The End of the Hustle?
‘Quiet quitting’ is the buzz phrase of working life right now, but what is it and who benefits from it?
A NEW TREND
In the last couple of weeks, we have seen the term ‘quiet quitting’ make its way from Tik Tok to being the centre of debate on countless posts on LinkedIn and news articles.
‘Quiet quitting’ is the concept of stepping away from ‘hustle culture’ and no longer going above and beyond – simply, fulfilling your role description.
This phenomenon comes alongside the wave of workers reassessing their jobs in the context of life and priorities in a post-pandemic world. And, while many agree with the idea of quietly quitting, they’ve simultaneously expressed their disagreement with its name.
Others are speaking out against both the idea and the concept of quitting quietly. Co-Founder of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, shared her worries via a LinkedIn post.
‘Quiet quitting isn’t just about quitting on a job, it’s a step toward quitting on life. Yes, we shouldn’t be defined by our work. But at the same time, if work is at least eight hours of our day, are we saying these are hours we’re willing to simply go through the motions, with the inevitable boredom that’s bound to ensue? Work can give us meaning and purpose.’
FINDING A CURE
Even if we enjoy our work immensely, we still run the risk of burnout, or feeling like the boundaries between our personal and professional life are off-balance.
This remains even more true when we find ourselves in a job we don’t enjoy for reasons such as toxic company culture, being undervalued or there being no opportunities to develop and evolve.
In both cases, turning to ‘quiet quitting’ seems like it could be a cure.
But with so much of our lives spent working, ensuring we can find meaning and fulfilment in what we do is important, even if what we’re doing is not our dream job.
When we see our work having a wider impact, it becomes about more than just a salary, it then helps us personally by improving our attitude, keeping us motivated and sustaining our mental health.
This highlights the gravity of finding a balance of finding purpose at work whilst ensuring we are appreciated by our workplace and have our boundaries respected.
A HAPPY MEDIUM
Perhaps faith can help us in finding this balance.
When looking at the Bible, we are shown the value of hard work and completing our work in good spirit, in conjunction with the importance of enjoying the rewards of our work and blessings too.
‘And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – this is indeed a gift from God.’ (Ecclesiastes 5:19, NLT).
Finding significance in our work helps us stay motivated and productive meaning we can hustle in the hours we’re online and rest and disconnect when we’re offline.
If it is burnout we’re facing, instead of resigning ourselves to working without direction, perhaps we can look to implement boundaries that help us to regroup and go forward with a refreshed perspective.
If we find ourselves in a place of weariness where there is nothing we can do in our own power to change the root cause, perhaps looking to switch course can be helpful.
This can look different for everyone. Perhaps it’s finding a different job, switching positions in the company, or looking to find purpose in other areas of life too.
Faith can help us remember that while our work can be of great importance, our identity is not in what we do and this can help take the pressure off.
Faith provides us with the wisdom to join the very best of ‘hustle culture’ and ‘quietly quitting’, by doing well in our work, finding courage to make a change when necessary and ensuring our boundaries are valued.
WORDS BY
Ellie Dalton
