Quiet Quitting-A Luxury Not Granted to Women and People of Color
Quiet Quitting- A word that has been recently heard in the news and on social media. The term is new, but the concept has always existed. The term means that employees are no longer going above and beyond when it comes to working and doing what is required of them. However, not all employees have the luxury to do this, especially women, people of color, and immigrants.
“Quiet quitting” isn’t laziness. Doing the bare minimum is a common response to bullshit jobs, abusive bosses, and low pay.
— Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant) August 26, 2022
When they don’t feel cared about, people eventually stop caring.
If you want them to go the extra mile, start with meaningful work, respect, and fair pay.
This idea that we should always be doing more than expected has been ingrained in our minds since we were kids. Extra credit is offered if you do more assignments or turn them in earlier. For example, if you want to be accepted into a good college, you need to set yourself apart from other students. You need a variety of extracurriculars under your belt, in addition to excellent grades. When applying for jobs, you need a degree from a prestigious school and years of work experience to stand out among other applicants. You always need more skills or certifications, and there is no end to it.
Suppose you are a woman, a person of color (POC), or an immigrant; chances are that you have been doing extra work for most of your life because that is the only way to sustain your job. As a woman, you always have to go the extra mile to prove that you are equally capable of doing the same job a man can. For example, in 2018, a female professor, Donna Strickland, at the University of Waterloo in Ontario did not get full tenure till she received the Nobel Prize for her work in Physics. Strickland’s example shows how she had to achieve something extraordinary even to get a full-time job.
Women already face many difficulties in the workplace, for example, harassment, sexism, and gender pay disparities. They are doing more work than they should because they must constantly keep up with the men. This also harms the idea of sisterhood as women are forced into situations where they have to unnecessarily compete with each other when they can easily coexist.
According to the most recent employment statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of August 2022, the highest unemployment rate is amongst the Blacks at 6.4 percent and Hispanics at 4.5 percent. In contrast, the unemployment rate for Whites is 3.2 percent. With the high unemployment rate for Blacks and POC, they do not have the liberty only to do the bare minimum. They always strive to go above and beyond to ensure they remain employed. This includes overworking themselves and neglecting their physical and mental health.
As a woman, immigrant, and POC, I have always seen people in my community viewing resting or doing the bare minimum as not enough because they fear that if they do not work “hard enough,” they will not succeed. Most immigrants come to the United States with the mindset that they must work harder than others for a better life since they are not from the country. Some even work more than one job to make ends meet as they live paycheck to paycheck. On top of that, the hustle and the quiet quitting culture make them feel inadequate and as if they are not doing enough despite working 40 or more hours per week.
If you are a child of an immigrant, you have grown up seeing your parents and families working hard for your better future and life. Most immigrant families come to the country so their children can receive a good education and live a better life. This adds academic pressure to the children as they do not have the option or luxury to fail. As a result, they learn to compete and work hard from a young age. They believe that if they do not attend a specific college, maintain a certain GPA, do not get a particular job, do not own a house, etc., they will fail their families and let them down. Most immigrants do not have any support groups or access to mental health resources. Engaging in the hustle culture does not allow them to prioritize their well-being and mental health.
As humans, we are not supposed to be constantly working as our minds and bodies need rest. Furthermore, there is a negative connotation that comes with quiet quitting which is wrong because you should not be shamed for only doing what is required of you and not choosing to go above and beyond.
On the other hand, suppose employers want you to do more work. In that case, they should be willing to compensate you for it and respect your boundaries if you refuse to do so without facing any consequences.
