A recent Gallup poll of a randomly selected sample of approximately 15 000 full- and part-time workers aged 18 years and older found that half of the US workforce comprises quiet quitters.1 The quiet-quitting phenomenon has been frequently described and discussed, particularly in social media post-COVID-19. This trend is typically defined as employees deciding to limit their work effort to the basic, bare requirements, rather than going above and beyond. In some cases, this limit setting relates to work-life balance choices that have been influenced by the pandemic experience, generational priorities, or compensation deficiencies that have encouraged a perspective about holding back from the demands of an overly needy work environment. Quiet quitting is the alternative to actual resignation. Those who quietly quit typically withdraw from participating in the set of behaviors that are modeled by good citizens, including staying late and arriving early, volunteering for additional responsibilities, and participating in activities that are not required.2

Klotz and Bolino2 rightly assert that having an engaged, committed, and "get-it-done" workforce is important to organizational success. Employers depend on workers to pitch in when extra effort is required. Organizations that rely on nurses to deliver excellent and expert care certainly rely on a motivated and committed workforce. There are many demands across health care systems for nurses willing to serve as preceptors, agreeable to overtime hours, available to stay late during emergencies, and amenable to assuming charge roles, in addition to many other leadership and professional roles and activities. These demands were in place long before COVID-19, but they may now be perceived as particularly onerous by nurses who served to maximum capacity during the pandemic, often at great personal and familial expense, and who are now depleted of the stamina and energy required by the above and beyond expectations of work. In other words, professional nurse citizenship expectations may now be increasingly viewed as "extra" and undesirable, particularly after witnessing the lost lives and heartbreak carnage that so many experienced during the pandemic. These witnessed events may reinforce that one should "work to live" and not "live to work."

Nurses at the sharp point of direct patient care or practicing in acute/tertiary care settings in other roles are not the only group of professionals who may be quietly quitting. Nurse educators and other nursing professionals, as well as those in support roles, may also feel de-energized and less psychologically invested in work, particularly work viewed as beyond the written job description demands. These individuals often shoulder many citizenship responsibilities and the need for them to continue to contribute this way is striking, particularly given higher education's tuition-driven budget challenges. If, in fact, quiet quitting is a real phenomenon, health care systems and educational systems that rely on health care professionals to deliver instruction and role modeling need to consider strategies and opportunities to support and reinvigorate employees.

There are good reasons for workers to choose quiet quitting over resignation or retirement. Increasing cost of living and shrinking retirement portfolios or inadequate retirement savings may contribute to quiet quitting, as nurses calculate personal finances and conclude that outright retirement is not practical. Financial incentives are not always the primary motivation influencing job passion, but current trends suggest that workers, perhaps including nurses, are evaluating life balance and determining that employers are expecting too much. These variables in combination potentially increase the likelihood of quiet quitting unless fundamental deterrents to job commitments are identified and addressed.

The founder and Chief Culture Officer of Ideal Outcomes, Inc, recognizes quiet quitting as tagging the great resignation3 described as the increased rate of resignation demonstrated by American workers in the spring of 2021 during a market driven by a strong labor demand. Gen Z and younger millennials, particularly those younger than 35 years who primarily work from home, are increasingly disengaged postpandemic.1,3 Richmond3 offers the following advice to his clients to prevent quiet quitting: allow workers autonomy and avoid micromanaging them; craft a sense of purpose to encourage employees to feel part of something unique and important; promote employee engagement and connections; and truly listen and authentically communicate with team members. These strategies are often discussed in leadership materials and are not particularly unique. However, the context of how to implement these approaches in a work-world that is often remote or is poised to return to hybrid or fully in person is uniquely challenging.

Nurses interested in utilizing a holistic approach to problem-solving and who engage in mindfulness and reflection as strategies to promote understanding and growth should consider purposeful interventions to reduce quiet quitting. Such tactics should build on those offered by Richmond3 while also considering the priorities of nurses, including self-care, care of others, and making a positive difference. Nurses may also need to reflect on whether they are personally quiet quitters, and, if so, how might this status be altered in ways that meet personal needs and expectations while contributing to the greater good in the workplace.

Workplace expectations do need to be reasonable. It is likely that many employees, including nurses, will continue to be resistant to employer expectations that are unbalanced and institutionally serving to the detriment of employees. The labor market for nurses is competitive and employment opportunities are rich. Nurse-labor expenses are particularly high, as increasing numbers of hospitals rely on travel nurses.4 Nurse faculty shortages are keenly felt and will be more so as faculty approach retirement age. Organizations need to take on the challenge of quiet quitting and view the workplace as needing changes that increase employees' sense of value and belonging while promoting citizenship through mutual respect, genuine engagement opportunities, and reasonable, negotiated workload and workplace policies.

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