(noun) doing your job but nothing more, putting life ahead of work
After the Great Resignation came something new: quiet quitting. The concept was popularised in a TikTok post by @zaidleppelin, a young American who described it as “quitting the idea of going above and beyond at work, you’re still performing your duties, but you’re no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be your life”.
The idea of doing your job — and not a jot more — went viral. Was it a real phenomenon? Probably not. It didn’t matter, though. It was a vibe, not a workforce metric. The term expressed a desire to put life ahead of work after multiple lockdowns.