How to Remain Moral While Having Quiet Quit

Quite quitting is affecting today’s workforce and has become a public concern. Whether one agrees with this practice or not, it is a topic worthy of discussion. While quite quitting can have negative connotations and may not be viewed as “acceptable” by employers, not everything about this practice is negative.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the events cited herein occurred many years ago. Examples and instances and persons reporting alleged situations may be multiple sources but as written may be read as one and the same. The location and the names of those involved are intentionally omitted. While an attempt to remain unbiased in the presentation of this information has been made, not all points of view have been represented. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, these are opinions and alleged allegations and not facts. Any inaccuracies or omissions are unintentional and accidental. Thus, any assumptions of persons, situations, businesses, locations, etc. discussed herein should not be made.

The views expressed do not represent any organization, affiliates, or employees other than the informants. Furthermore, this post is a scheduled post that may appear during traditional working hours but has been composed, edited, and completed during non-traditional working hours. Finally, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; the right of people peaceably to assemble (in 2023 that would include social media), and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Free speech refers to the free and public expression of opinions without censorship, interference, or restraint by the government.

Now, if you’re curious about the lengthy disclaimer, here is full transparency. Recently, an old biddy—in my opinion—was eavesdropping on a conversation between myself and other employees. In all honesty, I was doing more listening than talking because I was being filled in on a situation. Mind you, this conversation occurred outside during a scheduled break. This employee having overheard part of the conversation made a conclusion about who was being discussed. She then misquoted the overheard conversation to a supervisor who demanded to be told the full conversation which was none of her business. The conversation in question had been regarding former employees who had been separated from the business many years prior. She was being discussed because she recently had made the news for other reasons. One of the other participants in the conversation also has a public media platform that the eavesdropper trolls. Being salty because her tattling did not work out the way she taught, she began reporting to supervisors information located on coworkers’ social media platforms, twisting it in a way to cause trouble.

Creole Bayou is a safe space where my goal is to provide informative and sometimes obscure information in one place. When I decided to tackle this topic, it was with the understanding that some opinions would be unpopular and controversial. I also knew I would be giving examples of past experiences to help illustrate discussion points.

It wasn’t until approximately last year that I learned the term “quiet quitting.” However, it was a practice I had actively engaged in years before then. I thought I was suffering from a case of mere burnout, but after reading articles and listening to TED talks a few years ago, came to understand it was much more.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, quiet quitting can be summed up in the slogan, “Work smarter, not harder.” Quiet quitting is an act of performing the bare minimum work duties to be acceptable and not get terminated. It is filling a slot to get paid but not emotionally invested. It’s no longer going the extra mile or far and beyond to reach a completion point. It is checking out in mind while remaining in body. For some employees, quiet quitting is a way to maintain their mental stability.

Some people intentionally quiet quit, especially now that many people have become aware of what it is and that many employees are doing it. However, I feel—and this is just my opinion—that many workers who quiet quit do so without knowing. They reach a point where the job just doesn’t seem worth it, but they feel stuck. I know that is how I reached that point at one point in my employment history.

Many years ago when I was first hired at a previous job, I was lied to by my supervisor. Yes, lied. Now, I’m not attempting to toot my own horn, but I was actually something by then. I had a passion for the field, and I knew my stuff. Plus, I came with the right credentials from a school that is not easily snubbed. I checked a lot of boxes. And one box I checked was being ignorant of the workforce. See, it was my first “real” job, so I didn’t consider that an employer would stare me in the eye and point-blank lie. Yet, that is what he did. I was willing to accept the entry position salary with the promise of a raise after two years of commitment. He said it was policy since salaries were based on years of service. He even showed me the paper with the noted salary range. What he failed to say was that even though that salary range was what was written in the job description, it was not honored. Raises were not automatically awarded when milestones were reached. There was always a reason not to give it. “No, it’s not two years of work experience, it’s two years of specific work experience.” “No, you have to wait until someone leaves so that I can give you their PIN.” (Salaries are also associated with employee PINs.) “I would love to, but it isn’t in the budget this year.” “No, it isn’t in the budget this year, either.” “You will have weekends and holidays off. It’s only occasionally that you would have to work, maybe a few times a year.” (Translate that to mean monthly, then weekly.) And there were so many more.

Now, this may sound like an exaggeration. I would think so too if I hadn’t lived it, but he had a good reason—not good in the sense of morally or okay but in the sense of a real purpose—to lie. See, not many people wanted to work at the place. The business had a terrible time hiring and maintaining employees (demonstrated by the list of job vacancies each month and the length of time positions remained unfilled despite advertising). There were two levels to this.

Due to the low salaries, most skilled labor employees shied away. When they did accept the position, it was to gain experience to bolster their resumes before moving on. They weren’t seeking to make careers there. Additionally, there existed other opportunities in the area that offered higher salaries and more relaxed working conditions. Thus, the business in question had competition for white-collar employees.

Second, unskilled labor was easier to hire but had a high turnover rate. People needed jobs, and for blue-collared workers, these jobs were some of the bests paying at the time. They were offered benefits plus the option to work paid overtime. But once these workers saw what the job was really all about, they got the hell out of dodge. I once heard a human resources supervisor of the business say that this was “normal” for blue-collar workers in any work sector. I found that hard to believe because I knew of plenty of people in other companies who could have found higher-paying jobs but remained put because they were treated well and loved what they did. It had never been about the money.

One thing this business was notorious for doing was working the qualified employees to the bone while allowing the no-good ones to skate. For example, hardworking employees wouldn’t be given time off because they were needed to do the job. However, employees who half came to work anyway and barely worked when they were there would be granted requested leave. It didn’t go unnoticed to me that my workload was double that of my officemates. Why? Because once the uppers noticed I was getting it done, then they felt comfortable shoving more my way. My supervisor said it was because they had “confidence” in me. At first, I didn’t mind this because I thought eventually it would lead to a promotion. But that is where I was wrong. That was an error on my part. Once employees are recognized as being good at something, they are pigeonholed into that position. After all, it is a business, and what is more profitable for businesses than having your best employees doing key work at the lowest possible salary? That’s excellent for the bottom line. For a business model, no one can argue that it doesn’t make sense. I get it.

I had gotten myself into what appeared to be a dead-end job. But here’s the kicker. Each time I would contemplate leaving and begin searching for new employment, the lies would come again. Coworkers and friends close to me would get in my ear and convince me that I was being too impulsive and holding unrealistic expectations. They would encourage for me to give it more time and that it would “get better.” And they would whisper fear, “You won’t find anything better. The grass always looks greener on the other side.” Stupidly, I listened for longer than I should have because I didn’t realize that misery truly does love company. The tragic part is that I had seen others leave for other positions that allowed them to live their best lives. It’s no one’s fault but my own because I lacked the self-confidence back then to follow my gut and trust myself and my abilities. The longer I stayed, the more I bought into the cult-like mentality. Yet, each day, I awoke more miserable than the previous.

There’s a saying. “Every cloud has a silver lining.” For many, the pandemic shutdown was the worse. I know it’s something that I never hope to experience again. I rank it right up there with Hurricane Katrina. But I can’t honestly say lessons weren’t learned and that my eyes weren’t opened. I did come to see what could be and what things were truly important. I recognized many things that I had overlooked and saw the lies and deception for exactly what they were. And I realized that my bright had slowly faded over the years. I wasn’t giving everything my all. I spent more time being frustrated by attempting the right thing instead of the easiest. I had begun taking steps back and being more compliant than a leader. In other words, I had quietly quit. However, I always thought that I would catch a second wind, that after a break I would once again return to the worker I once was. I just needed a break. That’s when another reality hit. Wow! I’d invested a lot of years, but I didn’t have much of a return to show for it. But whose fault was that? I could only blame myself. I allowed this situation to have stockpiled—too many years in and not enough to get out. It’s a horrible place to be.

The solution, my motto, is to finish what is started. Ride it out. But because a person decides to ride something out does not mean they must ride the same horse they arrived on. My power was that I could control that which I could control. So instead of stepping back up to meet the same results, how about taking a step further back? I was surrounded by employees—had been for years—who neglected to pull their weight, yet, nothing ever happened to them. In fact, some of them were promoted.

Oh, now, doesn’t that sound bitter? But it’s true. It was explained to me. When certain employees mess up but either there’s not quite enough for termination or they know somebody (nepotism is rampant), they are often given positions that they can do “less harm.” For example, an employee who has to work with a lot of people may be moved to an office position to only shuffle unimportant papers. While it may seem like a demotion, it’s actually the opposite. The new job would often pay more and have better hours. One supervisor who was coming under scrutiny for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate was swiftly given a director’s position in order to remove him from said employee’s direct line of supervision. It was made even more obvious that this move was to save his skin because the directorship he was given was a job created specifically for him. It hadn’t existed previously, and this can be proven by looking at the records. But yeah, that happened. And hey, no hating on the man. If he’s got it like that, so be it. He had friends in positions who could and did help him.

A more recent event that occurred that caused me to reflect on why people quiet quit was when the uppers made the decision that a person with a known (not suspected but having self-confessed of allegedly receiving from her physician) diagnosis of Covid was allowed to enter the building. Now, I’m not going to get into the validity of whether or not Covid is a genuine illness or the severity of it. That’s a different discussion that I’m not trying to have. I’m about to speak about hypocrisy. The business continues to have mask mandates in place for employees. There are signs that restrict access to buildings to only persons who have scheduled appointments. The temperatures of every person entering any building are taken daily. Employee social gatherings in common areas continue to be disallowed. Yet, a consumer informs an employee that she allegedly has recently been diagnosed with Covid (or at the very least exposed to it). The employee reported it to her immediate supervisor who reported it to the uppers. The uppers instruct that a telephone or virtual meeting with this person will not be allowed and that the meeting must take place face-to-face. Furthermore, the meeting cannot be postponed because there is a “deadline.” Thus, this alleged walking incubator was approved to come onto campus and enter a building, potentially exposing a dozen employees in a place supposedly so concerned with health and safety that it continued to mandate Covid safety precautions long after the governmental lifting of such restrictions. Make it make sense. I can’t. A solution was found to conduct the meeting outside in an effort to limit direct exposure.

This got me to thinking. Okay, if employees are quiet quitting and some with legitimate reasons for doing so, then is there a correct or moral way to do it? I would assume yes.

The first would be a Hippocratic Oath derivative—a declaration to uphold ethical standards (and this would require a definition of ethical) and to do no harm to those who are being given service. What I did not realize (and there are lots that I never knew that I didn’t know) is that most modern medical schools no longer require the Hippocratic Oath or any oath. The language of the Hippocratic Oath has become dated and rejected by many new physicians. For that reason, medical schools began writing their own, meaning that there’s not an across-the-board oath that physicians swear to. In this regard, a person who quiet quits would need to conduct an examination of conscience that he/she is behaving morally in spite of doing less. For example, a teacher may decide not to tutor after hours or develop new assignments outside of the designated lesson plan. The teacher isn’t denying students a proper education. The teacher simply isn’t taking any extra steps to teach beyond contracted hours. This by no means harms students.Being effective in the work that is submitted. If one elects to do the bare minimum, that minimum should be well conducted. For example, if an employee’s job mainly consists of report writing, the employee may cut back on working on the evaluation during his/her spare time or working extended hours to complete it. However, the employee would ensure that the evaluation is turned in on time, and the work submitted is well-written (e.g., absent of grammatical errors). If a report is condensed, it would still need to contain all the pertinent information required.Maintaining a pleasant attitude. Many employees who quiet quit may be bitter. They may not identify bitterness in themselves, and they may not be intended to be hostile. However, sometimes, if a person has been beaten down so much over an extended period of time, they begin to internalize everything and become hypersensitive to every situation. For a time, I had a pack of supervisors whose relationships with each other created an imbalance in the checks and balances system. For example, there was an incident where a supervisor derogatorily referred to a group of employees. The employees failed to report this (although it was much discussed among employees) to that supervisor’s supervisor because that supervisor in the past had been known to cover for the other one. In fact, she would inform the other supervisor of complaints against her despite the policy that all complaints were to be confidential. The offending supervisor would then harass the employee who had made the complaint. In short, the first, second-, and third-line supervisors were all in cahoots with each other. Their friendship caused them to be ineffective in supervising each other. Therefore, employees did not report wrongdoings because they felt nothing would be done, their situation would worsen, and the line of supervision was corrupt.

That situation rectified itself when the chain supervision was broken. The top supervisor in this trio wanted a promotion but was denied. (That is a long story in and of itself.) As a result, she resigned, thinking she would force the uppers hand. It didn’t work this time because the person to who the position was given had equally as much influence plus the experience, education, and years of service. It would have gotten truly messy had the other person been denied the position in favor of this sketchy chic who had openly slept her way to the top. (This is common knowledge and not idle gossip. Her married lover’s wife confirmed it.) Unfortunately, her lover had resigned, and his influence in the workplace had diminished. She overplayed her cards. Oopsie. With ol’ girl out of the picture, her temporary replacement did not share any love with her two cohorts. So, when one of them decided to pull one of her shenanigans and step a toe out of line, employees felt comfortable reporting her to the fill-in supervisor. Two down. With the downfall of her partner in crime, the remaining supervisor saw the writing on the wall. Employees felt vindicated and rejuvenated with the transfer and ultimate termination of the second supervisor. The remaining supervisor knew she had a target on her back and that fed-up employees were coming for her. She got out while the getting was good and turned in her resignation. In less than eighteen months, all the bad apples had been purged. An improvement in employee morale could be felt after each one left. It wasn’t until they had all vacated that employees gained a real understanding of how miserable they had been. It would have been easy for them to display bad attitudes. Yet, they put on the necessary smiles to get the job done during those tough times (which was years)

Remaining competent. Just because a person “slacks” does not give license to not maintain competence. The work still has to be quality. For example, if a project manager decides to cut back on his hours, he still has to put in enough hours to ensure that the job is being done sufficiently. He is still responsible for doing the necessary research or steps to ensure that industry standards are being upheld and met. If he decides to delegate certain duties, it is his responsibility to delegate them to persons who are competent to complete them. For example, I once had to take an extended period of leave due to illness. In this instance, it was the responsibility of my supervisor to delegate my duties. At the time, my equal position in the department was vacant. The other equal position was a long-term part-time worker who because of her part-time status had limited duties. This meant my supervisor was responsible for ensuring that my workload was covered. Well, he was a bit of a schemer and a slag.

Because egos were so fragile, “chain-of-command” was something harped on. In this instant, the chain of command was muddled. His direct supervisor was not qualified to be his supervisor. This was not only evident in the written job description but also had been demonstrated as problematic in cases that had found their way in front of an ethics board, or, heaven forbid, a judge. The person who was qualified to be his supervisor (and at one point had been) had had her position restricted so that she was the supervisor over his department but not over him. Yes, when spoken, it makes no sense. She knew his job and what he was supposed to be doing, and she created the departmental policies he was supposed to follow. But this loophole in structure allowed him not to have to answer to her. Therefore, he would brown-nose to his immediate supervisor who was clueless (or just didn’t care about what policy said), and be allowed to not do his job. Well, he had a nasty habit of pushing his work off on others (which was why there was an open position in the department). He had been pushing his work off on me. With me out of the picture, it meant he had to assume the workload which he did not. He consistently missed deadlines and submitted old reports as current. The immediate supervisor looked the other way. However, this oversight eventually became too glaring to ignore, and he made a blunder larger enough that the uppers raised an eyebrow.

When I eventually left for good, his actions could not be ignored, and it wasn’t long after that he was out the door. I received a text message one morning that he had been escorted off the campus. Some months later, I received a second email that is professional license had been revoked. For the record, I never formally reported him. Did I complain to my coworkers at times? Yes. Who doesn’t vent from time to time? But did I ask for his head on a platter? No. I had removed myself from the situation and all his toxicity. By that time, I had sunk inward and was focused on a way out. I wanted nothing to do with him or any of the other supervisors. Whether I transferred to another department or left the company all together didn’t matter to me. I wasn’t about toting any baggage. My sentiments were, “You can have this place and everything in it.”

Although my supervisor should have been competent to perform my job, he wasn’t. The reason he wasn’t was not because he lacked the intellectual ability to do so. On the contrary, he would have been better suited for the position than I was. The issue was he refused to invest the time to learn the position. He didn’t know how to properly complete the paperwork because he never bothered completing it. He would push the duty onto someone else. Over time, especially when procedures changed, it became apparent to uppers that not only was he willfully neglecting to do his job, he no longer knew how to do it. But the uppers had been okay with his neglect as long as there was some other dumdum to carry the load. When they realize that he could not pinch hit in a crunch, that’s when the uppers decided his time was up. It was no absence and not my mouth that exposed him. His true colors shining had nothing to do with me. I said it then and I stand by it now, my hands are clean when it comes to what came down the pike with him. I believe it was the timing.

After his massive screw-up but before his termination, the uppers requested I return and correct the problem. See, someone had to do the job. Someone must be competent. The uppers had known for years the stunts he’d been pulling and had selectively ignored them. It was embarrassing for them to admit that his subordinate (i.e., me) was carrying the department. What was common knowledge was highlighted. His blunder and absence (he would leave the building for hours while on the clock to work at a private practice) had been so great that staff was whispering and side-eyeing administration. My returned presence solidified their thoughts. Later, rumors of dementia began floating around. I do not know if the rumors are true, but I did read (because it’s public record) that one of the reasons his license was revoked was on the grounds of incompetency.

Quiet quitting is far better than having a meltdown on the job. If a person feels that he/she is at a breaking point and it is due to his/her working conditions, it likely is time to find other employment. It also would be beneficial to seek professional help. However, if a person feels trapped and unable to leave the job, then quiet quitting (even if only temporarily) may be an option. I don’t want to be the one to bring it up, but I can’t ignore the huge elephant in the room. We have all been hearing and watching the news lately. Horrible things have happened (and continue to happen) in our communities, cities, and towns because some people are not addressing their mental health issues. Either they do not recognize that they need help, feel that there is too much stigma surrounding mental health, or lack the financial or other resources to seek services. No matter the cause, persons who are struggling with mental health issues without treatment can have actions that affect many others. Sharing experiences and opening lines of discussion is not a backdoor to ruthlessly badmouth any institution or business. It is just one more means to spread awareness.

And in the words of Carly Simon (kinda): I bet you think this post is about you. You’re so vain.

Whew! That was a lot, but now, it’s your turn to sound off. What did you think? What is your take on the subject? Do you agree or disagree? Did you find this information helpful or informative? Did you learn anything new, or did it change your opinion? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section. Also, let me know if you would like me to cover more of these types of topics or dive deeper into this one. If you like this post, please click the like button and share it. Your feedback allows me to know the content that you want to read. If you’re not following me on Creole Bayou blog, what are you waiting for? There’s always room at the bayou.

Get ready. It’s time to hit the ice again. Future Goals has arrived and is available.

When a college hockey player needs the help of an attractive older attorney, he gets more than he bargained for when trying to sort out the troubles in his career. Falling in love was never part of either man’s plan, especially as Corrigan’s and Sacha’s lives should never have collided. Now they’re left questioning if they’re standing in the way of the other’s future goals, or if there’s room for redirection.

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Author Bio

Genevive Chamblee resides in the bayou country where sweet tea and SEC football reign supreme. She is known for being witty (or so she thinks), getting lost anywhere beyond her front yard (the back is pushing it as she’s very geographically challenged), falling in love with shelter animals (and she adopts them), asking off-the-beaten-path questions that makes one go “hmm”, and preparing home-cooked Creole meals that are as spicy as her writing. Genevive specializes in spinning steamy, romantic tales with humorous flair, diverse characters, and quirky views of love and human behavior. She also is not afraid to delve into darker romances as well.