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Dear Reader,

Thank you for your reply. To clarify, our position is that positive change will be accomplished with public and collective action, not quiet, private quitting. This - the individualized choice to give less - is what should not be celebrated. It is important that employers work to create conditions that foster productivity and support workers but so too should employees bear some responsibility for working to improve conditions by speaking up and proposing solutions. We support active and collective responses not passive, individualized ones.

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This article is an example of the very problem workers are facing. I’m willing to bet the two ladies who contributed this little gem have never spent any time on a production floor or ever produced any tangible object. Their opinions are there jobs. This is not pointed at women whatsoever, there are plenty of men who can’t make anything if their life depended on it. We need these kinds of people. Staples has to sell pens and notebooks to someone.

As a worker who is disenfranchised and disgruntled, your armchair quarterbacking is laughable. Here lies the problem. Quitequitting sounds like a term made up by …. Well, people like you. The worker you describe certainly exists. They’re commonly referred to as lazy and they came to the job that way. They had a bad attitude from the beginning. They aren’t quitequitting, they’re just living life as they always have.

I think you are trying to lump everyone in that bucket. The fact is, I was and can be the best employee that any company could ever hope for. I have the experience and know-how to win at any task. I have been lucky to have always loved my job and looked forward to going to work. A recent change finds me in a different position that my efforts and attention to detail have not been appreciated for various reasons. I admit some are self inflicted. Over time, this wears on you and you back off with suggestions or whatever your strength may be. As time passes, you realize you completely checked out and feel like you’re just existing. Speaking for myself, I’m not proud of this and I don’t celebrate my current position. It has nothing to do with mental health or narcissism. I’m not lazy or a deadbeat, I’m just in a bad situation waiting for the right opportunity. I still perform my tasks, but there will be 0 extra effort because the mutual respect just isn’t there.

Our ratio is about 5 to 1 with 1 worker having 5 people telling them, I don’t know how to do your job, but my book says your doing it wrong.

People want to do a good job and find pride in what they do. They also have a limit to what they can tolerate.

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