Should South Africans Consider Quiet Quitting?

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Quiet Quitting is a new trend sweeping across social media at the moment. A quick search for the hashtag #QuietQuitting will turn up numerous posts, all with different views on this controversial movement. And quiet quitting here in South Africa is no different.

But what is quiet quitting, and what is causing this trend to blow up at the moment? Who does it affect, and is it a good idea for you to quiet quit? Lets take a deep dive into this new tendency and try to uncover some of these answers. Who knows, quiet quitting might be just the answer you needed to solve your employment problems.

What is Quiet Quitting?

Many South Africans have found the term confusing because quiet quitting does not actually involve quitting your job. It is actually the practice of doing only the bare minimum at work, doing only what you are contracted to do and not an inch more. In other words, and this is what most proponents of quiet quitting will say, you are basically just doing exactly what you are getting paid to do.

Now I do completely understand this argument. And here’s why. When we are employed by a company we are essentially selling our time and expertise to that company. The company purchases our time in an effort to use that time/expertise to turn a profit for itself.

When you do extra, you are essentially giving away your time for free so that the company can turn a bigger profit at your expense. You get nothing! And when we really boil everything down to its roots we realise that the most valuable thing we have in our lifetime is time, and it is very limited. So why give it away for free.

Should You Quiet Quit in South Africa?

You might be thinking at this stage, “Hell yes I’m quiet quitting!” But lets not be to hasty because there is a lot more to consider before we can make up our minds. Let’s first have a look at some of the causes of Quiet quitting and consider the pros and cons.

What Are the Pros of Quiet Quitting?

What are the benefits of quiet quitting?

• Only doing what you are paid to do, in other words, not giving your time away for free
• More free time for your friends and family
• Reduced work related stress
• Time to find a better job while remaining employed if you are unsatisfied with your current job

What are the Cons of Quiet Quitting

• You will not further your career
• Potential for conflict with your managers
• You may be shunned by your co-workers if they feel they need to pick up your slack
• You will probably not receive any benefits that you are not contractually entitled to
• Poor employment reference from current manager

Causes of Quiet Quitting

So what is causing this trend to become so mainstream lately? Some experts believe that this is a sort of retaliation against of the hustle culture we have been fed over the past couple of years. Entrepreneurs such as Gary V will tell you that you need to hustle and grind 18 hours a day to make it. Don’t quit, don’t give up, keep pushing.

Now this may well be true for entrepreneurs, but should it apply to the average man or woman on the street? Probably not, yet senior managers often expect their staff to take work home with them, answer Emails within a few hours and answer work related calls on weekends. Is this fair?

The truth is that there are probably many issues at the root of this trend, and they are most likely personal and based on each individuals specific circumstances. I doubt that there is one universal driver behind it.

Symptoms of Quiet Quitting

These are some of the symptoms that you are dealing with a quiet quitter, or that the person is likely to become one in the near future:

• Reduced productivity
• Limited team attendance & contribution
• Disengaged and/or exhausted
• Lack of enthusiasm
• Limited or only necessary communication
• Cynicism or apathy

Do Bad Managers lead to an Increase in Quiet Quitters in the South African Workplace?

Yes! I definitely think that bad management can lead to an increase in quiet quitting in the company. Please don’t take this to mean that if you have a quiet quitter in your company it is because of bad management, as we said it may simply just be that particular person.

Here are some organisational causes of quiet quitting:

• Lack of purpose & meaning in work
• Inadequate remuneration
• Being micromanaged
• Underutilised or unchallenged
• Limited time off
• Poor or inadequate communication
• Lack of trust & psychological safety
• Lack of progression or development opportunities

All of these issues could be rectified through better management as long as they are identified.

How to Manage a Quiet Quitter

If you have a quiet quitter reporting to you then you must do two things. The first is to take a close look at yourself and figure out if this behaviour has anything to do with your management style. If you are confident that you are not at fault then the issue probably lies with the individual themselves.

It is very easy for a manager to blame the individual and label them as simply lazy and unmotivated, however this is not going to solve anything. Unfortunately, quite often the manager is already tired of the persons attitude and will do everything in their power to fire them. (We will discuss “quiet firing” soon) But this is not the solution.

A manager should try to get to the root of the problem through building channels of effective communication. Try to identify to core issues of the staff member and be open to criticism. Great managers are able to put their egos aside and find mutually beneficial solutions to the issues at hand. Building trust and relationships with all staff that report to you is vitally important, and will significantly decrease the chances of breeding a quiet quitter.

What is Quiet Firing?

Quiet firing is the term given to the retaliatory behaviour of managers when dealing with a quiet quitter. Just like quiet quitting does not actually mean quitting, quiet firing does not actually mean firing the staff member. Instead managers will quite often try to make life as difficult as possible for a staff member who is suspected of quiet quitting.

If you are a manager and you are considering dealing with someone in your organisation like this let me quickly caution you against it. Lets start by remembering that this person is in fact doing their job, they are doing exactly what they are getting paid to do. Secondly, we have a term for this type of behaviour and it’s called constructive dismissal and it could cost you at the CCMA.

That being said, I do think that it is fair for a company to withhold certain benefits that they are not contractually or legally obligated to provide. This could be something like withholding a December bonus for example. The idea here is not a tit-for-tat sort of thing, but simply a mutual understanding that both employee and employer are not going the extra mile.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I personally believe that almost every single South African enjoys giving their energy, time, creativity, and enthusiasm to organisations who THEY feel deserve it. I believe that the fulfillment most people would get from this far out weights the little extra time they give free of charge.

It could be that this trend has far less to do with staff being overworked and more to do with them being under satisfied and unfulfilled by their work. If this dissatisfaction is then coupled with demanding long hours and unpaid overtime it is easy to see how someone might simply say “NO MORE!”

If you are thinking about quiet quitting perhaps it might be better to continue on as normal for now. Start looking for a job that fits more to your current expectations and when you find one quit properly without burning any bridges. Let me know in the comments below what you think.