Who are you working for?

Quiet quitting is all the buzz these days, with employees staying in their jobs but doing only the minimum amount of work required – or even less, if they can get away with it.

Some say quiet quitting is simply “setting healthy job limits” and not being lazy or slacking off. It’s a reaction to the ultra rat race, the need to get ahead and get to the top – whatever it takes and whatever it costs – in very, very competitive work environments.

The pandemic upended that mindset. Lockdowns, loss of jobs, reduced working hours pushed the reset button for many. Health – physical and mental/emotional – became the priority, not the promotion (no one’s getting promoted in a company that has suspended or downsized operations) or the fancy new SUV (nowhere to go; it’s a lockdown, remember?).

In truth, long before the term quiet quitting came into our vocabulary, there are those who practise it – and not in a good way. We all know of workers who sit at their desks or work places for the required number of hours but do very little actual work. Many years ago when I worked in a corporate office, a woman sitting a few desks away from me would come in at the required hour in the morning, put away her bag in the drawer then immediately set up her “equipment” on her desk – a folding mirror, hair brush, compact powder, lipstick and I don’t remember what else. This routine took up what seemed to me quite a long time; then she’d put the stuff away and open one of the folders on her desk. Then it would be coffee break, then back to the folder (probably the same one) for a bit, then lunch break. It was more of the same in the afternoon, until it was time to go home.

She wasn’t quiet quitting; the thought I’m sure hadn’t entered her mind. That was just how she approached what probably was not the most exciting or challenging job, a real-life situation that Dolly Parton sang about: “Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’, barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’…”

Unfortunately many people work at a job because they have to make a living and not because they enjoy the work or are challenged by and committed to it. Self-help and motivational speakers always say to like your job and enjoy your work, but we all know that’s easier said than done.

But then even in the most mundane job there is dignity, and one can make whatever work one does honorable and meaningful. You don’t have to work 18-hour days or take wild risks or constantly be on overdrive. Quiet quitting isn’t necessarily a bad thing but, as in all things, there are limits. Balance is the key – do your best at work, but give yourself a break too; burnout or a nervous breakdown is not the goal.

A good guide is Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive an inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”