I finally tried the 'quiet quitting' approach and got pulled into a meeting with HR

My buddy at another company swore by just doing the bare minimum and not stressing about extra work. So I tried it for about 3 weeks at my desk job in Austin. Stopped answering emails after 5, didn't volunteer for any extra projects, just did exactly what my job description said. My manager called me in and asked if I had 'personal issues' going on. Then HR wanted to discuss my 'engagement levels'. I learned that some places just expect you to be all in or they get suspicious. Has anyone else had a similar thing happen when they tried to dial it back?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthony_lane557d ago

The REAL issue is that job descriptions are written to sound LIMITED but companies actually expect UNLIMITED availability. Quiet quitting works fine in industries where output is measured by widgets per hour, not by "vibes" like banking or software. You basically showed them the gap between what they pay for and what they actually want, and they got mad about it.

ryan6537d agoMost Upvoted

42% of job postings in tech list "must be willing to go above and beyond" which is code for working 50+ hours a week on a salaried 40-hour pay. @anthony_lane55 you hit it on the head - quiet quitting just exposes the gap between what the job description says and what they actually demand. I dealt with a similar thing at a fintech startup where my title said "analyst" but they expected me to handle 3 departments worth of work. Setting hard boundaries around 5pm made management mad because they realized they'd been getting free overtime for years. They either adjust the job posting or accept the reality of what they actually pay for.