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“Quiet quitting” is just a new label for not letting yourself be exploited. If a company only sees value in people who go above and beyond, maybe they should pay above and beyond, too.
I started my career in the US, and fell prey to the “cult of busy”. We all had to be busy, all the time, to be so busy with work that we can’t/won’t take our vacation, so busy with work that we work through lunch, so busy that we logged back in after dinner. We think this makes us indispensable, such good employees.
Then I moved to Europe. My colleagues start reliably, work reliably and finish reliably. They are passionate about what they do. They do great and thoughtful work. They are dedicated and yes they do work extra when needed.
To the Europeans, the Americans don’t appear busy, they appear frenetic. Mistakes happen and are quickly corrected. However they shouldn’t happen in the first place.
Don’t encourage people to think of boundaries as “quitting”, think of it as working in the European style? You could also come to Europe!
I also would recommend when you hear somebody use a phrase like “quiet quitting” that you ask them to elaborate. As you said, it became a euphemism in media and now it’s creeped into our vocabulary. It can mean different things to different people and you would like to understand what they are referring to in this situation.
You might be surprised by the answer. It might be that they don’t know. It might be they are looking for validation that they don’t have to be staying late.
You bring up a good point. What started off as a semi-serious phrase on social media really has been weaponized into something else. In some circumstances it could be a cudgel to pressure people to work beyond agreed boundaries. I've never used the phrase myself. And I could see how accusing someone of quiet quitting could be interpreted as a bullying tactic.