Generation Z workers have embraced "quiet quitting," a phrase gaining traction on TikTok that encourages workers to show lesser enthusiasm at work, reject the ideas of going above and beyond in their careers, and prioritize their life outside of work, The Washington Post reported Aug. 12.
The videos advocating for the trend include ruminations on work-life balance, prioritizing family over doing overtime and untethering one's career from their identity.
According to survey data from Gallup, U.S. employee engagement is falling, but Gen Z and younger millennials — those born in 1989 and after — reported the lowest engagement during the first quarter at 31 percent.
Jim Harter, chief scientist for Gallup's workplace and well-being research, told the Post that workers' descriptions of "quiet quitting" line up with a large group of survey respondents that he considers as "not engaged." More than half of millennial and Gen Z workers surveyed by Gallup fall into this category, at 54 percent.
The trend has also seen critics on social media, who denounce the move as a cop-out and say it is not a fix for burnout or discontentment at work.