«Quiet quitting» is one of those phrases that wiggled into our vernacular seemingly overnight. By some accounts, quiet quitting is when employees slack off at their jobs while quietly waiting to get fired. Workers don’t quiet quit because they’re lazy. They do it to fight burnout when they have to immediately go from one job to another without any time to relax in between. Other definitions claim that quiet quitting is simply refusing to go above and beyond for a job that gives you little in return. In those instances, it’s not quitting your job at all! 

Like most internet jargon, «quiet quitting» has become wholly bastardized, primarily by avid LinkedIn users. Now, many employers see workers having any boundaries and label that as quiet quitting. One Redditor, an incredibly reliable employee who works 40 hours a week, told his story of being accused of quiet quitting by his boss.