“Quiet Quitting” as a New Trend in the Labor Market

Abstract

One of the brightest phenomena of recent years in the labor market has become “quiet quitting”. It has been described in Russian and foreign publications. At the same time, this subject is poorly covered in the Russian scientific literature. The purpose of this study is to analyze the phenomenon of “quiet quitting” as a trend in the modern labor market, to summarize the theoretical provisions of this. Thus, this article defines “quiet quitting” as a form of employee behavior with low engagement and focus on performing the required minimum of work duties. The author emphasizes that although the nature of this phenomenon is not new, it has become widespread in recent years, largely due to several reasons, both inside the organization (corporate culture, quality of management, etc.) and outside it. Since “quiet quitting” became widespread in the post-pandemic period, the study pays special attention to the impact of the pandemic that catalyzed it. In addition, it reveals the generational characteristics of attitudes to work and career, and explains the propensity to “quiet quitting” of young people. The author concludes that “quiet quitting”, being a trend of recent years in labor markets in many countries, is part of a broader process of transformation of traditional forms of employment, reassessment of the place of work and career in life, which can be both related to the generational change as a source of labor resources and a consequence of a pandemic. Further research could focus on developing specific recommendations for combating or adapting to “quiet quitting” and more in-depth study of country differences in this phenomenon.