# Why quiet quitting isn't brand new

- **Episode:** [09](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/09.md) (2022-08-30)
- **Type:** other
- **Tags:** quiet quitting history, generational differences, workplace behavior
- **Time:** 5:21–7:35 (start 321s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/09?t=321](https://truthliesandwork.com/09?t=321)

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[5:21] Al Elliott: And it's alliterative, which tickles my marketing pickle. Quiet quitting. So, I mean, the boomers— and that's not labeled too much, but I'm tongue-in-cheek when I say the boomers are saying that Gen Zs are quiet quitting. But actually, I know plenty of people who would be classed as boomers who spent the last 5 to 8 years of their job just phoning it in, just coasting through because they were on the way to retirement. And so, I mean, it's not something that's— and I'm sure we've all had jobs where we just do the bare minimum and go, oh God, I'm not looking forward to it. Oh well, it'll soon be over, etc., etc. So Like you say, it's nothing brand new, is it?
[5:55] Leanne Elliott: It's really not brand new. And I think the thing as well is that, you know, we, we look at kind of— I think what's interesting is the arguments that are coming up in, in the media. And I'd be interested to know your thoughts, Al, but I read a lot of the backlash kind of being about people kind of like, oh, this, the hustle culture is being lost and it's gonna be bad for their careers. And, you know, unless you work to the point of burnout, why even bother? And it's like, Really?
[6:25] Al Elliott: Well, I was reading something about how, um, millennials— well, not necessarily millennials, but Gen Z are now, um, they are rebelling against the stuff their parents did. Um, so for example, drinking is way down, like Gen Z drinking levels minuscule, but, but smoking, smoking weed is way up. Whereas their parents, which I suppose would be yours and my generation, we spent the '90s drinking But we never— but not many of us smoked. It wasn't really that kind of thing
[6:54] Leanne Elliott: Because that's more kind of the hippie era kind of—
[6:56] Al Elliott: Exactly. So it's more— so is it not just that we are always rebelling against our parents and doing the opposite of them? And our parents come from the hustle generation, the Gary Vees of the world, who 30 years ago, 25 years ago, were saying you have to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to achieve your dreams. Otherwise you've wasted your life. Which of course is an extreme way in one way, which I think is a good way. I started to, to, um, to subscribe to and then burnt out very early on. And, and now I'm kind of anti-hustle. I don't really like that. But I, I suppose that the, the Gen Zs are now rebelling against the millennials and the people like me, Gen— Gen X. Am I Gen X?
[7:34] Leanne Elliott: Uh, Gen X is millennial. You're Gen Y