A lot has been made recently about the "great resignation" and the idea of "quiet quitting". There is no debating the fact that a significant number of folks have left their jobs voluntarily in the last two years, whether because they weren't happy with their work environment, the industry they were occupying, or some element of work-life balance. It should be noted, of course, that the ability to "quite voluntarily" is largely a privilege that breaks along racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines and further demonstrates the inequity in our society. Nonetheless, folks are recognizing not only their own value, but they are, at least temporarily, reshuffling their priorities and interrupting a many decades trend towards more and more work.
The notion of "quiet quitting" is perhaps a bit more complicated. Simply doing one's job without going above and beyond could easily be seen as insignificant. In many industries, the value proposition is quite straight forward. Someone is asked to do a task, and they are compensated (albeit often not fairly) for completing that task. Often, quotas or other expectations are set, and as long as one meets those expectations, they continue their employment. However, the idea of no longer going "above and beyond" in your job being now seen as "quiet quitting" speaks to the changing expectations and realities of employment in many industries.
The idea that one must go "above and beyond" in order to truly meet expectations should signal that we are doing a poor job communicating our expectations and compensating people fairly for meeting those expectations. Instead, we tie their value and thus, their career potential, to seeing how far above expectations they can go. We just don't compensate them appropriately throughout that process.
When we truly value someone for the skills, abilities, knowledge, creativity, and empathy they bring to the job and the team, they are more valuable. They see themselves as more valuable, and expect to be compensated appropriately for that value. As long as we are doing that, then we in turn can expect to see the best from them over the duration of their employment. There is no need to go above and beyond, and there is no "simply" to doing one's job.
In essence, you are more valuable where you are valued. When we value the people around us, we motivate and inspire them to do their best work, and we support them in achieving that goal. At it's core, the "great resignation" isn't about people suddenly deciding to switch careers or decide they don't want to work anymore. The pandemic gave people the time and space, some for the first time, to reflect on their relationship with their employer and consider whether or not they are truly valued. The organizations that are continuing to thrive today, amidst everything that has happened in the last three years, are those that recognize how valuable their people are, and value them accordingly.
