Quiet Quitting is trending among workers (so much so that even The Today Show covered it.) So what is it? Is it a new phenomenon? And what does it mean?

Quiet Quitting is a confusing name

As The Wall Street Journal describes it, "…some young professionals reject the idea of going above and beyond in their careers, labeling their lesser enthusiasm a form of 'quitting'.”

So while people aren't really quitting their jobs, they are making a choice about their lives and their time. As a post from Fast Company explains, "…quiet quitting is not about avoiding work, it is about not avoiding a meaningful life outside of work."

Is this a new phenomenon?

The expectations that are fueling Quiet Quitting are not new. I came out of college in the mid-1980s. The expectations of going above and beyond were heightened. You hustled – giving up evenings and weekends – because that's how you got ahead. In other words, there was an expectation that more rewards would come.

I'm not romanticizing it. Letting the company take my free time was just dumb. Especially when the rewards were vague at best.

When I think about it, I realize it was all fueled by a subtle fear. The fear of not having enough. The thing is, fear can motivate people. But only to a point.

I wish I had had the perspective that I have today. In fact, I see how my grown children look at work today and I think about how wrong we had it back in the day.

It is a symptom of a bigger problem for organizations

Today, great employees are looking for more than a paycheck. They want to feel like their work has meaning. Studies have uncovered this. But the realness of it didn't take hold until we experienced The Great Resignation.

Quiet Quitting is an extension of that. It may be that a person doesn't have a viable option for leaving her or his job. So workers are opting to do no more than the job requirements. It's odd writing those words. Isn't that how work should be? None of us should feel like we are somehow cheating a company because we didn't do any more than what was required. But that is what things like 'hustle culture' have done to us.

I sound like a Bolshevik. In truth, I'm a capitalist. Actually, more of a capitalyst. I believe that greater gain can be accomplished for all stakeholders when companies inspire rather than allow fear and intimidation – most of the time in very subtle ways – to try and drive worker productivity.

What an organization can do

Clarify your purpose. Clarify the difference you make in a life, a community, or even the world (I call this your Big Audacious Meaning). Include your team members in the process. Make sure they see that they have a say in how the formation of the organization's purpose is expressed.

With your 'why' clarified, set out to connect what you do with your purpose. Show all your stakeholders that you are serious about walking the walk. This doesn't have to be overwhelming. Don't feel like you have to get it all right from day one. Let all your stakeholders know that this is a journey. And that they are invited along for the ride to help make the pursuit of the purpose everything it can be.

When organizations do this, employees become more passionate about the work that they do. Furthermore, studies have shown that purpose-driven organizations experience a rise in team member job performance. And worker loyalty rises.

So let's stop relying on the old constructs that employ subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) fear and intimidation to motivate – and have led to Quiet Quitting. Let's start clarifying our purpose. And start inspiring greatness.