What is 'quiet quitting' and why are employees doing it?

A new trend has emerged in the workplace among tired and burned-out employees and it’s being called “quiet quitting.”

However, despite what one might think when they see this new term, it doesn’t actually involve a worker quitting their job. Rather, this term refers to employees who are no longer doing the work beyond their job duties and that they aren’t being compensated for.

According to Joyce Odidison, a workplace wellness expert, quiet quitting refers to hard-working employees who have had enough, want to work from a humane perspective, and just do the job they are paid to do.

“It’s a phenomenon that’s increased because during the pandemic. Things changed and employees had to make do. But now that everything is back and we have more responsibilities, we are on and we have all the other pieces to do, people are burned out,” she said in an interview on Friday.

“So they are feeling they need to stop doing so much and just do what they’re paid for.”

Odidison noted that when it comes to employees feeling motivated and avoiding burnout, it all comes down to leadership.

“Leaders need to look at these antiquated roles that they have on policies and procedures and say, ‘Let’s work for this time. Let’s update these policies,” she said.

Odidison said it’s important for employers to ask their employees how they’re doing, even if they’re scared to find out the answer.

“Organizations and leaders have the biggest responsibility, because you don’t want your high-performing employees to quietly say, ‘I’m done.’ You want them to feel fired up, want to work, motivated, want to come to work and feel valued,” she said.

- With files from CTV’s Joey Slattery