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Quiet Quitting is Nothing New
In my day, we called it obstinacy
Like many people today, including those who are only partly paying attention, I came across the latest buzz phrase of quiet quitting, and I wondered what the heck it was. I’ve since found out, and a brief encapsulation of its principles seems to be doing only what your job demands and nothing more.
In part, that’s been my workplace philosophy since long before the current phrase was coined. But that doesn’t mean I’m lazy, or averse to pitching in to help out. What matters is what I get in return for my efforts, after I’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty. And I’m not talking about cash here.
Dedication to the Cause
To rattle off a few examples of my dedication to the cause, I was once working as a roofer, and one Christmas Eve we decided to work through our lunch break in order to get the job finished. My two colleagues were friends, so I had no qualms about helping out, even though at one point we were carrying tiles up the ladder during a fierce blizzard. My reward for that extra effort was a couple of beers and a thank you. Good enough.
Another time, I was editor of a local business forum magazine, and our graphic designer quit suddenly. The manager and I had to cobble together the due issue, despite our lack of…
