a point about the value you bring to a company) used to be known as work-to-rule.

Work-to-rule is a method used throughout history by unions to disrupt operations. The idea is that whilst you follow every duty laid out in your contract, you don’t take on any additional work. As many businesses rely on additional effort or overtime, this can severely disrupt a company’s day to day work.

In the UK, postal workers have employed work-to-rule on multiple occasions. Whilst postal workers would often do unpaid overtime in order to make their deliveries and carry bags heavier than specified in health and safety guidelines, this wasn’t an official part of their job role.

When pay disputes arise, postal workers will often employ work-to-rule to show the value they bring to their roles.

So whilst quiet quitting as a term was popularised online in 2022, the idea behind it has been a proven tactic for workers for generations.