Quiet Quitting and Startups: a Paradox - Millennials Decoded 

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"Quiet quitting" is a rephrasing of not allowing to be exploited. It's wrong to expect someone to work extra hours without compensation.

Quiet quitting is a non-issue. This is business. No one is entitled to anything for free, least of all companies that are already taking the lion's share of the value their employees produce. Unless a startup's employees have some share in the company, I don't see any reason why they should invest more of their time and labor uncompensated for a venture that doesn't belong to them. That's just nonsensical.

Those who expect more than what they're paying for should take that mentality to McDonald's. "I know I paid you for a 5-dollar burger, but I'm expecting a 7-dollar burger for my 5 dollars." See how that goes, good luck with that. Why should it be any different anywhere else?

I'm Gen X and do IT work (server side stuff) and saw the "hard work gets rewards" breakdown. When I started out Boomers and Silent Generation coworkers were getting raises and promotions for putting in longer hours but for me that I was even the top performer in the department was never enough for a raise or promotion. I began strictly working to spec because it was clear that the extra effort would not get me anywhere. I even had one job where my management tried to put me on a performance improvement plan solely because I wasn't working unpaid overtime while admitting I was getting all of my work done without doing so. When I left the position became a revolving door for at least two years because they did the same up everyone they hired, a fact I only know because the company's recruiters contacted me more than once because they thought I'd "be a great fit" for my old position.

I seem to remember a phrase; "You aren't entitled to another man's labors." This holds true for companies too.

I strongly disagree with the statement that hard work and more hours gets you promoted. In my experience, the one does much more work than his colleagues, will not get a promotion. The management will see, that you do a lot and they will not give away a good worker. What if you get into a leading position and they have to hire two or three people to replace you? Makes no sense.

I don't understand the whole issue to be honest. These days company can fire you in 30 minutes with minimal cost anytime they want due to "whatever" reason. So by default you should not invest more time than you want. If one understand the benefits for himself (money, promotion, knowledge, purpose) - one should work hard. If there is no prize - do bare minimum, search for another job while getting payed. From management perspective - you job is to sell benefits (yeap, see the list above). If it doesnt work - it is either the wrong person - and it is your fault Or you are bad at selling benefits - get better, it is manager fault again. It is the same as you blame customer for not buying your product. I think the problem now is that everyone thinks they are good manager. Fucking not, you aren't

"Quiet Quitting" just seems like a way to alienate and mislabel people who put in the hours they're paid for. What this really looks like is a way for corporate oppressors to bully employees into working hours that they're not compensated for. The verbiage here is quite sinister. It's shocking that Americans view this as "Quiet Quitting" when other countries just view it as regular work.

This video is probably only about North America? Jurisdictions (countries) with stronger labor laws, it's very difficult for companies including start-ups to fire people without significant neglecting their contractual work responsibilities.

ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS RULE "They pretend to pay you, you pretend to work!"

Companies when you do exactly what they ask you to do within the hours you both agreed beforehand: 👁️ 👄 👁️

There is also a big problem with corporate culture, I used to always look for better ways of doing things and always trying to improve processes and the product, I am a Mexican software developer and working for US teams pays much better but I am an outsource then I am caped at what I can do and I don't get the chance to make anything I want to, I am in this weird position/mindset of just doing what I have to instead of trying to improve, I can't have a leadership position (because being outsourced) and I have noticed that I am becoming apathetic and a worst engineer, I am becoming lazier and even slower, its very sad but I have to choose between having a decently paid job or having a challenge.

If a company is at risk of dying from "quiet quitting " then this company is just incompetent If you can measure your teams productivity and people are productive, this should be all that matters

I really appreciate your thoughtful analysis of the concept of "quiet quitting" and how it applies to different generations. It's clear that you've put a lot of research and consideration into this topic. Now, if you could choose any destination in the world to travel to with your family, where would it be, and what's the first thing you'd want to experience there?

Id tell the hard worker to just go start a buisness, hard workers just get rewarded with more work not money.

I have slaved away at a startup and have reaped the extra rewards. But I also burnt out pretty fast and was not able to do anything more than standard fare after a while. I guess my goals are not aligned with climbing the corporate ladder, but much more holistic in nature.

We quietly quite because we are tired of LOUDLY asking for promotion/raises, and if we are not getting them, we are not giving a single free second. There is a reason why in most European and Asian countries overtime is double the hourly rate.

To harvest something, sow seeds in YOUR field.

Quiet quitting is about setting boundaries, unless I have equity in the company or some life changing deadline why tf am I staying after 5pm and not seeing my family, nothing lazy about it.

Hey Slidebean, when does a business stop being a start up? You said you have been at it for 10 years and that Slidebean is still a start up. Just wondering

Quiet Quitting is call doing the job at a set require time as contracted. If you want more out me pay more. Boundaries need to be set and exploiting free labor doesn't work anymore. Lesson learned don't go above and beyond.

'Work hard, get ahead' doesn't work anymore. The people that get ahead are the ones tat suck-up to management the most. The hardest worker is just saddled with more hard work, this has been 100% my experience. If 'work hard, get ahead' was the way forward, where do you think quiet quitting came from? How do you think people started doing it if all they had to do was just work harder?

When you say that the opportunity your provide deserves more than quite quitting, what do you mean? Are you paying your employees significantly more than the market rate? In my experience startups are cash strapped and usually pay a little less in cash compensation than comparable roles and make up for that lack of cash compensation with stock awards.

I find it hilarious that it was coined 'quiet quitting'. Like all that's happening is that people are working according to their legally binding contract - it's the opposite of quitting! It is in fact simply fulfilling your contractual obligations. If they don't like it maybe they should start factoring all the free work people are doing into their costs. I'm not saying that no one should ever work overtime, or that there aren't industries or job titles that putting in the extra is kind of expected - but that shouldn't be at a societal level. This seems to be a particular problem in the US, but there are all these hidden subsidies that the everyday person is expected to pay to corporations, such as being expected to tip or work for free out of contractual hours.

quiet quitting is what happens in most marriages even the ones that do not end in divorce

I quiet quit 2 yrs ago when they stopped giving me a raise even though my stats were above required amounts. I now hit each stat exactly to what I’m required and not one single action more.

The current generation in managerial positions grew up in a time when you put in 20 years at a company, and your loyal sacrifices were rewarded with a pension and benefits at retirement. My generation is entering the workforce after growing up through a major terror attack (9/11 is one of my first childhood memories from living in Ithica NY), two separate economic crisis, a housing market failure, and a worldwide pandemic. Through this, corporations have made record profits time and time again. Yet, they continually deprive workers of benefits and give only marginal increases in pay that usually do not even match inflation. My generation has seen that working 20 years for a company with absolute loyalty may, at best, grant you the ability to work from home two days out of the work week during a respiratory virus outbreak. Our definition of professionalism is establishing clear-cut boundaries and working to our value. The previous generation's professionalism existed as pointless sacrifice.

'You should put in more than you are paid for because I am giving you a chance to make money in the future.' This is slimy. You aren't giving employees anything until that chance is actualised. The logic is exactly the same as the logic used to get people to put in more in non-start-ups - work hard for uncertain potential payoff in future (in the form of raises, promotions, good references or other opportunities). Things would be different if you were to give employees a legally enforceable guarantee and take on the risk of having to pay them even if you fail - then and only then are you actually giving them something worth more than a fart in the wind. The phrase, I think, is 'put up or shut up'.

Love your videos! Very very interesting. Also awesome Franklins BBQ sign! That place is the best

Unions prevent and repair exploitation. They’re to thank for weekends, OSHA, child labor laws, and 8 hour work days with 40 hour work weeks.

The HDR effect of this video is so good on iPad’s XDR display

It’s like saying can you afford people to work equal amount of you are paying?

I'm hourly so this doesn't really apply to me since I get paid for the work I do, but ironically where I work going into management can be IMO a big mistake. So far these roles have been the first in the firing line to be screwed around with by corporate and one of my managers is even struggling to go down a level to my position because we can't find a replacement. Other managers are also having to come in on their days off because we lost a managers position a couple of years ago.

Governments need to enforce a standard of what a median wage is supposed to be but alas with all the greed that is siphoning in the entire country it would never be settled. Working hard should only net so much wealth because we're seeing what happens when it gets concentrated.

Quiet quitting definition for europeans: normal work but without social benefits, paid holiday, paid leave...

Maybe putting an Adsense ad in the middle of your paid sponsorship segment is driving down retention? Just a thought.

Thank you !!

I think sometimes people sometimes have people romanticize the success of the past. One parent worked and they owned a home and they were perfect. Ok but a middle class family didn't take European vacations, buy Lululemon and eat out several days a week. Chanel and Louis Vuitton used to be purchased by a few, but not now.

Let us not forget that we have a demographic crisis and the price of labour is increasing every year, so employees have a lot of options. And with the high interest rates making venture capital less likely, less and less people will be interested in speculative companies like "Startups"

this aged well with all the tech layoffs & every other industry too...

The fundamental problem with most 'corporations' or Big Tech companies is politics, nepotism and incompetent people in critical decision making positions. Young people are by default ambitious at their jobs. After the first year working in Corporate [FILL IN COUNTRY], they get the idea and quiet quit. Being taken for granted, rewarding incompetence, nepotism over value creation. I have literally worked at a company where the culture was to give equal bonuses to everyone regardless of performance and contribution and they thought this was a good idea that made them a 'progressive family' 😆. The key is to look for companies that value and reward hardwork and ambition and give them your all. Quiet quitting is the only way to preserve your mental health and invest more of your time in yourself.

Im months late but loving it. Makes me want to look for a better paying job and keep the same process. Also need to learn play the corporate game

In the uk we dint really have "start ups" to work at lmao. Most of us are paid by the hour and we feel no obligation to work more. My boss is quite cool and if we are heading intoa pressure time with big jobs and close deadlines, she was sheepishly ask me if i can possibly do more hours for this week/month etc and as we are hourly paid, "overtime" (hours worked above your contract) will ne laid at a minimum of 1.5x normal rate per hour. Any hours worked past 12pm on a Saturday arw paid at 2x

Quiet quitting is self defeating. I still enjoyed my job, had ambition and enthusiasm but rather than fill my working day with the 80% busy time instead decided be high performing while taking 2 hours in the gym every day, eat lunch at my desk, have 2/3 15 mins coffee chats, occasional 1-2 hour conversations. Last about 3-4 years then realised I was getting bored. And an opportunity to exit present itself. A better outcome than being a quiet quitter.

There's no point in ever asking for a promotion or raise. Wow! A 5% increase in income! When you could jump companies and make 25% more.

I don’t think „quiet quitting“ is the right term for actually fulfilling a work contract and nothing more. Think of young parents who obviously have something more important than their jobs on the agenda, at least for a while. A company or a manager might at some time have to assess an employee, take measures and maybe there will be a conversation of whether it still works for both sides. That conversation has different degrees of leverage or potential outcomes depending on the country. These conversations, set expectations, judgements, and outcomes are within the realm of a company‘s culture. At least if there is nothing fundamentally wrong and we‘re talking about some real toxic place or people having to hold on to a job at all costs. How much the company is paying for a certain job depends on so many factors and it will set some upper barrier and also consider the pay structure across the company - education, performance, tenure, industry standards, market salary …. All generations wanted more $ because fancy stuff, nice vacations, and less debt are kinda nice to have. Unfortunately or is is fortunately - we all were told at some point that this much is in for us right now and not more. Ideally we got told exactly what to do or deliver to make it to some next level. This is where you accept the offer, look for something else, or do both. Quiet quitting for me in this context means slacking - including for a fair and just reason, you or they don’t put energy into their job anymore without any ambition to recover in the future, just grabbing what’s on the table right now and eventually some sort of end will come. A Startup can definitely not afford to carry along slackers. Maybe the situation and thus relationship can be recovered but otherwise the startup is best advised to bring it to an end - its a matter of money and culture too. A large corporate might not take the same measures for the same reasons - maybe if money at that scale is not your primary issue, you‘re more concerned with not shaking the boat. After all you’re hired your employees into a safe corporate environment and thus you pay them much less than the risk takers at the top, no matter if these justify their income.

I think "quiet quitting" is the best invention of our generation...Otherwise we would be squeezed like an orange and dumped in a composting bin afterwards. Quiet quitting and working from home are two basic strategies to survive the $h!tty times we live in.

Why are you talking about your genetics in a video related to startup? you could reduce 16 minutes to maybe less than 10 minutes if you cut the unnecessary jokes and clips. I am quietquitting this video now :)

Dedication and extensive working hours alone do not guarantee promotion, whether in the corporate or academic realm. Unfortunately, promotion often hinges on factors such as elitism (including, regrettably, considerations like skin color that persist), generational family wealth (where a longer history of affluence can increase the likelihood of advancement), and the extent of your extroversion within your immediate professional circle. In many cases, becoming an indispensable figure, akin to an "uncle" to the boss's children, a reliable partner during social gatherings and times of crisis, can significantly expedite your promotion trajectory, often superseding the achievements of others.

That 5% Finn makes all the difference. Welcome to the tribe, come visit Helsinki some day.

Does hard work get you promotions and raises? Yes...but not always. There are plenty of times companies keep you at you current position and pay grade because it's financially efficient.

I don't know how but you seem to choose very relevant and informative topics. Great job!

Boomers and corporations butthurt is the sweetest

What are you paying your team to go the extra mile?

Business owners who expect employees to treat the company as if it was their own are delusional. Employees who accept this are idiots. Invest in yourself, your skillset and you'll always find work. If you want to "work hard" good for you but first start your own company. If they threaten to "cut" you first for not complying with their BS, they're basically threatening they'll stop exploiting you. Greetings from Europe.

I want to see Tesla Unionized. That would be an amazing win for unions.

Quiet quit and do a side hustle....

You want people to work above and beyond? Make them partners or give them billable hours.

This surfaces a real problem in the world - especially in the US. There is little focus on the whole work life balance. It is super important that upper management instills a culture of work ethics that does not enforce working over to get ahead. At the end of the day its all about priorities - you work on the things that are most important given the time available. Everything else simple has to be put on the back burner. To get ahead one has to make an impact - and this doesn't mean working long hours. Here the classing saying "Work Smarter - Not Harder" really shines.

As a 37-year-old millennial, I want the life of a boomer, and I have one. House, kids, wife, 401k, the works. I think it’s called “maturing” and “contributing to a more stable society”. I don’t buy into this idea that we millennials prefer ExPeRiEnCeS. We aren’t in our early twenties anymore, and we shouldn’t act like it.

Interesting term for this social pandemic. This didn't really touch on the topic of how this mindset is contagious. This is why some companies will actually give you a like a $2K bonus if you're willing to quit, to keep weeding out the bottom 10% that will drag down the rest of the company.

My Latina brain is rolling her eyes at the concept of people complaining about having work. Of course, I know that's my family talking. My family in my native country struggle to find work, period. So their belief is that having too much work is a great problem to have. Many immigrants who come to this country have this mentality so they can put up with a lot. But I recognize that's not good for anyone but the owners.

I would be curious to see a study on the quality of parenting by generation. I have a suspicion that there are significantly more millennials and newer generations experiencing complex PTSD. This alone could explain a lot of the behaviors.

I'm just hearing a guy who believes his company deserves more work than it's paying for because it's new. Nope, sorry. Pay. Me.

You're contradicting yourself. Of course in a startup the possibility that if everything works out perfect early employees gonna have good positions a high income. But you leave out the most important fact, that most startups never make it and unfortunately are unsuccessful. In this case employees have worked even harder for a lower salary and a unreliable future. Just admit that you what your employees to work as hard as possible for the only reason that you what you're startup to be successful

Quiet quitting…they are not quitting, doing you job…is doing your job. Somehow companies do not pay more when you do free OT. Hard work does not lead to promotion but being smart does. Jump ship when you get a better offer

overwhelmingly companies have proven that putting in the extra work and going that extra mile does not result in any sort of promotion, raise, or any sort of good will. Coampanies F'd around and now they are in the find out phase. Now if you want employees to go the extra mile, go the extra mile for them.

the ones who complains about "quite quitters" reflects that they can not manage to recrute qualities and actually wants to keep them or exploit them...les miserables

Started working at a startup, was busting my ass, and was immediately laid off 4hrs before my shift started a month later. No severance, no nothin.

All of this just to say " I don't want quiet quitters". Nobody wants to be a quiet quitter, companies make employees miserable and start ups are the worst in this aspect. If you want more, pay more and then you can request more.

Almost everyone that was laid off wasn’t because of skill or not working hard enough, it was just because of bad luck and they were the number that they needed to cut

Millennials travel more because our lives suck 😂 If we had the cheap mcmansions our parents got, maybe we would stay home more

Mate, I just want a place, afford my kids education and healthy food. I don't want to travel tourist traps over the world.

What is slidebeam now? Startup advice or the original pitch deck product? Or combo?

Wouldn't it be smarter to share some of your massive profits with employees to incentive them? Too greedy!

No-one is interested in making your dream come true. Everyone has their own dreams to follow but to do that you need cash.

😂 no debt no kids I get bored I be having bills paid 😔 3 months head of time and food well if you a gym rat

You cant have it all, the magic is to quiet quit and still be one of the best in your team.

if you work in a company that you truly love no matter how many extra hours you will put into it. You do it for the product, the project, the people, your clients, not for the money!

Do you have a podcast channel? It's the content one would love to listen to!

Thank you for the nuanced answer in this vide!

I've been at successful startups that respected my work hours. Not every job requires you work 10 or 12 hour days.

9 year olds hold the key to unlocking all problems

i always turn my pc off at 5pm lol. fk the bs

Are you hiring remote web developer? ❤

2:33 is a clear barrier for the N-Word pass; cant use it bro.

Bro has Nigerian blood? 🇳🇬 Ka'abo bro

Let them be. Less competition for me. :)

oh yeah I invented this.

Stop moaning about your situation and work!

Caya went full boomer on this one. Ppl aren't widely getting promoted for going the extra mile.

It's not "perfectly fair to quiet quit"... what an absurd statement. Most people think they aren't paid enough. That doesn't mean it isn't true.. And I'm a millennial. I am often very lazy. But if I get fired for not doing my work, I deserve it... And there's no way I am going to get promoted if I don't at least do what they expect of me, but especially if I go above and beyond. People will be stuck in a low paying job for life, and always be pissed off at the salary they make, if they start quiet quitting now - because companies won't promote you when you behave like that.

in Europe it is normal, quiet quiting is just normal. The problem is if you want to hassle. You are single, and you have a good career that you can make better progress, by working 12 hours per day? You have nothing better to do outside of work? Then you have a problem. Poeple hate you.... Ambition is looked down upon.

Thx for this video. As a young, retired boober (62), i fully agree with your perspective. It is ridiculous to go through what I had to go through and the life experiences I missed out on to get what I wanted. Working 12+ hours a day with minimum vacations and being on call 24-7, even while on vacation is asinine. I really don't see how a CEO can look his associates in the eye with the salary disparity. Nobody is worth that kind of money. Through good investments and taking care of my health I am retired now, and my wife and I are living a very active retired life, hopefully for many years. Good luck to the Millennials and Gen Z to make the work environment right again. I 100% don't believe in laziness but I sure as hell don't believe in being taken advantage of either.

What if all the CEO pay went to the workers? Can you show us the math? How much would worker pay go up? What if workers would buyout the stocks to get the dividends?

In architecture you're required to work crunch for weeks for each project... My life was on hold for 10 years... That's just plain stupid and not worth it... l quit at 37 years old

experimenting on the side view 🎥 🎥 🎥 😊😊😊

Quiet quitting is a consequence of an unhealthy or toxic working environment. In the current day and age, employers should strive to do their best in retaining workers. Requiring what you term as 'going the extra mile' indicates a lack of managerial skills as you need more workers to do the tasks.

I am your relative from Nigeria.. 😁