NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 22, 2022 / Ericsson:
The quiet quitting debate provides us with an opportunity to talk about purpose and meaning. About well-being, work life balance, about the future of work, job-crafting and so much more. This is the first post in a series that will explore those subjects and Ericsson as a workplace from different individual perspectives.
Lately there is a term that has become widely popularized – Quiet Quitting. Some say it is a new phenomenon in the aftermath of the pandemic. Others that it is not something new.
In short, quiet quitting has been popularized recently with employees that are just at a job for the paycheck and aren’t really emotionally or intellectually engaged. It’s about doing the bare minimum, and not going “above and beyond”.
However, some are not so convinced that the trend even exists. In the article, Quiet Quitting is a Fake Trend, in The Atlantic, the author states “What people are now calling ‘quiet quitting’ was, in previous decades, simply known as ‘having a job’.”
People have been yearning for more meaning in their lives, and more life beyond the office, since the dawn of work. So perhaps what has changed is that there is a stronger yearning from a growing number of people, resulting in the conversation spilling out into public discourse with social media acting as a true catalyst and a higher number of people being reached.
The phrase quiet quitting might sound a little cynical to some, as it may seem to imply that people don’t care about their work and have managed to quit their job in their mind, so they can focus on what truly matters in life. Whether it seems cynical or not, the truth is that the concept has caught on, so it is important to examine what it really means. There are certainly some important positive lessons embedded within the whole concept, such as:
it is important to have balance in your life,
overworking doesn’t lead to the best overall performance, and isn’t sustainable, and
your worth doesn’t depend on your productivity at work
In my opinion, the negative side of quiet quitting is the idea that going above and beyond isn’t a good thing. And, on the other hand, the problem is that people may be expected to go above and beyond all the time in order to be considered good peers or employees. Consider how everything on LinkedIn is about how great and incredible people’s professional accomplishments are and how it reinforces that notion.
So maybe we shouldn’t see quiet quitting in terms of black and white, rather try and incorporate a more holistic view. We can try and think differently, realizing that at times it may be a good thing and can be nourishing for a meaningful life to step back or quiet quit. But perhaps we should only consider doing so from time to time, when it is really called for, and not chronically.
This is an intro post and perspective
This is the introduction to a series of posts where we would like to explore the concept of work, purpose in work and life and wellbeing, seen from different generations and individual perspectives. And with wellbeing we mean the wellbeing of individuals, the company, as well as the planet.
The objective is to have a dialogue about whether quiet quitting is really an issue of concern or not, and how employers and employees could act or plan according to it. We are also trying to encourage and enable a dialogue between the different generations in the workplace and individual perspectives in relation to work.
Quiet quitting is one of the most important conversations currently taking place in the workplace, one that touches on how people feel about things, how they approach their work and their lives outside of work, and how they respond to the efforts of leaders to inspire and motivate them.
During this series we are interested to explore:
What is quiet quitting?
How is it affecting productivity in organization?
Why is this subject being so widely discussed right now?
What is its implication for leaders and the organizational culture and structure?
How can companies mitigate against quiet quitting becoming problematic?
How can we work with purpose and meaning and ensure a healthy balance between work and life?
How does quiet quitting work in knowledge industries and what are the stakes for knowledge-based organizations?
Is quiet quitting more predominant among certain generations?
With that said, let’s get started with my own personal perspective.
My perspective – it’s about meaning, and meaning is individual
I have been working at Ericsson for 25 years now. I believe I have the best job on the planet, but I have not always had the eyes to see that. I have noticed how I have changed perspectives over the years in relation to work. For instance, still in my 30s I recall telling my manager that I would like to be the future CEO of the company. You can only imagine her reaction!
With time I got older, and I had children. My first child was born with multiple handicaps, including blindness. And over the years, I learned that we can see work from three different perspectives:
as a job (to earn a salary to be able to live a decent life)
as a career (to gain power more money and influence)
as a calling (purpose or meaning)
I guess that when I was talking to my manager back then I was seeing work as a career. I’m happy that my personal growth changed that view and I now see it was a calling or purpose. Numerous scientific articles point out that by seeing things according to this perspective, people can enjoy a happier life and more wellbeing.
Then the question is, how do we find out our call or purpose?
On purpose – something worth living for and dying for
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why,” Zen proverb/anonymous
Purpose is really something everybody likes to talk about nowadays and is considered important, both from an individual as well as from a company perspective. I have honestly struggled with the word purpose. I have sometimes had the feeling that it’s a bit pretentious. Maybe a better word is simply “meaning”?
As mentioned, there have been amazing moments at Ericsson where I feel I have the absolute best job in the world. At the very start when I joined Ericsson in 1997, imagine just 15 percent of mankind had access to telephony. And imagine, 85 percent of mankind had never heard a dial tone! I recall how we celebrated every million new subscribers. There is a quote at Stanford’s Engineering School that goes “I am an engineer, I serve mankind by making dreams come true”. And that quote sticks out to me because that’s what we do at Ericsson.
Although I experienced a lot of great moments, I honestly never felt I’d found my purpose. It was not until a week in 2019 that I could strongly identify what I came to believe was my purpose in life. I had worked hard for over six months as the driver for the Innovation and New Business Models area in MWC 2019.
Our hero demo for the innovation area was a virtual Jenga game that exemplified how we will be able to communicate with all our senses in the future (for more information check Internet of Senses).
We had many visitors during the week, but one special visitor was a blind man that came to the demo station. Although he was blind, he was able, with some help, to play the virtual game. He described how important this was for him as in the future he would be able to use his hands when communicating. This incident touched me profoundly. I needed to make a big effort to not get emotional and cry, but as the father of a blind son I knew that his hands function as his eyes and what entirely new world of possibilities such technology opens for people with visual impairments.
We live in a time of great uncertainty. Our planet is being threatened, and we face extinction. For too long we have accepted an unfair and unequal world. We should care more; it should make us angry that in such an advanced and mature society, we still have so many in need.
But we have the ability to create an amazing future. We have the ability to preserve our planet, create incredible prosperity, and make breakthroughs in technology and medicine that will extend the length of life and profoundly change how we interact with the world and each other.
My purpose is clear, and the work I do is for my children and the generations to come. I am fortunate to work in a company that can make dreams come true, leaving no one behind, and this is as true today as it was at the time of our founder, Lars Magnus Ericsson.
I feel much more motivated than when I was in my 30s! I will definitely never quiet quit.
Purpose and meaning are the opposite of busyness and wasting our lives
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life”, Socrates
Let’s now go back again to 2000’s, when I was aiming, or dreaming, to become our next CEO. I was working with a conference when we gathered the top 200 executives in the company, and we thought of bringing an inspirational speaker to talk about “work and life balance”.
It was kind of “new” concept at that time. My manager and I got a tip about a really good inspirational speaker. So, we went to one of his speeches to hear the messages and see how well it would resonate with us. It was an amazing speech.
I did not spot it. My manager, however, could see in the audience that some people were drying out their tears. Older and wiser than me, she decided not to contract with him for this leadership conference. She could imagine in front of us the exact same effect. Executives, many of them at the end of the careers, being touched by that speech and how much of their lives they lost in favor of work. Not being able to attend a son’s football game. Missed opportunities to follow a hobby or passion outside work. The graduation party of a daughter. Ironically the conference was exactly the time of the year for those graduations, and it was not “ok” to prioritize those instead of the conference.
Fast forward all those years, to now when I have just turned 60! I have had many periods in life when I was way too busy. There were times I worked endless hours without a sense of purpose and felt like I was a hamster running around on a wheel.
All that changed when I had this special moment at MWC when I could see so clearly the potentials of technology to improve lives. And how blessed I am to work for a company that can make such a difference.
I think we are witnessing a pivotal shift. Western consumption-based society was seen as the gold standard – but we are now seeing its limits. A new model is needed. I think, or rather hope, it will be one that blends spirituality (our inner life) with one that addresses the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced, climate change.
What does quiet quitting mean when we have such overwhelming challenge?
We see clearly in the world that there is a rise in mental health challenges, depression and drug addiction rates, while there is also less trust in institutions. So, I understand quiet quitting from the perspective of protecting yourself from burnout and setting boundaries. But I worry when I see people so busy and stressed with back-to-back meetings, feeling a sense of being trapped and seeing quiet quitting as a possible solution. I get particularly concerned if I see that in younger generations, as I know I felt the same when I was younger.
This is such an important topic. Ultimately, it is about life and the future of work and meaning. And it is individual. This was just my view.
To summarize, my personal view is that quiet quitting is not an option. As it is like quitting on life! To quiet quit means you also miss out on learning and growth. But I do believe we need to quit with our busyness. We need to quit with back-to-back meetings. We need to have a more refined way to think about what is truly important. Beyond job roles. We can and should live a life worth living, with impact for a better world. Today on the radio I heard someone say that we will be dead for much longer than we will be alive. Think about that! And how there is no time to waste.
As mentioned above, I am more motivated now than I ever been. And I work even more than when I was in my 30s. In my view there is a difference between busyness and living a life well lived. Between managing to discern the truly important and not urgent. As Eisenhower once said, the important is never urgent, and the urgent is seldom important. It does worry me when I see people trapped on the hamster wheel.
I think Ericsson gives us such a formidable playground for a life well lived, with purpose. With such amazing and positive impact for improving lives, redefining business, and pioneering a sustainable future, according to our vision. And it is an amazing company where we can discuss such personal and difficult topics, share perspectives, and help each other to grow.
We are Ericsson!
You will hear from many others and how it is to work at Ericsson. Stay tuned and join the conversations!
Learn more about what it’s like to work at Ericsson here.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ericsson on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Ericsson
Website: https://www.ericsson.com/en
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: Ericsson
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/733039/The-Meaning-of-Quiet-Quitting
Related Quotes
Every year, more and more competitors are added to the market of companies that write essays for students, and more and more of these services occupy leading positions in the list of the best in th…
The disgraced FTX founder donated money to politicians that may have been stolen. That money should be returned, not donated to charity.
Shoppers say using it is a rewarding ritual.
(Bloomberg) — As 2022 unfolded, Chicago’s long-troubled pension funds faced a new shortfall: A delay in property tax receipts left the system without enough money to pay the city’s retirees.Most Read from BloombergSouth Korea Sends Drones to Kim Jong Un’s Airspace in Unprecedented MoveRussia Says Ukraine Must Surrender Even as Putin’s Army RetreatsChina Reopens Borders to World In Removing Last Covid Zero CurbsSouthwest Air Faces Gridlock With Over 80% of Flights Scrapped or LateIran Compels Je
Fractional shares allow investors with limited funds to buy less than a whole stock.
The recession drum beats on, interest rates are rising, and the stock market has taken a tumble, and yet retail sales have risen 6.5% in the last 12 months, trailing a 7.1% increase in the cost of living. The personal saving rate — meaning personal saving as a percentage of disposable income, or the share of income left after paying taxes and spending money — hit 2.4% in the third quarter from 3.4% in the prior quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Are people buying stocks during a bearish market, and/or have they run out of their pandemic-era savings?
Bitcoin and Ethereum inched up in Monday afternoon trading in Asia. Most other non-stablecoin top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization were little changed
Wall Street was mostly lower at the beginning of a holiday- shortened week on Tuesday as investors weighed the likelihood of protracted restrictive Fed policy against China's relaxation of its strict zero-COVID rules. The S&P 500 joined the Nasdaq in negative territory, while the Dow, buoyed by value stocks, was modestly green.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Adam Aron said Tuesday he has asked the company’s board to “red circle and freeze” his target cash and stock pay for 2023. Aron, who has led the movie-theater chain and meme-stock darling since 2016, described his move in a series of tweets as AMC shares (AMC) headed for their third consecutive decline after Aron announced another equity sale and plans for a reverse stock split. See: What can we expect from meme stocks AMC, GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond in 2023?
This year's cascade of crypto collapses should be a wake-up call to regulators, says the Independent Community Bankers of America's Brian Laverdure.
Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM) posted a 1.5% increase in production for the month of November, to 833,104 units. Worldwide production, including Daihatsu and Hino brands, rose 1.8% to 982,552 units. The company attributed the growth to solid demand, primarily in North America, in addition to a rebound from the impact of parts supply shortages associated with the spread of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia in the previous year. Toyota production in Japan slipped 3.3% to 266,174 units. The auto major expor
Some of the industry’s biggest names fell from historic highs historically quickly.
The two started negotiations earlier this year and signed an initial agreement in July.
Crypto lender Nexo insists it is still in talks with rival Vauld over potential acquisition of the Singapore-based company.
Broker-favorite stocks like Cardinal Health (CAH), American Airlines (AAL), Boise Cascade (BCC), AmerisourceBergen (ABC) and Centene (CNC) should be on an investors' watchlist.
Since mid-September CHPT shares have fallen more than 57% vs. the 1.7% decline in the S&P 500. Over that time, investor sentiment toward the larger EV space has waned as evidenced by the significant drop in other EV-charging stocks like EVgo , Blink Charging , and Volta and pure-play EV companies ranging from Tesla and Nio to Xpeng and Rivian Automotive . To give an idea as to how far behind the curve the U.S. EV charging situation is, in Europe, there are currently about 400,000 fast-charging stations compared to 47,000 in the U.S. The EU has committed to increasing that number to one million by 2025 while the Biden Infrastructure Law targets 500,000 charging stations across the country by 2030.
Analysts say China's reopening is "encouraging news" that could spark a short-lived rally in stocks, but after that, "choppy trading" lays ahead.
(Bloomberg) — Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast.Most Read from BloombergSouth Korea Sends Drones to Kim Jong Un’s Airspace in Unprecedented MoveRussia Says Ukraine Must Surrender Even as Putin’s Army RetreatsChina Reopens Borders to World In Removing Last Covid Zero CurbsSouthwest Air Faces Gridlock With Over 80% of Flights Scrapped or LateIran Compels Jet to Land, Removes Family of Football Icon Ali DaeiBrazil analysts raised their
Shijiazhuang Shangtai Technology is planning an initial public offering in Shenzhen as the boom in New Energy Vehicle industry boosts the demand for the company's anode materials that the Hebei-based company makes for lithium-ion batteries.
* Chile c.bank extends FX intervention program to June 2023 * Brazil's cost of bank loans hits 5-year high, defaults up * Latam FX down 1.9%, stocks off 2.2% (Updates prices throughout, adds comments) By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shreyashi Sanyal Dec 27 (Reuters) – Chile's peso jumped on Tuesday after its central bank said it would extend its foreign exchange intervention program, while Brazil's real extended declines to a second day against a firmer dollar. The peso gained 1.3% against the dollar after Chile's central bank extended its FX intervention program to June 2, 2023 from a previously announced end date of Jan. 13.