“Quiet quitting”, we read this term everywhere, which translates in English as “quiet quitting”. But what does it mean exactly? What does it imply from the point of view of mental health in the workplace? Do we suffer? Explanations.
Do you suffer from quiet quitting?
Bulk the “symptoms” of quiet quitting are the following: one feels a professional disengagement, a feeling of being psychologically tired, worn out, a lack of motivation. We tell ourselves that our job, our task, our company don’t really have any meaning… Quiet quitting stems from the fact of not being fulfilled at work, as evidenced by videos of employees filming themselves bored in the office, on social networks. We tell ourselves that we have no other choice but to work, and we do it with a form of discomfort. To avoid suffering too much, we resign silently, that is to say that we commit ourselves to the minimum to preserve ourselves.
Concretely, this translates into confining oneself to office hours, doing face-to-face and the “union minimum”. We fulfill our task, the one for which we are paid, what is written in the contract.
On the other hand, when the 35 hours have passed, we disconnect : you don’t read an email on your smartphone outside of work, you don’t answer a professional call. When it comes to being behind initiatives for the company, or even accepting a mission that requires you to leave your usual area, it’s no. At the same time, we avoid getting involved in the social life of the company, drinking with colleagues, that too, we do without.
Quiet quitting: revealing the malaise around work
This description affects many people, as evidenced by various studies on the subject, published in recent months. In the USA, the Gallup polling institute estimates that 50% of workers over the age of 18 “quiet quitters”. In France, an Ifop poll for Les Makers, taken over by The Huffpost estimated at the end of October that 37% of employees experienced it. And this concerns all classes, the “poor” category is the most affected by this phenomenon, at 47%, followed by the “modest” category, at 42%. The “affluent” categories are for their part affected at 32%.
Overall, work is gradually taking another place in the life of the French, which limits its invasion of the private sphere. On November 11, the IFOP published a study with the Jean-Jaurès Foundation on the importance of work in the lives of French people: 24% believe it is “important”, compared to 60% 32 years ago. The proportion of people who see work as a constraint has risen sharply, from 25% in 1993 to 48% in 2022.
Quiet quitting, a means of protection that carries risks
But then why stay in a job that does not make us happy? First because actual resignation is not always an accessible option : it implies precariousness, downgrading, the risk of not finding work or having to invest in a new job search for which one does not have the motivation, sometimes thinking that the result will be the same in the next company. In an article appeared on The Conversation, the idea of a “defense mechanism” is approached in a work situation that seems unbearable. Silent resignation is therefore a way to endure, to relieve oneself, to avoid the breaking point that is burnout.
The risk ? It is underlined by Emeric Lebreton, doctor in psychology and founder of Orientaction in an article on the subject published by the women’s journal : first the tension with his hierarchy who does not understand that we are not 100% invested, the same with his colleagues who may have the impression of carrying more weight. On the other hand, the risk is to accentuate discouragement, to find oneself in a phenomenon of apathy. Be that as it may, Emeric Lebreton points out that quiet quitting does not help to feel better at work.
But ultimately, do we really “suffer” from this phenomenon, or can it be seen as something normal? With a completely different point of view, an article from the world reminds us that silent resignation is only a way of “slow down” and that it should be the norm, to work only during working hours and not outsides… Fulfilling one’s tasks, not doing more, because one is paid to carry out a mission listed on our contract in exchange for remuneration could ultimately be seen as something logical, not worrying. But still it is necessary that this does not cause discomfort, that this degree of investment is chosen and not experienced as the only option not to crack.
