Appreciation post: the moment I realized 'quiet quitting' was just my old coworker Bob

Bob worked with me at Roto-Rooter for like 15 years. He’d show up, do his 8 hours, never answer texts after 5pm, and take all his PTO. We called him lazy behind his back. Then last year that term ‘quiet quitting’ exploded online and I had this dumb lightbulb moment: Bob wasn’t lazy, he just had boundaries. Now I run my own crew with 3 guys and I actually let them do the same. No drama, no burnout, and my van maintenance bills went down 30% after I stopped pushing them. Has anyone else had a word or phrase totally reframe how you saw something from years ago?

2 comments

2 Comments

martin.felix1d ago

Watch how fast we slap a label on something that's been normal forever just so we can pretend we discovered it. We spent years calling Bob lazy but really he just figured out that work doesn't have to be your whole identity. Funny how we always need a catchy term before we can see something that was right in front of us the whole time.

kelly3851d ago

Read an article about 'quiet quitting' and thought the exact same thing, @martin.felix.