How do you feel about your work? Overwhelmed and undervalued? If so, then you may be tempted to join the legion of workers who have started “quiet quitting”.
It’s a new trend where people who hate their job or feel undervalued at work do what it takes to avoid getting fired — and absolutely nothing more. They need the money, so they don’t want to be fired, but they’re not interested in their job — and they don’t care who knows.
The trend has spread on social media but was inspired by China’s TangPing, or “lie flat,” movement, which encouraged workers to mentally quit their jobs and do no more than was strictly necessary.
It was triggered by the country’s shrinking workforce and culture of working very long hours, and was seen as such a threat to the economy that it has now been censored by the authorities.
The trend has spread on social media but was inspired by China’s TangPing, or “lie flat,” movement, which encouraged workers to mentally quit their jobs and do no more than was strictly necessary
It’s very likely there’s a strong following here too, after shocking research found just 9 per cent of Britons are ‘engaged’ with our jobs.
The phenomenon clearly has its roots in lockdown, when many people working from home found they could put in far fewer hours – and less work – than they could at the office and still get by without a P45 landing on their doorstep .
The pandemic has also caused some to reassess their priorities and ask big, haunting questions about what they really want out of life. You’ve mentally ticked off your job and now feel encouraged not to pretend it’s different.
For example, if an employee had received an email from their boss a few years ago asking them to get something done late Friday afternoon, they probably would have stayed behind to get it done and might have canceled their plans or changed. Now the trend is for people to back down and say they will if they can on Monday.
It is a step away from the practice of “working to the rule” where workers do exactly what they are contractually obligated to do and no more, often as a form of industrial action to show how much overtime workers are actually putting in and How reliable a company is is based on this unpaid work.
Silent cessation goes even further. It’s passive-aggressive pushing the envelope to see how little you can do without getting fired.
It sounds pretty empowering – you no longer have to pander to your boss or go above and beyond what you’re paid to differentiate yourself from your peers and get promoted.
dr Max Pemberton says finding the positive aspects of your job can help you get involved. He talks about the “quiet quitting” where employees at Jobs do the bare minimum
There is no doubt that working in a job you don’t like has a negative impact on your mental health. But “quiet quitting” can itself be the cause of low job satisfaction.
Doing something you think you hate but doing nothing to change things — instead raising a quiet protest in this way — is a surefire way to make yourself unhappy. You become less committed, less enthusiastic, first in the task at hand and later in other areas of your life as well.
You stop trying to find meaning and purpose in what you do – stop trying to see the good in your job or look at the value of work for the sake of profitable intellectual engagement – and instead become to an embittered vending machine.
How is that liberating?
I remember working in a nursing home in my early 20’s and hating every moment of it.
I was treated poorly by management and we were so overworked that we never had time to adequately care. I dreaded every second of the work and started calling the place a “hell hole” I hated it so much.
What struck me was the more I complained and decided I hated it, the worse I felt. I needed the money to stay in medical school, so I knew I was stuck there.
Eventually, I realized that my unrelentingly negative attitude towards my job was part of the reason I hated it so much.
I figured there were things I couldn’t change, but ultimately I still helped people and got paid for it.
The residents were interesting and despite the pressure from management to get by, I still found time to talk to the people I cared for.
I decided to focus on the positive aspects of the job rather than keep telling myself I hated every waking second. I changed my attitude towards the job – and that in turn helped me to change my attitude towards it.
It was helpful in other ways too.
At a later job, which I didn’t enjoy, I tried the same tactic and just couldn’t find anything positive about it — so I knew I’d done my best, and instead of feeling miserable and bored, I gave up without noticing it regret.
I wonder if the legion of quiet quitters shouldn’t do the same: try to find the positive in a job and go for it.
If that fails after all your efforts, then you know it’s time to say goodbye – your boss will probably thank you for it.
Why the Double Standard on Hair Dye?
While a screen idol like George Clooney has been dubbed a “silver fox” for letting his gray hair grow through, women are accused of not making an effort and giving in to aging if they don’t reach for color
Liam Gallagher posted a selfie with new blonde locks on Instagram last week. All hell broke loose.
The Oasis rocker was widely mocked for people thinking he dyed his hair.
He said it was actually just the sun — but why is there such a double standard about men dying their hair versus women?
It seems ridiculous that in today’s world, men still can’t change their hair color without attracting ridicule and ridicule.
The other side of the coin is, of course, that men also escape criticism because they avoid the salon.
While a screen idol like George Clooney has been dubbed a “silver fox” for letting his gray hair grow through, women are accused of not making an effort and giving in to aging if they don’t reach for color.
It seems that in the age of equality, hair color is one of the last bastions of sexism.
The polio vaccine is being offered to one million children aged one to nine in London. It is terrifying that this disease, which has been responsible for so many deaths and such devastating disabilities, is making a comeback. I’m afraid we’ve gotten so complacent about parents not vaccinating their child.
- Every day I do what I know is ridiculous: I take vitamin supplements, including garlic and cod liver oil capsules. I eat a fairly balanced diet, I’m not frail, pregnant or alcoholic, so I don’t need them at all. A Harvard study recently found that most dietary supplements have no real benefit for normal adults. So why am I doing it? I don’t feel healthier or get fewer colds. But I don’t worry about my diet anymore. I don’t have a bad conscience if I eat a pizza and skip the salad or eat sugary cornflakes instead of muesli. In my opinion, the medical and scientific community’s fear mongering that we’re not eating right has led to the supplement boom. I haven’t become more carefree about my health since taking it, just less concerned about it.
DR MAX PRESCRIBE…
LISTEN TO THE RADIO
Listening to the radio can help prevent dementia, according to a study published in the journal Neurology
Listening to the radio can help prevent dementia, according to a study published in the journal Neurology. Along with other mentally stimulating activities like reading, it proved to be the best pastime for preventing the disease, reducing the risk by 23 percent. Walking and yoga reduced it by just 17 percent.