As companies and workplaces push for employees to return to the office and back to the regular swing of how things were done before the COVID-19 pandemic, workers are not taking on extra responsibilities, working overtime, and are leaving right when their shift ends. This new trend for workers has been dubbed, “quiet quitting”, which doesn’t actually involve workers silently resigning from their jobs–rather, a much-needed change of pace in their work-life balance.

If companies are interested in keeping their employees, most notably younger employees, from feeling disengaged and that their work has little purpose, this shift in mentality must be taken. The turnover rate is projected to increase 20% in 2022, with the second most cited reason being an inability to have a healthy work-life balance. As the prevalence of quiet quitting increases, the feeling of taxation will decrease and their work will feel like it has a purpose, leading to less turnover in the workplace.

Critics of this mentality might say that employees are being selfish, especially during a historic period of worker shortage. Employees aren’t being selfish by adopting this mentality, they are actually taking the time they need for adequate self-care. Some employees said before they adopted the mentality of having a better work life balance, their hair was falling out and they couldn’t sleep because of the stress from their job. Does that sound like they had adequate time for self-care?

There is an opposing attitude today that people don’t want to work, that they’re being lazy. Much of the focus is on the employee when we should really be looking at the employer. Bosses and managers expect workers to go above and beyond without fair compensation, they expect their employees to do more than what is expected of them, and they often don’t treat their employees as actual human beings who have lives and responsibilities outside of the job. Quiet quitting isn’t a new trend, but one that highlights the over taxation of employees by employers.

The COVID-19 pandemic blurred the lines between work and leisure. Remote and essential workers were pushed to the max: they were expected to work through sickness, exhaustion, and burnout. Since the pandemic has shifted back to more normalcy, many workers don’t want to experience that same level of intensity that they did during the pandemic and have adopted quiet quitting.

As mentioned previously, workers don’t want to go back to the same intensity of work seen during the pandemic. With the shift in mentality, there is clear delineation of leaving work at work, and taking the time you need for yourself when you’re away from work allows workers to experience less burnout. Managers can also set boundaries and improve positive communication between employees and employers.

If workers know that their job starts and ends at the door, they will no longer dread coming to work. No matter the position they hold or the company they work at, workers should adopt this mentality to have a better-work-life balance.