Younger workers don’t want to ‘sell their soul’ to the workplace

A growing number of younger workers say they prioritize their mental well-being over their work by putting minimal effort into their work.

The trend, dubbed “Quiet Quitting,” is when employees put in enough work to make ends meet, but don’t put in the extra effort that can be expected in many workplaces.

A 22-year-old health care worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said there was a lot of pressure from employers to move forward, but she saw no reward for doing so.

“For example, if you’ve done your work quickly, you’re expected to keep sharpening until you’ve completed your hours. I had to learn to take more time to do my tasks, to become less efficient at what I do,” she said.

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She counted herself one of the many Generation Z who wanted a clear line between work and her life.

“I show up for work, I do the work, but as soon as I leave it’s out of sight, out of mind. It’s not slacking, it just doesn’t go above and beyond.”

Angela Lim, founder of the digital employee health platform Clearhead, said silent quitting was a symptom of employers not understanding the needs of their younger employees.

Angela Lim, founder of the digital employee health platform, Clearhead, says quiet quitting is a symptom of employers not understanding the needs of their younger employees.

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Angela Lim, founder of the digital employee health platform, Clearhead, says quiet quitting is a symptom of employers not understanding the needs of their younger employees.

“This is a generational shift that we see younger workers not wanting to sell their souls to their employers,” Lim said.

She pointed to a Harvard Business Review survey that found that 68% of Millennials and 81% of Generation Z workers left their jobs for mental health reasons during the pandemic, showing how younger workers were prioritizing their mental health.

It was vital that employers make better use of the younger members of their teams, she said.

“Based on our data, we don’t see this reversing, it’s an embedded generational shift. It’s up to the employer to try and show these employees work beyond a 9-5 and a paycheck.

“The trick to this was making sure workplaces had a supportive infrastructure to provide employees with mental health care that went beyond just a number to call, she said.

While one in four kiwis was at risk of mental health problemsin most workplaces, only 3% of employees used employee assistance programs for advice or support.

This was a big problem, and if employers wanted to hire younger staff, they needed to fix it, she said.

Lauren Berry,​ people and culture manager at Employment Hero, said quitting quietly was a subtler element of the big layoff.

Employers shouldn’t see this as employee laziness, but as a readjustment of workplace expectations, she said.

Employees set limits to prevent burnout, and managers must respect this and trust their staff, she said.

Employers should see this not as laziness on the part of employees, but as an adjustment to workplace expectations, says Lauren Berry, people and culture manager at Employment Hero.

Mladen Mitrinovic/123rf

Employers should see this not as laziness on the part of employees, but as an adjustment to workplace expectations, says Lauren Berry, people and culture manager at Employment Hero.

Computer science chief economist Brad Olsen said what some people called “quiet quiet,” he just called doing your job.

“I think the phrase is offensive to younger workers, the idea that you’re supposed to work extra for no extra pay,” Olsen said.

If a company needed staff to work beyond their roles, that company was dealing with the deeper problem of under-resources, he said.

Informatics chief economist Brad Olsen says

MONIQUE FORD/Things

Informatics chief economist Brad Olsen says “quitting quietly” just does your job.

If employers were to try to force younger workers to work beyond their job description, it could lead to long-term suffering in the economy, he said.

With the stress of the pandemic and historically high inflation, people were already struggling, and working harder would risk burning up the economy, he said.

“The idea of ​​a good employee consistently going beyond their job description without extra pay sounds more like exploitation to me than hard yakka,” he said.