‘Quiet quitting’ and the chance of a lifetime!

There’s no other way to put it… life in lockdown was a devastating and disruptive experience for most people. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic also came with an unexpected silver lining. It allowed millions of employees around the world an unprecedented level of work flexibility, most notably the opportunity to work-from-home (WFH) or work-from-anywhere (WFA). For many it was their first time.

And for many it was also the first time they glimpsed the fabled work-life balance they’d heard so much about for years, including the opportunity to become more physically active.

The quest for work-life balance

The notion that workers should be able to balance work with other aspects of life can be traced back to the labour laws of the early 20th century. The concept of ‘work-life balance’ is more recent. It emerged in the late 1970s, as a response to increasing levels of work stress and the greater participation of women in the work force.

As appealing as the idea of work-life balance has been, practically it’s been like trying to grab a piece of soap. Don’t believe me? Check the internet!

If work-life balance had been easy to create, why would the term return ~3.7 billion hits on a Google search, and ~13,700 hits through Google Scholar? In general, most people have struggled to strike a pleasing balance between work and life, which is why the bulk of the online information on work-life balance relates to one of three things: (i) personal tools for creating it, (ii) organisational solutions for enabling it, and (iii) academic investigations into understanding it.

One of the major ways organisations have tried to create work-life balance has been through flexible work arrangements. This has been a decades long evolution that’s included flexitime, job sharing and telecommuting. Whilst each way of working seems to have helped employees, nothing has put the balance into work-life balance quite like the pandemic!

With the bad comes the good

Although work-from-home was a known form of telecommuting prior to 2020, it was not widespread. Eighteen months of lockdowns changed all that. In an unprecedented turn of events, we slowed the spread of the virus by retreating from one another. In the process, non-essential workers brought their work home in a way like never before.

Naturally, this was never going to be ideal for everybody. Some homes are big, some are small. Some have private working spaces, some do not. Internet connectivity often differs widely from place to place. More importantly, some homes are simply busier than others.

However, these challenges were offset by important advantages, the most obvious being the removal of a daily commute to the office. For some employees, this saved up to 3-4 hours a day, time that could be re-distributed to things like interactions with family, exercise, hobbies, and/or domestic duties. But there was another significant gain – the personal autonomy to decide on one’s hours of work.

The COVID paradox

As a result of these circumstances, a paradox emerged. Just as the pandemic was introducing new sources of stress and inconvenience into our lives (e.g., health anxiety, restricted movement, physical distancing), it was also removing old sources of stress and inconvenience (e.g., set working hours, travel costs, commuting time).

Interestingly, as we began to adjust to wearing masks, meeting via Zoom, and getting our exercise in or around the home, the pandemic started to de-intensify…a bit. And whilst people were still yearning for some semblance of normality, a strange thing happened. The negatives started being cancelled out by the positives and, anecdotally at least, some admitted to ‘quite enjoying’ the pandemic! To the extent that is true, it seems most likely linked to an enhanced perception of work-life balance.

The transition to hybrid

Naturally, when people get something they like, they are reluctant to let it go. If you are looking for some validation of that statement, just ask any medium-to-large sized organisation.

As the world continues emerging from the pandemic, companies all around the world are searching for a ‘new normal’ of workforce organisation. This is what the transition to hybrid work is all about. They are currently trying to work out – as they have been since the industrial revolution – how best to organise workers for optimal productivity and performance.

One thing seems clear…the traditional 5-days in the office, 9-to-5 approach appears to now be a relic of history, and unlikely to return. In its place are the lockdown-esque (i) WFA, anytime, and (ii) WFA, 9-to-5, along with the more traditional (iii) return-to-office (RTO), anytime (or 2 or 3 days a week).

For many organisations, particularly those pursing RTO, these arrangements are still being trialled.

The emerging phenomenon of ‘quiet quitting’

The concept of ‘quiet quitting’ is new…very new. So new that if you search for the term in Google Scholar you’ll get 0 results, whereas a general Google search will return you ~305,000,000 hits.

So, what is it exactly? Quiet quitting is the simple withdrawal, by employees, of their discretionary work effort. That over-and-above-what-I-get-paid additional effort that is central to most definitions of employee engagement. A precious resource organisations rely on to create a competitive advantage.

And why would employees choose to quit quietly? Because quiet quitting represents a letting go of an over-developed commitment to work, it’s about employees rejecting work habits they see as harmful, such as lengthy commutes to the office. A rejection triggered by the experience of having had more choice – for around 18 months – about how work and life are put together.

The chance of a lifetime

So, what does quiet quitting enable for quitters? The obvious answers are more time, headspace, and energy. Investing less physical and mental energy in work tasks allows that energy to be directed elsewhere. Directed towards important relationships, domestic agendas, satisfying hobbies, and towards essential health-promoting activities.

And it is on the health benefits I wish to close out this blog post. Whilst physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour continues to be a problem, the pandemic did help many people pivot towards the physical aspects of health. During lockdown whole families could be seen cycling, dogs got walked more than ever before, and virtual challenges proliferated. For many, physical activity became a critical coping strategy. Something it has always been, except now more people knew it.

Perhaps this is part of the calculus of quiet quitting? A desire to retain healthy habits formed during the pandemic, when their true value was understood and valued. If so, the quiet quitters also have the chance of a lifetime. To use that time to solidify their commitment to health and set a platform for healthy ageing via further explorations of their physical self.

A chance to explore how physical activity can love you back by using interest and enjoyment as a criteria for moving ahead. By exploring options and playing with what our communities have to offer, a subject that I will very shortly be exploring in a lot more detail…

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