"Quiet quitting" is the latest workplace trend sparking conversation in social and mainstream media. The idea went viral after TikTok user Zaid Khan, a 24-year-old engineer in New York City, talked about not actually outright quitting a job, but "quitting" the idea that you have to go above and beyond the job description. It also spawned a spinoff, "quiet firing," which refers to employers who don't offer raises or promotions, or use other tactics to passive-aggressively push employees out of a job.
We speak with Sarah Damaske, Professor of Sociology and Labor & Employment Relations at Penn State University, about "quiet quitting," "quiet firing," and what these viral ideas say about the current state of labor and work.