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Quiet quitting isn't a new phenomenon, especially for those from marginalized backgrounds. 3 women share why they had to quiet-quit to reclaim their identities.

Sep 18, 2022, 16:49 IST
Business Insider
For many workers of color, quiet quitting is a way of dealing with biased coworkers and toxic workplaces.Malte Mueller/Getty Images
  • The phrase "quiet quitting" gained traction after Insider published a story on "coasting culture."
  • Workers from minority backgrounds have been quiet-quitting, or setting work boundaries, for years.
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The working world goes through phases, and every now and then, employees coalesce around terms they feel empower them to take control of their lives. One of the latest work trends we've been reading about and seeing in TikTok videos is "quiet quitting."

As many of us have been seeking ways to set better boundaries between our work life and our personal life, workers from all backgrounds continue to struggle with burnout and exhaustion as pandemic issues persist.

Many of us felt a kinship as we discussed quiet quitting. Do you quiet-quit? When can you quiet-quit? Should you boast about it?

It's a phrase that gained traction after Insider published a story on "coasting culture" in March and has been ricocheting across social media. Not depleting yourself at work and doing just what's expected — or maybe even less — seemed to be the latest answer to our struggles with the outsize influence work often has on our lives.

But quiet quitting isn't a new phenomenon, particularly for workers from marginalized backgrounds. In fact, diversity advocates say the idea of quiet quitting is gaining momentum in part because white workers are making noise about it.

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"It's not until it affects white people, it's not until it affects heterosexual people, that we collectively say, 'We got to start talking about this,'" Tiffany Jana, the CEO of TMI Consulting, said. "It's not great people are being forced to act this way, but at the same time, it's good it's going mainstream."

Quiet quitting has become a solution some workers are willing to open up about, particularly an outspoken, progressive Gen Z cohort. More workers are demanding fair wages, a say in how their respective companies are run, and better benefits that support well-being and mental health.

For many, quiet quitting is a luxury and needs to be done carefully to avoid getting in trouble at work. Historically, workers from underrepresented backgrounds have felt they have to do more than their white colleagues. Navigating the boundaries of quiet quitting and what could be deemed as not doing their jobs can be trickier for them.

Rahkim Sabree, the author of "Financially Irresponsible," wrote in a LinkedIn post that workers of color often risked being labeled as disengaged or unskilled or having low potential if they did only what's expected of them or even if they outperformed in their roles.

"This needs to be talked about more as media outlets and social media alike celebrates or ridicules the 'bravery' of people quiet-quitting with privilege, without specifically acknowledging the bravery of those who put their entire futures in danger with an already unfairly stacked deck," Sabree wrote.

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"It is insensitive to the people who wish they could quiet-quit but can't afford to lose their job or have performance management weaponized against them," Sabree added, pointing to Black, Indigenous, other people of color, and those who with disabilities, among others.

Diversity consultants say the fact that so many people are rallying around quiet quitting should show employers that they need to fulfill the promises they made two years ago around diversity and equity in the workplace.

"CEOs need to invest more time, energy, and resources into developing their culture, into developing their employees," Jasmine Hill, the CEO of Radiant Slate Consulting, told Insider. "People are tired."

Here are the stories of three women who opened up about why they felt they had to quiet-quit and how it helped them deal with microaggressions at work and reclaim their sense of self.

Sacha Thompson, the founder and CEO of the Equity Equation, said executives had dismissed her strategic recommendations.Sacha Thompson

Sacha Thompson: '5 o'clock came and I shut down'

For Sacha Thompson, quiet quitting was a means of dealing with toxic cultures and colleagues who disrespected her.

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Thompson, a 47-year-old Black woman who worked in corporate America for years, said she experienced many microaggressions throughout her career.

In one instance, on her first day with one employer, she said she was in a meeting when a white colleague turned to her, tilted her head, and asked, "What qualifies you to be here?" None of Thompson's white colleagues in that meeting, who were also at their first meeting, faced the same question.

Thompson — who had years of experience, graduated from a competitive college, and was active in numerous leadership organizations — felt compelled to put boundaries around her work life because of instances in which she felt treated differently from her colleagues. She stopped putting in the long hours at that job and did only what was required. "I mean, 5 o'clock came and I shut down," she said.

But when she left the office, Thompson said she came alive: "I would go home, and I was the president of our Black alumni association at my college. I was active in my church. I was active in my sorority. I would speak to students about leadership. It was very different from what I experienced in the workplace."

For many quiet quitters, joy and purpose are found outside work, Thompson said, adding that Black people had been engaging in quiet quitting for generations.

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"There's always been this need to separate life from livelihood. If you were on the plantation, if you were working in the fields, you needed that time, that break, to be human," Thompson said. "When we think about generational trauma, particularly in the Black and brown communities, it's continued down generations."

Besia: 'I was chastised for my voice. … Quiet quitting became necessary'

Last summer, Besia, a teacher in California, stopped giving over so much of her personal time to her job. The decision, she said, was "a means of survival."

Like most teachers, the 29-year-old who's Black, white, and Filipino, wasn't being compensated for the several hours she worked before and after each school day to get her work done. She was expected to work through lunch, she said, and spent her own money on classroom supplies, a common occurrence in public schools.

Fed up, Besia, who asked that Insider not use her last name so that she could speak freely, described being told by her bosses, who were white, that she needed to speak more softly in the classroom.

"There is the trope of the loud Black woman," Besia told Insider, adding: "There's a connotation to telling a Black woman to be quiet. I was chastised for my voice."

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Feeling dejected by this and what she perceived as other slights, Besia said she wanted to walk away. But the single mom had her toddler enrolled at the school at a discounted rate. Rather than leaving, she stopped putting in the extra hours.

"Quiet quitting became necessary," Besia said. "It was me finally valuing my own time and mental health. I realized this is not fair. This is not equitable compensation."

Finally, Besia had enough, and for her, quiet quitting turned into her actual departure.

In May, she became increasingly vocal about how her working conditions were unfair and inequitable. The school, she said, fired her in response. Besia has since found work at another school. She now reports to directors, one of whom is a Black woman, who are supportive of her well-being and her career, she said.

"I was not complacent," she said. "I couldn't be happier."

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Laura: 'I'm at the point of no return'

Laura, a 38-year-old marketing director in Arizona, quiet-quit her job the minute after her annual performance review concluded in mid-May. She asked Insider not to publish her last name because she didn't want to lose her job.

During the in-person meeting, Laura, who is white, advocated for a salary increase, citing research that showed she was being underpaid for her years of experience, as well as for someone who has an MBA, something which she'd recently attained. Laura also reminded her boss of how she spent months working 50 to 60 hours a week earlier in the pandemic.

Her boss' response stunned her. The executive director looked at Laura and said flatly: "I can't justify a pay increase just because you went into student debt for an MBA. And if I'm not the manager for you, just put in your 30 days in now."

While the nonprofit ended up giving her a 6% raise, which the executive director said was higher than the 4% raise her colleagues received, the conversation was a point of no return, Laura said.

"It's just a matter of time before I leave," she added. "I feel management is trying to push me out, like I'm a troublemaker in the office for asking for something that's equitable to keep an employee."

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