Denver, Colo. (KDVR)— Briana Severine, MS, LPC, LAC, CPRP joins Kirk Yuhnke and Ashley Ryan on Colorado’s Own 2 News to talk about the Psychology of Quiet Quitting.

Quiet quitting is a term that was coined on social media that can be described as rejecting hustle culture and rejecting the notion that you need to over perform and exceed expectations with your worth tied to your work performance. Instead quiet quitting promotes doing your job but not going above and beyond your job responsibilities or not completing work that you aren’t compensated for.

With labor shortages and increasing cost of living post-pandemic many workers are feeling even more overworked and underpaid. Coupled with a dramatic increase in mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety these factors are pushing people, especially younger generations, to re-evaluate work/life balance.

36% of our waking hours are spent at work and job satisfaction and job stress do significantly contribute to our overall mental health. It is definitely worth people evaluating their boundaries and values around work. For many people work is a place that can provide a sense of purpose and I believe that we can be engaged, motivated, and productive at work without it consuming our personal time or negatively impacting our mental health.

If the motivation for quiet quitting is built on a resentment with your employer, lack of job satisfaction, or lack of purpose then this begs for more self-evaluation. I would argue that if these are the motivations behind your quiet quitting then it could negatively impact your wellbeing. Having a candid conversation with leadership or finding a job that is more in line with your values would likely have a more positive impact on your mental health.