But there’s a flip side to this. Quiet quitting can be a form of hidden protest against poor management and a toxic culture. Research shows that in companies where managers micromanage, regularly keep employees past six, fail to provide feedback, and don’t value initiative, the rate of quiet quitting reaches 70%. This isn’t so much a generational issue as an indicator of an unhealthy environment. Therefore, experienced HR directors advise not to combat this phenomenon through repression (for example, monitoring activity on messaging apps), but to honestly ask the team: “What are we doing wrong that you’re working strictly according to your contract?”
Interestingly, quiet quitting doesn’t mean a complete lack of career ambition. Many young people use their free time to study, launch their own projects, or volunteer. They don’t want to be “corporate slaves,” but are happy to grow professionally on their own terms. This is giving rise to a new type of career—a kaleidoscopic one, where a person manages to move through five different fields in ten years, each offering something important. Employers who still think in terms of linear career ladders will have to relearn: employee retention is now possible not through salary and office space, but through engaging projects, respect for autonomy, and a culture where it’s not embarrassing to leave at 5 p.m.
What does the future hold? This phenomenon will likely not disappear, but it will transform. Clearer agreements between employee and employer will emerge: “I do X, you pay Y, and anything above that is paid separately.” Companies will begin to divide employees into “core” (those willing to work overtime for a share of the profits) and “peripheral” (those who value stability and predictability). And that’s okay. The main thing is for each side to be honest about their expectations. After all, a quiet dismissal is simply a loud signal that the era of unquestioning corporate loyalty is over. And perhaps that’s not such a bad thing.
