Have you heard about “quiet quitting,” this trend that the business press is freaking out about? Observers are saying more and more workers quietly are refusing to go above and beyond. They’re not answering emails after hours. They’re saying no to overtime. They’re doing just what is required, and no more.
This trend has the likes of Kevin O’Leary (of Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank fame) foaming at the mouth. Of course, corporate barons long have been banking on employees doing more than they truly get paid for. Others, like Arianna Huffington of Thrive Global, say quiet quitting is “a response to a very real problem — the global epidemic of stress and burnout.”
Quiet quitting is not just in the corporate world
I’m seeing business owners – women and men – quietly quitting too. With the financial hardship and fear from the pandemic, coupled with the labour shortage and the stampede back to normal, I see many Business Sisters are DONE with hustling and being “#BossBabes” and “#GirlBosses” and all that this mindset entails. Could it be that we’re finally seeing the rejection of “hustle culture”?
Too exhausted to care or getting better with boundaries?
There’s evidence that it’s the latter. Some business owners in Québec’s renowned tourist destination, les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, have decided to shut down right smack in the middle of the season. I’ve noticed more women entrepreneurs getting away with their families this summer, and GOOD FOR THEM! Europeans have been doing it for years. Maybe we’re just catching up.
As with any major trend, it could be an opportunity to re-think how we do business, collectively and individually.
Questions to ask yourself as business owner:
- When are your peak customer times? Do you keep track of your most profitable days? Your most profitable hours in a day? This might help you re-think your opening and closing times, especially if you’re in retail or personal services.
- Does is make sense for you to close when everyone else does? Monday is an off day for many hair and esthetics professionals. Could your small retail outlet benefit from special opening hours on a Monday, even if it’s once or twice per month? Perhaps you could then close on a Saturday or another day of your choice.
- Are you asking and engaging customers about your opening and closing hours? Maybe you don’t HAVE TO stay open as long as you have been.
Time to rethink business models
Collectively it might also be time for us to chat about business models and collaboration:
- Have you considered discussing opening and close times, or vacation times with other business owners, even competitors? What if all diner and café owners got together in your small town to talk about who stays open and when? I’m not suggesting collusion and price fixing here, but rather a good heart-to-heart about what makes sense for our small towns so we can all be more profitable and have a life!
- What if these conversations extended to sharing other resources, like service staff, bookkeeping or social media help?
What Do You Think?
Are you also seeing that quiet quitting is not just in the corporate world? Do you see it in small business too? If so, is that a good thing?
I’d love to hear your thoughts here! How can we do business differently so that we can all thrive as rural women business owners?
Leave a comment below!
Thanks for reading!
Hi Doreen, I wasn’t aware of the term quiet quitting. As a business owner, even if I’m not physically at the Buvette doesn’t mean that im sitting around and reading a book. I’m thinking of marketing strategies, scheduling employees to work, accounting, researching recipes and so on. So, when I got back from my winter holidays, I promised myself that I would stay true to my hours and not extend myself to much out of those hours. So, yep I was going to take a few weekend here and there because me too I like to go out and be cooked for. I am totally for quiet quitting cause us boss ladies are still coming home cooking, gardening, cleaning and so on.
Thanks for the enlightenment!!
You are SO RIGHT, Michelle! Our brain never seems to stop, as business owners. Thank you so much for chiming in here!
I like your thoughts on time to rethink business models. To group together to make life easier for every business owner, time is so precious. For years I have seen workers doing what they have to and that’s it. I never thought of it as quiet quitting as I have been working on working less and earning more. With this, I feel like I have a life again and give it 100% when I am working. People these days could really use businesses giving it 100%. Many are struggling to get service on the phone, booking appointments and getting a good job done. If we can work with our competitors for referrals and deligate to other business owners, we can help take care of our community.
I LOVE the way you think, Ashley, “working less and earning more”. With Business Sisters, I am looking at ways to ease collaborations between entrepreneurs. I’ll be facilitating some of those conversations soon. I would love to see you there because I think you have a lot to share with all your experience. Let’s keep each other posted!
This resonates. I am done with hustling and now value “family time”. I came to the realization that time with family is slipping by while I am busy being busy. Europeans do have this figured out. Thanks for this blog piece.
Thanks for chiming in Aly! That’s a precious quote: “time is slipping by while I am busy being busy…” YES, let’s all be more European in our thinking!
Great post! I started reclaiming my time a few years ago after burning out—it was the best thing for myself, my family, and my clients. By taking restorative timeouts, I had more energy and inspiration to give back.
Good for you for reclaiming your time, Chantal. I am seeing this all over the place… women creating more boundaries and asking for their rightful pay.
This is a timely article that comes at the perfect time in my life. I’ve been quietly quitting lately. I do think it’s a good thing personally.
My clients are understanding and I share the delivery of the goods and services with them ahead of time so there is no surprises.
I do feel the slow pace of the lockdowns has made me realize that life should not be a race ALL THE TIME. Also, being busy isn’t a measure of success. Au contraire, it is often a measure of inefficiency or a dependency on a fast paced life.
Isabelle long time no see! Thanks for piping in here. I love what you said, “Being busy is not a measure of success”. SO TRUE!
I just see this as setting healthy boundaries. I’m about to take my first vacation in 3 years AND it’s over Christmas. I haven’t had a long Christmas break since I started in my industry. So, it’s not like I haven’t sacrificed for my business. However, where I have set boundaries is in my client-facing hours. I don’t see clients on the weekends (unless I’m presenting a workshop, with the goal of expanding my reach) and I very specifically schedule one weekday when I work on business planning, marketing, bookkeeping, etc. Again, this day is non-client facing. It is a hard line in the sand that keeps me sane and better organized. honestly, I wouldn’t call it quietly quitting; I’m shouting it to the rooftops! As it is, I still work evenings and weekends but these are by choice; I’m still just emerging out of the other side of the pandemic (like many others) and trying not to sink.
I say hallelujah for “hard lines in the sand that keep us sane and better organized”! Good for you, Hana. Thanks for the reframing here. I love it!
I actually made the decision to retire after 30 years working in investment banking. I grew tired of the constant demand to work endless hours. On top of that the banking world is notorious for abuse of peers all of which I experienced consistently with different co-workers and bosses. So I packed it up and moved from Montreal, jumped just across the border as I still had to commute for 9 months until I could make my move. Now, here I am bootstrapping and following my passion as a cake artisan. I still work very hard but am following my own dream which makes me incredibly happy. No looking back, no regrets.
Lorraine thank you for your comment! I love to hear you chose to retire and now are following your passion as a cake artisan. And that IT MAKES YOUR HAPPY is wonderful! Did you know that “retirepreneurs” is one of the fastest-growing segment of entrepreneurs? Looking forward to learning more about your business and seeing you at one of our events!
Yep yep yep !!
Sorry I am not more articulate … why??? Because it is 5:24am and I am working on a deadline so your blog resonates ( almost physically) with me! I am working on a proposal which is a great opportunity but alas presented itself to me “after hours” yesterday … our clients have a long way to come to also have reasonable expectations . Would my superiors let it go if I did not respond ?????
I guess we won’t know because I capitulated …. This time .
Awww… Judith, you sure are one of the dedicated ones! I hope for your sake that your employer recognizes what a pearl they have in you. Take care of YOU through all this!