Amid a faded backdrop of all these consequences of the pandemic and sanctions, as well as a mass exodus of workforce due to a precipitous economic decline, the leapfrogging amidst politicians has ensued. In the meantime, like a jack-in-the-box, the nimblest western journalists are putting in an appearance in the media’s columns, in the pursuit of thriving on the newest term that has gone viral lately. They are just waiting for any opportune moment to fuel the readership’s interest and raise their own particular game.
There you go with ‘quiet quitting’, a term that has recently been coined. Ridiculous though it may sound, it reminds me of the Big Pharmacy’s cheats done by dint of dreaming up new names for old remedies. Besides, while the former comprises the same ingredients as does the latter, yet, the former comes to fix the price for the novelty. So does ‘quiet quitting’.
Guardian columnist Tayo Berdo explains in her article ‘ ‘Quiet quitting?’ Everything about this so-called trend is nonsense’ that the term means objection to performing extra unpaid jobs:
“The notion of quiet quitting suggests a norm where people have to perform extra, often undesirable tasks outside of their job description, and where not doing that additional work is considered a form of “quitting” your job”
To me, it sounds funnily ridiculous. It is hardly believed that applicants for a job weren't asked at a job interview about their readiness to perform any community tasks if needed. Well, what extraordinary thing is there? It’s always been a tradition in Russia too to take on some communal jobs at work like organising office birthday parties; buying theatre tickets; conducting celebration events; running errands for buying gifts for colleagues; tasks abound. Admit the fact that some people are keen on doing such activities with no view to being paid.
And, therein lies a problem. These are the USA, and the journalist is all about a completely different kettle of fish. The problem is whether to colour the unwilling people to perform extracurriculars as just quitters or handle them as terribly exhausted, having worked their guts out, unfortunate and discriminated against. Tayo Baro says:
"Women, for example, are disproportionately asked and expected to take on work that no one else wants to do."
Mind that it is America and many regions there are black. It’s common for white Americans to racialise people of other colours. The columnist takes the side of such people saying:
"that women of colour do more office “housework” and have less access to “glamour work” (i.e. work that gets you noticed by higher-ups, and can lead to your next promotion) than white men do."
Stop! Here I’ve lost the track of her train of thoughts. What ‘glamorous work’ is it in the broadest sense of extracurriculars like? Moreover, what is that one in particular that men have more access to? What a twist! Or maybe a trick to lead the reader astray on a subtle level of perception. What I mean by that is that, literally speaking, the notion of the phrase ‘quiet quitting’ means ‘refusing to do extra work with neither outrage nor strike. So, what premise does Tayo Bero conceal under the disguise of her putative resolution to pare down the performance at work to the bare bones of the outlined duties?
The final passages of the article deliver coveted satisfaction when hypocrisy dates with lip service to pay for the hint. Tayo explains the term’s meaning as follows:
"It also means you lose many of the things that can make a workplace enriching in the first place; organising socials, remembering people’s birthdays, bringing in treats on special occasions."
By that, the penny having dropped, not until workers are paid fully for their overworking hours will "quite quitting" have been staunched. Tayo finishes her article a tad awkwardly as if asking for making allowances for almost touching a raw nerve of the employers who can possibly witness the employees's unrest.
"And just doing the work that you’re paid for should be the standard, not an act of mutiny."
I wouldn't go so far as to say that the article doesn’t highlight a taxing problem of a dearth of both specialists and quality payment methods. On the contrary, it does in a way, although the genuine target of the article is a different animal.
As the actress said to the bishop, talks about "quiet-quitting" are kicking into high gear to press for a wage rise.
Erene I.
December 2022
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