Quiet Quitting: A Generational Expression?
I recently read Cal Newport’s The Year In Quiet Quitting, an article in the NewYorker discussing the notion of not outright quitting your job, but essentially doing the bare minimum to collect your cheque.
It is similar to the ‘Bai Lan’ movement in Asia which translates to ‘Let It Rot’, which similarly reflects an attitude of ‘What’s the point?’ and ‘I want to enjoy myself and have an identity outside of work’
The term ‘Quiet Quitting’ is pitched as the antithesis of Hustle culture and ‘996’ the term used in Asia to describe working 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week, highlighting a sort of global ubiquity.
The interesting perspective that Cal Newport brings in his article though is the highlighting the generational distinction in perspective and the underlying themes pushed onto each generation that better elucidate the origin of each perspective’s framework.
Quiet quitting resonates most with a core of Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) knowledge workers. Cal Newport said, a recent Gallup poll found that the largest group of workers reporting being “not engaged” are those born after 1989 - coincidentally the year I was born.
So What’s Going On?
Are people my age and younger facing a unique problem?
Well, Newport states that it is not a uniquely Millenial and Gen Z disillusionment, but rather a rite of passage.
Knowledge workers in every previous generation seem to have experienced a similar pattern of work crisis followed by reconceptualization.
My parents, both Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) entered a newly emergent knowledge-work sector that had been formed by a postwar migration to the suburbs. From their generational lens, there was a sentiment of civic engagement and loyalty to corporations that could offer lifetime employment. The preceding generation banded together to fight fascism in the 1940s - a generation that committed itself to a common, unifying goal.
In their coming of age moment, this same Boomer generation transitioned in the 1960s towards a countercultural movement that reframed work as a hindrance to self-actualization. Non-conformist acts of communal-living, voluntary-simplicity, the rejection of materialism and the like attempted to find meaning outside the structure of employment.
By the time baby boomers had their own kids, the millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), the pendulum swung back midline and the messaging became Seek Work That You Love.
Now, I personally always thought this was timeless advice but Newport states it is a theme connected to a specific time period. “Follow Your Passion” is a 1990s adage that Boomers instilled in their children - into me.
“Seek self-actualization, but also care about making your mortgage payments.”
- Cal Newport in “The Year of Quit Quitting”
Millennials, brought up on that concept, faced the destabilizing impact of the 9/11 and the financial crises of 2008 and 2020, which cast doubt on the idea that our jobs should be our ultimate source of fulfillment. After all, mortgage payments remained a necessity.
We aren’t making reaching the same financial milestones or career progressions that our parents were making at the same age and the affordability of a similar lifestyle is no longer comparable. Employment had become too precarious to leverage in such a self-indulgent manner via the pursuit of passion work.
So instead, Millennials retreated into whatever fallback jobs they could find. This aligned with the rising trend of young adults moving back in with their parents, the Boomerang Children.
This restriction in self-realization through employment shifted the perception of achieving a good life attained through work to one attained around unavoidable work and despite work via other meaningful pursuits.
In Asia and specifically Hong Kong, I’d argue this sentiment is magnified. 76% of Hongkongers aged 18-35 are still living with their parents according to City University’s Urban Research Group, and on top of being ‘Severely Unaffordable’, with the highest recorded index of 23.2 per the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey 2022, financial avenues to support self-actualization simply are not possible for the majority of Millennials.
Now, Gen Z enters the workforce with a mind-set and perception that is notably distinct from the millennials who preceded them. Whereas millennials, who had gained access to these tools as young adults, used social media to keep track of the adventures and accomplishments of acquaintances and celebrities, Gen Z embraces an all-encompassing digital life, where the mundane, the hot-take, and the unfiltered self are voiced ceaselessly about both everything and nothing at all.
As the first group to fully come of age with smartphones and social media, Gen Z formed an understanding of the world in which the boundaries between the digital and real were blurred.
Furthermore, they are rewarded for it. For this generation, the personal had become intertwined with the economic, as attention generation, viewership, and followers can be pointed and directed to a product, a service, or lifestyle. Streamer, Online Influencer, and Content Creator are far more prevalent as a dream job for Gen Z and reflect a new age of the wisdom worker - those adept at storytelling, to create artistic and creative dialogue.
And then, the COVID19 pandemic hit.
Though this disruption negatively affected knowledge workers of all ages, for Gen Z it delivered an extra sting. Whereas for older employees, it created a professional crisis, for Gen Z, it forced a re-evaluation of the mixed work and personal life, highlighting the need to intentionally and actively separate personhood from their jobs.
To a millennial, this distinction comes about naturally as the online self was curated later in life. But, to Gen Z, there is no distinction and an intentional declaration of separation is necessary to affirm the boundary.
Newport describes quiet quitting as a generational declaration of that separation, one that was not explicitly needed in previous generations and subsequently is not meant for us to necessarily understand.
It’s instead the first step of a younger generation taking their turn in developing a more nuanced understanding of the role of work in their lives.
So What’s The Take-Away?
Depending on which generation you fall into, I think it highlights the foundational difference that exists in how we perceive the world and the relationship we have with personal and professional life.
We are more than work and productivity and productivity is more than work and financial success.
Gen Z is simply declaring that distinction for themselves in their story arc, as every generation before them expressed in their own way as well.
Productivity therefore is shaped by your definition of and perception of work-life balance.
For me, as a millennial, my perception is to Seek Work That I Love. I see the distinction in my personal and professional self as well as my real-life and online self. I also abide by the work-life balance mantra that in part reflects the acceptance that self-actualization through employment may not be for me.
And it’s empowering to know the origin of those values and perceptions, to embrace those biases based on the concurrent events surrounding my life, and accept the differing perspectives that other generations bring.
References:
Cox, W. (2022). (rep.). Demographia International Housing Affordability ( 2022 Edition).
Gen Z's dream jobs are very different from millennials. YPulse. (2021, December 2). Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://www.ypulse.com/article/2021/11/01/gen-zs-dream-jobs-are-very-different-from-millennials/
Newport, C. (2022, December 29). The Year in Quiet Quitting: A new generation discovers that it’s hard to balance work with a well-lived life. The NewYorker.
Rose, R. (2017, July 20). The age of the wisdom worker is (still) just ahead. Content Marketing Institute. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/articles/age-wisdom-worker-ahead/
VICE. (n.d.). "996" Work Culture in China : Why China’s Employees Cannot Stop Overworking. Video. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://video.vice.com/en_asia/video/996-work-culture-in-china-why-chinas-employees-cannot-stop-overworking/611bea9083ce4f2fa31f6a51.
YouTube. (2022). Why China's Gen Zs And Millennials Are ‘Quiet Quitting’: The ‘Bai Lan’ Movement. YouTube. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPwzVv2ISGA.