You’d never expect an electrician to do two jobs for the price of one, so why complain when an employee wants to leave at 5 p.m. or take a lunch break? And in more extreme cases, like outright exploitation — or any job that pays less than $31/hour in Ottawa — it’s called working to rule.

We might also realize that freelancers and independent contractors of all kinds usually act that way by default, and no one complains. For example, if I hire a plumber to replace my toilet, and while they’re doing that, I ask them to fix my leaky faucet, even if it just needs to be tightened, who am I to complain that they are “quiet quitting” if they charge me extra for the extra service I asked for?

Then, career coach and laid-off corporate recruiter Bryan Creely started posting videos on TikTok and YouTube giving advice on navigating the quickly changing world of work. He was fixated on workers rebelling against toxic work environments and asked if any of his viewers had “quiet quit” their jobs.

In March 2022, Business Insider published an article that used the term “quitting in place.” It was coined by Kelly Love Johnson in her 2008 book “skirt! Rules for the Workplace: An Irreverent Guide to Advancing Your Career.” It refers to people who have emotionally checked out of their jobs but continue to do the minimum required.

If employers want workers to go above and beyond, they must do the same — which means paying more and being more flexible

if doing only what you are paid to do is quiet quitting, then giving loyal employees raises that barely account for inflation is quiet firing.