Quiet Quitting - Essentially So Much Talk

 The meme "quiet quitting" has gone viral - at least in talk. Even the influential The Wall Street Journal is devoting lots of space to the idea of coasting on the job versus giving it one's all.

But, in my experience, including as an intuitive career coach, it's just talk. 

My clients are solidly committed to the American Dream of extreme wealth-building through smart career strategies and putting in the long hours. They are all-there on that. 

In addition, on my professional networks of those across myriad sectors, the players are traditionally ambitious. No one has mused: I am going to ease off. However, they do say: I am taking a few months off to re-energize. That isn't shifting down. Recall that current head of financial firm Apollo Mark Rowan took a time-out. He returned to expand that private equity firm into a credit powerhouse.

Interestingly, in the high-profile development of employees at Goldman Sachs walking off the job, the issue wasn't about working so hard. It was about perceiving receiving a lousy bonus for that work.

Those quitters didn't move on to an employment situation where they could coast. They all went to equally demanding positions in tech. There they hoped their pulling out all stops on the job would yield a wonderful ROI in not only salary but bonuses. 

Another telling development was how current chairperson of prestigious law firm Paul Weiss Brad Karp positioned and packaged a future decision about renewing his contract in May 2023. That was in an interview in Insider. 

The way he put it was not disparaging how much is involved in that job description. No. Instead he introduced the question: Would he have the energy and strength to achieve what needed to be accomplished in that competitive sector as he aged? At the time of the interview he was 63. 

Karp watchers such as myself speculate that, if he doesn't re-up, he will loop into another high-powered career path that is different from what he is engaged in now but not something in which he intends to coast.

The reality beyond all the noise about quiet quitting is that the majority of well-paying earning situations - be they as employees or business owners like myself - are binary. You are either all-in or you'll soon be out. Total commitment is a prerequisite. Then comes the performance piece. What you do may or may not measure up. 

If you're pulling down $215,000 as an entry-level lawyer in Big Law and either or both your attitude and/or work product aren't assessed as what it takes you will be out. 

What thinking about quiet quitting could trigger is becoming more selective about what work settings (such as the former Goldman Sachs employees) or what kinds of clients (as I decided in a recent career change) we are going to invest our intense labor. 

Your just-right professional fit. You can bypass the usual pain points. That includes Tarot readings, both spreads and one-card pulls. Complimentary consultation for coaching, job-search materials, and interviewing. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text 203-468-8579