New trend launched on TikTok or real background phenomenon? After the “Great resignation” which shook the world of work following the Covid crisis, “quiet quitting” or “silent resignation” today seems to be gaining more and more followers in France. Scrupulously respecting schedules, no longer answering e-mails outside working hours, no longer accepting responsibilities, additional tasks or even no longer “helping out” a colleague… many are those who today have decided to do the “bare minimum” at work.
This phenomenon, very widespread across the Atlantic, was popularized by the TikTok platform, with the publication of a video last July. “You are still doing your job, but you no longer subscribe to the mentality of hustling for the job, which says that the job should be your life. The reality is that it is not, and your value as a person is not defined by your work (…) Let’s stop working ourselves to death, condoning the hustle culture (the culture of burn-out), work is not your life and your value is not indexed to your productivity”, explained user @zaidleppelininviting employees to “slow down”.
“Slow down the pace to preserve your mental health”
The post was hugely successful, with over a million likes and over 90 million views. In the responses, a shared feeling of resentment from Internet users, who in turn posted videos – with the hashtag #quietquitting –, claiming this new way of conceiving work in a company. “You stay on the job, you do your job professionally, but you refuse overtime, you refuse to answer e-mails or the phone outside working hours, and you refuse to take on responsibilities that are not part of of your job description”, explains in particular in a video Karine Trioullier, who defines herself as a “career architect”.
“The followers of “quiet quitting” are employees who refuse that work is at the center of their concerns. They no longer feel committed to their business, often through lack of consideration, but also through exhaustion. It is a consequence of what we have lived for two years, with a fed up and especially a fear of burnout. Some then decide not to resign, but to slow down the pace to preserve their sanity, ”explains to 20 minutes Adrien Scemama, head of Talent.com in France, a platform that distributes nearly 4 million job offers each month.
“CDIs no longer make young people dream”
The rise of “quiet quitting”, like the wave of resignations observed in recent months, are trends that emerged after the health crisis, and the long months of confinement. Since the Covid, more and more employees no longer want their work to encroach on their private life and are looking for a better balance between professional and personal life. “The goal of our lives is not to stay 40 years in the same toxic box (…) CDIs no longer make young people dream”, also explains Laurène, who pleads “for more respect towards employees”, in a video posted on TikTok.
In fact, it is the younger generations who most claim this new “philosophy” at work. “Generation Z are now much more attentive to working conditions and their well-being than to the type of contract offered to them. The new generations no longer agree to work anyhow and at any price,” confirms Adrien Scemama, who has observed this behavior with young working people. More than 70% of young people believe that they could leave their job if their employer asked them to return to 100% face-to-face, indicates a recent study by the ADP Research Institute.