Quiet quitting has supposedly spread through the workforce like wildfire as of late, but what is it? Quiet quitting is defined as only putting in the required effort into your job and not working past your assigned hours. It is in no way quitting, it is doing exactly what you were hired for, nothing more nothing less. The goal of doing so is to give yourself more time to engage in your hobbies as well as to not burn yourself out. If you are not underperforming, why are employers acting like quiet quitting is a problem?

Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, is known for his entrepreneurship and for his role on the reality TV show, “Shark Tank.” When quiet quitting started blowing up online, O’Leary made a TikTok explaining how he felt, calling people who engage in the trend losers. Many people with a similar net worth to his have made similar comments on quiet quitting, but why? 

In our current times, employers want to get as much work out of their employees for as little as possible. You are not as exploitable if you are engaging in quiet quitting. You are putting in exactly as much effort as you are expected to do, which is not a fireable offense. If you are putting in as much effort as your peers, even if you’re doing less than what you were before, there should be no issue.

Employers do not see it that way: They want your undivided attention and as much time from you as they can legally obtain. In another TikTok video from O’Leary, he states that he does not want employees interested in attending events, having a work-life balance and working only within their scheduled hours. The key here is the use of work-life balance. 

In another video, O’Leary outright says that he does not have nor does O’Leary want employees interested in having a work-life balance working for him. This goes to show more of that exploitative behavior, quiet quitting is a problem for people like him. It destroys this heavenly, capitalistic utopia he has built within his head, where all his employees stay late and his quarterly earnings reflect the extra, unpaid and unnoticed effort being put in. 

Quiet quitting was created with that work-life balance in mind: Having people put in nothing more than the effort their job requires, not staying late, not taking work home, etc. Allowing the working class to save their energy and time for activities outside of work. Do not allow the one percent to push you around: If your pay does not reflect the extra work you’re doing, simply do not do it. 

Quiet quitting, as a concept, allows an already exhausted workforce to calm down and focus on their personal lives. Do not let big faces such as O’Leary try to convince you otherwise. It is up to you whether you want to engage in quiet quitting, but know that there’s nothing wrong in doing so. Do not allow big business to exploit you more than they already do.