Last year, the concept of “quiet quitting” or “acting your wage” took the internet by storm. The idea was simple: instead of going above and beyond at work, you simply perform the tasks assigned to your job—and nothing more.
While this concept may seem like common sense to some, others were incensed by the notion. Numerous articles came out denouncing the idea. A headline from Insider stated simply that “’Quiet quitting’ is a bad idea, experts say,” while Harvard Business Review published a piece entitled “When Quiet Quitting Is Worse Than the Real Thing.”
No matter the public’s reaction, the tendency to “quiet quit” has continued its viral spread, with many users on TikTok making videos on the topic or themes related to it.
One such video recently went viral after it was posted by TikTok user Jenn (@jenntrento).
@jenntrento On second thought…. #funny #relatable #workhumor #worklifehumor #workfunny #worklife #officehumor #worklifebelike #officelife #worktok #officetok #nevermind #foryou #fyp #fypシ゚viral ♬ original sound – Famed Flames
In a video with over 322,000 views as of Friday, Jenn writes, “When you’re in a Teams meeting and want to make a suggestion but realize you would be responsible for doing all the work.” The video shows her starting to suggest something, then hesitating and putting her hand down.
In the comments section, users shared Jenn’s sentiment.
“Literally everytime I can see a problem coming it just lands me with more work, I prefer to let things fall [apart] and be someone else’s problem to fix,” wrote one user.
“Above my pay grade,” stated another. “Silence is golden.”
“I think above my pay grade, but act my pay grade,” a third echoed.
Some users cited their own experience dealing with a similar issue. According to them, making suggestions resulted in more work — but not commensurate pay.
“I used to work in a place like that,” a user offered. “I learned to stay quiet.”
“In corporate world all proactivity will be punished,” said a second.
“My reward for suggestions was being told to stay in my lane,” a third recalled.
We’ve reached out to Jenn via TikTok comment.
