It’s not easy to gain the title, “Employee of the Month”. For workers, it takes a lot of hustle and perseverance to go above and beyond one’s job and perform tasks that are not expected of them.

Sometimes, however, even if a worker does gain the prestige of becoming the most valuable player in the workplace, there’s no real material benefit to it and the reward and recognition they receive is just nominal.

So, what happens when expectations are unmet, boundaries are broken, additional work becomes too burdensome, and there’s no real profit to the extra work they take?

After the trend of The Great Resignation, a new one is popping up among workers: the trend of quiet quitting. It’s a trend that allegedly appeared on TikTok and is making waves around the social media platform. The term for quiet quitting is new, but the concept has been around for a while, particularly when it comes to combating burnout in the workplace.

Read more: Beware the trend of 'quiet quitting'

What is quiet quitting?

There is no one definition for the term “quiet quitting,” but Yessi Bello Perez from LinkedIn News explained that it rejects the idea that work must take over one’s life, and that employees should go beyond what their job descriptions require.

In an interview with CNBC, Maggie Perkins said that she has been “quiet quitting” her job as a teacher. She joined the trend on TikTok and made videos about the subject. For her, quiet quitting is all about only doing one’s job during contact hours and not taking on extra work because it leads to burnout or being taken advantage of.

The bad effects of quiet quitting

However, quiet quitting may backfire. Employees might become totally disengaged with their work, only go through the motions of their job, and reject projects that may potentially advance their skills and career.

Career coach Kelsey Wat, in her interview with CNBC, explained that quiet quitting may remove the emotional investment that workers have with their work. The concept of quiet quitting does not allow workers to become proud of the work they do and the contributions they make. 

Read more: 'Quiet quitting' is about employer entitlement

The good effects of quiet quitting

The good news is that quiet quitting may open conversations about burnout and exhaustion in the workplace. It is also an empowering way for workers to take control of their work and personal life.

Workplace culture experts believe that, with quiet quitting, the quality of work will not decline. People are, in fact, more productive when they are well-rested, can take a break, and recharge by doing what they love. To that point, having conversations about how people work, where work-life balance can be promoted, helps productivity.

In the end, establishing boundaries between one's professional and personal life won't just prevent feelings of burnout and disengagement – it's also the heart of genuine work-life balance.