While everyone else seems to be quitting quietly, it’s a great opportunity to own your career path loudly.
There’s a lot of chatter nowadays about so-called “quiet quitting,” which is essentially people deciding to do the bare minimum of what their jobs require of them. The trend has been praised, particularly among younger workers, as being an empowering approach to setting boundaries at work and preventing companies from taking advantage of workers. Critics are deriding the trend as a sign that workers are being lazy at worst, and, at best, not showing their potential to move ahead.
I’m pretty much in the camp of the critics, though I am not actually critical. Truth is, the vast majority of the American workforce has always found a way to keep boundaries. Indeed, roughly 60% of people here work hourly – meaning they essentially punch a clock. Now, some of these workers want to work more, but are constrained by company overtime restrictions, but most of them put in their eight-hour days. Many salaried employees do the same. Indeed, many offices fill up at 9 and clear out at 5.
People should maintain some balance, and they should feel the freedom to work at their own pace.
But I’m most interested in the ones that see this as an opportunity to rise up and work harder and smarter. In fact, the more people who are quiet-quitting, the easier it will be for you to stand out and advance.
I firmly believe and teach that people should own their careers like entrepreneurs own their businesses, something I’ve called The Occupreneur Approach. Most of my clients have worked in highly competitive corporate environments, and the edge they’ve received has come from applying some entrepreneurial principles to their daily work, like being innovative, treating their bosses and colleagues like clients and bringing a drive and energy to their work environments.
The trend toward quiet quitting presents the perfect opportunity for people who want to move ahead and stand out in environments where many employees are doing the bare minimum. There is nothing wrong with wanting to find a balance between work and your life. There is also nothing wrong with setting some boundaries in the workplace. But it doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Just because you are owning and pushing your own career doesn’t mean you are sacrificing your life. In fact, the recognition and mobility that comes with taking ownership over your career always improves your life, from giving you a personal sense of growth and accomplishment, to building strong professional networks, and, crucially, from enjoying more financial reward.
Entrepreneurs know this. Leaving a job to start your own business isn’t easy. It takes work. When you own a business, there are no days off, let alone set office hours. You live and breathe your work, because it’s your creation. You can’t quiet-quit a company you own. You live loudly and proudly and revel in your work.
Does that mean that somehow you have lost work-life balance? Hardly. Entrepreneurs will tell you their lives are vastly improved because of the sense of ownership they feel over their work and their lives. Work-life balance has always been a myth. Entrepreneurs, though, find better work-life harmony.
You can, too. Even if you don’t own a business, you can absolutely own your career. You can walk into the office or hop on a Zoom with a sense of accountability and responsibility for the success of your team and your company. That will make you stand out, and almost always leads to promotions, more money and increased recognition. If it doesn’t work at your current company, this approach is bound to make you more marketable – and more appreciated – at another company, particularly now when jobs are harder to fill.
If people want to practice quiet quitting, that’s their choice. But really driven people who want to move up, get noticed and improve their lives through career mobility can’t really worry about what others are doing. They must own their actions and own their careers. They must replace the building of boundaries with their own boundless energy.
