Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

The growing trend of 'quiet quitting' - and whether you should worry about being 'quiet fired'

The growing trend of 'quiet quitting' - and whether you should worry about being 'quiet fired'

Quiet quitting has become a big buzzword, so much so that it was named one of Collins Dictionary's words of the year (beaten by permacrisis). But is it actually a particularly new concept? And how does it compare to quiet firing?
The clock strikes 4pm. You've been working for seven hours. Time appears to have stopped - and when it comes to passing the time, that project you could make a head-start on sounds like the least appealing thing in the world.

You've been to all your meetings, replied to all your emails, and have surely earned the right to do the absolute bare minimum - or perhaps even less - until it's time to log off.

After all, that promotion you wanted went elsewhere. Your wages are stagnant. You think your employer seems indifferent about you, perhaps it's time to be indifferent about the job.

If this sounds like you, you may be a classic case of a "quiet quitter".

But don't worry, you're not alone.

Well, maybe worry a bit, but we'll get to that.

What is quiet quitting?

Quiet quitting has become a buzzword, so much so that this week it was named one of Collins Dictionary's words of the year (beaten by permacrisis).

The concept really took off over the summer, when #quietquitting began trending on TikTok, as wannabe lifestyle gurus empowered their followers to resist unsatisfying work culture.

Interest in the phrase absolutely skyrocketed, with analysis by Similarweb showing more than 1.2 million online searches during August alone.

Many were people wondering what quiet quitting even is.

"Simply put, it is where an employee puts no more effort into their job than is absolutely necessary," Anisha Patel, applied research consultant at Steelcase, told Sky News.

You may rightly point out that this sort of thing has been going on for time immemorial, and all that's changed is a trendy TikTok personality has stuck a new term on it.

I mean, just watch this scene from The Simpsons from back in 1995.

"If you don't like your job, you don't strike, you just go in every day and do it really half-assed!"



The role of social media

"Nothing in the data would suggest there's something substantially different happening," says David D'Souza, membership director at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

But social media rubs off on people in a way that can make quiet quitting something we stop thinking about subconsciously and - somewhat ironically - actively work towards.

From dieting to money-making, hashtaggable rallying cries can completely change how we operate - if we think everyone we're following is doing it, why not try it too?

"What's new is the ability of social media to convey and make viral things that, previously, people would not have spoken up about," Mr D'Souza told Sky News.

Professor Emma Parry, from Cranfield School of Management, agrees social media has simply given a fresh face to an old problem.

"It's a good thing people can reach out for support on social media, and we know it can be positive - this is really about voice, and that’s more and more important for employees," she told Sky News.

"If this is about people working their set hours, moving away from the long-hours culture we've had historically, I'd say that’s a good thing.

"But if we mean employees becoming disengaged, not making to want an effort, then we know that can make employees less productive."

Do you need to worry about 'quiet firing'?

As Mr D'Souza points out, there is something of an irony in people speaking so loudly about something "quiet".

But as quiet quitting rises to prominence in our collective lexicon, is another rising to meet it?

If quiet quitting is about giving voice to disengaging from your work, quiet firing is the same for employers who have disengaged from staff.

With the move to hybrid working, the risk of being "quiet fired" may have become all the greater.

Take Microsoft: its latest report on work trends reveals while 87% of employees felt they were productive, 85% of bosses said hybrid working made it difficult for them to be confident of that.

Jemma Fairclough-Haynes, CEO of Orchard Employment Law, said technology and the shift to working from home "accelerated" the quiet quitting trend, as people sought to draw boundaries.

"For some who've continued not having that watchful eye on them all the time, it means can do... just enough."

Some organisations are boosting surveillance as a result. Research by VMware found 57% of UK companies have already implemented or are planning measures to monitor productivity since the shift to hybrid.

Natalie Cramp, CEO of data science firm Profusion, told Sky News such a "Draconian" policy would never work.

"I don't recommend it," adds Ms Fairclough-Haynes.

Professor Parry sees a more positive role for technology, making effective use of platforms like Teams, Zoom and "internal social media" to build relationships and discuss issues that lead to disengagement.

What's certain is that quiet firing isn't a healthy answer.

"Quiet firing is normally being used if the employer would like someone to… instead of being fired, realise it’s not a good fit, and therefore resign," says former self-confessed quiet firer Rebecca Leppard.

"It normally works better for the company because they don’t get severance, there’s no dispute - it’s a clean break."

For Ms Leppard, the process of quiet firing, being relatively inexperienced aged 26, was awful. She has since been a quiet quitter, too, on one occasion to retreat from a "toxic" workplace.

Thirteen years on from her quiet firing experience, Ms Leppard sees the new lingo as an opportunity to improve practices on both sides. She now runs Upgrading Women, a "training for retaining" firm aimed at women in tech.

Whether through salary, development, or a sense that work is truly valuable, experts agree employers must find a way to get on top of these "quiet" trends.

"Trust at work, quality of management, understanding how employees are feeling, how motivated they are - if this conversation helps brings them to the fore, that can only be good for people and organisations," says Mr D'Souza.

As Ms Leppard says, "the dangerous thing about quiet quitting is you're paying someone to keep the seat warm".
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×