Attorney Says Quiet Quitting Is Smart — ‘Giving 110% To Your Employer Is A Bad Bet’
Is doing the bare minimum really what's best?
fizkes | Shutterstock People often wonder if they are giving too much or too little to their jobs. No one wants to burn themselves out, but they also don’t want to get called out for doing the bare minimum. Many try to find a happy medium — but one attorney says that is not necessary.
An attorney from California said that quiet quitting is actually the way to go.
Ryan Stygar is a San Diego-based workers’ rights attorney who has nearly 2 million followers on TikTok. In a recent video, he gave viewers some advice regarding how much to put into your job.
“Quiet quitting makes sense, and I support it because giving 110% to your employer — heck, even giving 100% to an employer — is a bad bet,” he stated boldly.
He admitted that saying this makes “CEOs and business types” uncomfortable, and even angry. But he stood by his opinion, using the ever-evolving economy to back it up.
“The America of 20 to 30 years ago doesn’t exist anymore. The milestones we expect a working-class person to see — owning a home, getting a good standard of living, affordable healthcare — these are becoming increasingly unattainable no matter how hard you are working,” he said.
Stygar emphasized the importance of determining how much you are giving to your job and comparing it to what you’re getting in return.
“If you’re going to give 20 to 30 years of your life to a company hoping that you can have a home, and retire in comfort, and have medical care, I’m here to wake you up,” he said. “It’s not coming.”
Photo: RossHelen / Canva Pro
Instead of putting your all into work, Stygar recommended using your energy on a hobby, particularly one that can become lucrative.
“Instead, you need to conserve your best efforts for something that serves you,” he explained. “You need a hobby that can become a second stream of income. You need a side hustle because the truth is a single income isn’t cutting it anymore in the United States.”
Above all, Stygar stated that you are responsible for taking care of yourself and you cannot depend on someone else, including your employer.
He said, “Your employer is not going to take care of you, and no matter how hard you work, you’re just one-quarter away from a sudden layoff. That’s the truth.”
Commenters on Stygar’s video were largely in agreement with him. “This is why I’m all for these younger generations pushing back on the standard workweek and expectations that are no longer working!” one TikToker said. “I am bare minimum on my real job,” said another. “My side hustle is 100% where my energy goes.”
Is quiet quitting really effective?
Investopedia defines quiet quitting as “doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.” It’s simply doing your job — no more, no less.
Unsurprisingly, quiet quitting has mixed results. Career coach Kelsey Wat told CNBC, “Most of us want to be proud of the work we do and the contributions we make. We want to see our impact and feel good about it. Quiet quitting doesn’t allow for that.”
However, Wat also admitted that quiet quitting does have its benefits, like devoting more time and energy to other pursuits and finding a better work-life balance. “I can see how quiet quitting for a season may help them to refocus on their needs outside of work and hopefully lead them towards recovering from their burnout and getting clear on their needs and boundaries within the workplace moving forward,” she said.
Regardless of one’s opinion on quiet quitting, it makes sense that you should seek a positive work-life balance that gives you the opportunity to explore all facets of life. For some, this means doing the bare minimum at work, which may not be the worst idea.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.