Through the pandemic, most people at my workplace went above and beyond. We considered it our duty, particularly as many of our clinical colleagues were putting their lives on the line.
Our workplace now finds itself in the midst of another crisis, but this time I’m not going above and beyond, though many of my immediate colleagues are. In the lingo of the moment, what I am doing in described as quiet quitting.
However, that’s not the case at all. I am continuing to do my day job to the best of my ability, fulfilling my responsibilities absolutely. All I’m not doing is the unpaid overtime and weekend work I may have voluntarily taken on previously out of a sense of duty.
My wife will bear witness to the long hours I used to work to meet a deadline. But I’ve mostly stopped doing that, because it’s not a family business. We have lives of our own outside work, however all-consuming it has become.
So if I am seen as quiet quitting now, it’s only in quitting burn out. I imagine it is the same for most now accused of not pulling their weight. We’re not quiet quitting; we’re just reclaiming our lives.
Last modified: 8 September 2022
