Quiet quitting remains prevalent, but employers should look for underlying causes rather than assuming employees are lazy, said James Reidy, an attorney with Sheehan Phinney in Manchester, N.H.
Speaking Feb. 27 at the SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference 2023, he noted that the underlying causes for employees who work just to the letter of their job description may result in legal claims.
What Is Quiet Quitting?
Approximately half of the workforce are quiet quitters, Reidy said. Employees who identify as quiet quitters often think of themselves as setting healthy boundaries, he added—a view particularly common among young workers.
Quiet quitters may:
Some employees object to the term "quiet quitting," finding it offensive, he added. They might prefer the terms "work/life balance," "reverse hustle," "workforce disassociation," "morale-adjusted productivity" or "turtling"—keeping to themselves and slowly moving along.
Reidy joked that quiet quitting might also be called "bare-minimum Monday" or "full-coast Friday."
Causes of Quiet Quitting
Regardless of what it's called, quiet quitting has costs in workplace productivity and overall engagement.
He said that causes of quiet quitting might include:
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) self-attestation can create False Claims Act (FCA) exposure when annual compliance affirmations lack supporting evidence. Understanding how to supp...