Hey Reader! 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

Welcome to March! I can’t believe that two months of 2024 have already zoomed by. It’s a stark reminder that our time is finite, so we should spend it doing things that we find meaningful. That’s not to say that everything should be fun and games; that would be a recipe for disaster.

You need to have some meaning in your life, and this meaning isn’t something you’re going to “discover” by sitting around pondering your place in the universe.

The need for meaning – and how you might think about creating some of it in your work – is what I’m going to explore with you this week. I’ve seen too many people “check out” of their work, only to end up hurting themselves in the process.

Let’s go! 💪🏻

Tim

‘Quiet Quitting’ Is A Lot Noisier Than You Think.

Have you ever had a prolonged period where you “quiet quit”, doing just the bare minimum to get by at work? I know I have. Many people I’ve spoken to have done this at some point. I’m certain many continue to do it today, especially in an era where working remotely has become so commonplace, making it even easier to get away with.

At first glance, this trend might seem like an effective kind of silent protest against harsh demands in the workplace, or a tactic to seek more work-life balance. It may make you feel like you’re “pulling one over” on your employer. I can relate – I’ve felt that way before.

However, the use of this strategy can harm you even more than it harms your employer.

Let’s consider why that might be.

Stunted Professional Growth

One of the most significant dangers of quiet quitting is the stunting of professional growth. When you limit your involvement to the minimum required, you inadvertently close doors to learning opportunities, skill development, and the chance to engage in more challenging and rewarding projects. This self-imposed restriction not only diminishes your current job performance but also impacts your long-term career trajectory. Many leaders in organizations recognize and reward initiative, creativity, and the willingness to go above and beyond. Quiet quitters, by definition, remove themselves from consideration for these opportunities.

If you check yourself out of work, people stop paying attention to anything you do. This is damaging to you in the long term.

Erosion of Work Ethic and Reputation

The mindset of doing just enough to get by can subtly erode your work ethic and professional reputation. Colleagues and supervisors will notice if you’re not fully engaged, which can lead to a decrease in trust and a reluctance to rely on you for important tasks. You are effectively putting yourself on the sideline. This perception can be hard to shake off and will likely follow you throughout your career, limiting your options in the future. You end up spending all of what Cal Newport refers to as ‘your career capital’.

You need to play the long game with your career, rather than thinking about how you can gain some free time in the short term. Careers are long, and you only have one reputation.

Checking out makes you invisible in the organization and you’re forgotten about. When no one is even aware of what you’re doing and how you’re pushing the organization forward, who do you think is going to be one of the ones that gets cut when times get tough?

Don’t be the guy from Office Space.

Impact on Personal Fulfillment

Work shouldn’t just be about fulfilling tasks in exchange for money. If that’s your current view of your work, you need to work on that. This approach isn’t sustainable over time, and taking this transactional view of your work will negatively impact your life satisfaction. You need to face and overcome challenges, contribute to something greater than yourself, and strive towards goals and milestones. It’s in this striving and overcoming of challenges that meaning is found.

You can’t just coast through life and find it meaningful. The whole point is to get out of your comfort zone, learn, and grow, so that you develop into someone who is able to contribute on a grander scale.

A lack of engagement in your work can lead to feelings of emptiness and questioning one’s purpose and value, both within the workplace and beyond.

The Undermining of Self-Confidence

An often overlooked danger of quiet quitting is its insidious effect on your confidence in your ability to perform meaningful work. By limiting yourself to doing the bare minimum, you’re inadvertently reinforcing a narrative that you’re incapable of contributing at a higher level. This self-imposed limitation can lead to a vicious cycle where the lack of engagement and achievement further diminishes self-esteem and belief in your potential. Over time, this erosion of self-confidence makes it increasingly difficult to take on new challenges or seize opportunities that could lead to more fulfilling and impactful work. Basically, you dig yourself into deep ruts that will keep you stuck.

The belief in your ability to make a difference, to innovate, and to lead is fundamental to your long-term growth and satisfaction. Quiet quitting, by fostering a mindset of disengagement and minimal effort, erodes this foundation and will leave you questioning your value and capacity to effect change.

To counteract this, you need to recognize and embrace the transformative power of taking action towards meaningful goals and challenges, and commit to continuous learning and personal development. By doing so, you’ll increase your confidence in your abilities and demonstrate to yourself and others that you’re capable of contributing at a higher level.

The Alternative Path

Instead of deciding to do just the bare minimum work needed to keep your job, choose to engage proactively with your work. You likely have more flexibility than you realize. Take advantage of this flexibility to intentionally craft a job that works better for you. Some concrete tactics to consider are:

Figuring out what you want from your work. Most people either don’t know at all, or their insights are very superficial.
Running experiments. If you’re not satisfied with your current job, make some tweaks to it. You can usually change the way you approach a task, or even take on slightly different tasks if they make your boss’s life easier. Just try something new, without even asking for permission.
Speaking to your supervisor. Don’t assume that your supervisor knows you’re unhappy with your role, or what it is that you’re unhappy about. They likely have a large number of things they’re dealing with and may not be aware of how you’re feeling. Most leaders want to keep their employees happy, knowing what a pain it is to deal with an unhappy employee. Talk to them, and suggest ways you might work together to improve the situation.
Take on a new project. People get bored by doing the same thing all the time. I know I do. I need to be constantly learning and trying something new. It’s amazing how much better things can get when you dive into a project that interests you. Look around at your workplace; what improvements might you make to the way that work happens on your team? Take on a project to improve things, one that aligns with your interests.
Build your personal brand. Decide what you want to be known for professionally, and then start working on building a reputation that aligns with your vision. Take me as an example; my 9-5 job is working as a leader in cybersecurity for the Government of Canada. However, I’m not known as a cybersecurity expert. Instead, people know me as a leader who is focused on driving change and helping people thrive in challenging environments. Your personal brand is an important tool in shifting your career to something that aligns more closely with your goals.

Conclusion

Quiet quitting might seem like a solution to step back from the demands of an overbearing work culture, but it’s nothing more than a mirage. The path to fulfillment and success lies in engagement, not withdrawal.

As Steve Jobs famously said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.”

Take ownership of your work life, and craft your job into something that allows you to contribute to something bigger than yourself. When you do this, you can shift your experience at work to be less of a financial transaction and more of a way of you expressing yourself in the world. Your work can be transformed into a source of personal satisfaction.

That sounds a lot better than simply checking out.

Quotation that I’ve been pondering

A while back, I came across this quote from Patrick O’Shaughnessy. I don’t remember where I saw it, but it resonated with me, so I took note. As I was considering this week’s article, the quote came to mind.

“Find your obsession. Then make your exit strategy death.”

A bit morbid maybe. But I love the concept. Decide what you’re going to devote yourself to and then pursue it relentlessly.

Journal prompt

Reflect on a time when you felt disengaged at work, doing just enough to get by. How did you feel during that episode?

Do you want to feel that way more often or less often?

What might you do differently when you find yourself in such a situation?

Call to Adventure

Have you ‘quiet quit’?

If you’re ready to break free from the vicious cycle of disengagement with your work and living an unsatisfied life as a result, let’s talk. I can help you uncover the root causes of your quiet quitting and we can develop some strategies to help you transform your work life.

Don’t keep damaging your career. You can’t afford to do that.

Book 1-on-1 call