this post was submitted on 05 May 2025
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[–] ssfckdt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 15 minutes ago

Yeah because they started to get fucked over

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 27 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

Heh, I've seen this personally. I work for a Japanese company, and part of my job is coordinating tooling installations with the factory I'm stationed at (pick a chip fab in the US, I've probably been there). When we get a tool onsite, I get an install team directly from our factory in Japan who handles all the physical installation aspects. They work hard, efficiently, and with the utmost care for the finer details (some of these tools are expected to last 20+ years - we have a few that have been in production for nearly as long with very little fuss). Occasionally, they will finish their tasks early the last couple days and take off after lunch, letting me know of this beforehand and that their daily reports will be sent to me and other relevant managers at the "usual" time, with a wink and a nod.

I don't care how much time they clock, as long as shit gets done properly. Haven't had any issues.

[–] Miaou@jlai.lu 0 points 3 hours ago (3 children)

How is this related to quiet quitting?

[–] gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com 19 points 3 hours ago

Generally, leaving work early in Japan is (was?) seen as lazy and a sign of a morally dubious person. Keep in mind that, traditionally, people in Japan are expected to work 12-16 hour days with no complaints and, for businesspeople, sleep at the office if there is a lot of work to be done.

The fact that people are eager to leave early and don't think of it as inherently shameful signifies a huge shift in culture.

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Considering the article specifically mentions Japan, and that typical Japanese work culture is quite literally the opposite of what I've observed, I think this is very related.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

Japanese work culture often meant staying late and working unpaid overtime to appear extra-productive. Now you've got an anecdote describing people who finish the job, consider their work done, and cut out early despite not having fulfilled an arbitrarily dictated number of hours worked. It is a sharp reversal in behavior.

[–] MetalMachine@feddit.nl 20 points 4 hours ago

The Japanese work ethic doesn't even make sense and does more harm than good. If you don't have time for yourself or family the society will collapse (already happening). To be clear, I'm not talking about being diligent work, but working 8+ hours every single day.

Many Japanese don't leave work at 5pm even though those are the official business hours because it's rude to leave before the boss leaves. So people stay at work until 7 or 8pm. Many times having to also go drinking with co-workers or the boss. So, depending on the day, you may end up with 1-2 hours for yourself. No wonder they aren't having children, and depression rates are sky high.

Same applies to Korea.

[–] tamman2000@lemm.ee 41 points 7 hours ago

This is what happens in societies that have increasing income inequality.

Why should workers feel compelled to bust their asses when it benefits their bosses, but not themselves?

[–] Neuromorph@lemm.ee 6 points 5 hours ago

so goes Japan, so goes the world!!! ive been quiet quitting since i entered the work force

[–] mrodri89@lemmy.zip 27 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Thank goodness. Now when im napping during work I can feel less guilty thinking about Japan doing it too.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

When you're napping, know that someone in Japan is also asleep, but largely because of the time change.

[–] mrodri89@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 hours ago

Thanks friend. Lol

[–] Neuromorph@lemm.ee 3 points 5 hours ago

ow when im napping during work I can feel less guilty thinking about Japan doing it too.

if questioned, tell your Boss, you are practicing a japanese work ethic

[–] scroll_responsibly@lemmy.sdf.org 24 points 11 hours ago
[–] fireweed@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago
[–] ddash@lemmy.dbzer0.com 161 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Fuck the term quiet quitting. Call it what it is, doing your job.

[–] Rooty@lemmy.world 27 points 8 hours ago

Employee burnout is a symptom of a toxic work culture, and "quiet quitting" is a corporate psyop invented to prevent you from noticing it.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 13 hours ago (3 children)
[–] Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 39 points 8 hours ago

"Businesses can no longer rely solely on the goodwill of employees that they have financially and emotionally abused to the point of class collapse."

People are just doing the bare minimum and that's not ok by the CEO.

[–] wellheh@lemmy.sdf.org 66 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (4 children)

It's corporate media term for doing what your job requires and not giving your time to companies for free

[–] lagoon8622@sh.itjust.works 13 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Corpo media licking boots so hard they're literally breathless

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 7 points 9 hours ago

Corpos own the media, so they're literally just the trumpets of money hoarders

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 0 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

No one gives their time to a company for free. That’s volunteering. Getting paid doesn’t mean you’re quiet quitting.

Quiet quitting means doing the absolute minimum not to get fired, showing no initiative or ambition. Employers often expect you to work extra hard and do a bunch of bonus work to try to get promoted or a raise. They believe all this extra work is part of what they’re paying for. But an employee who has quiet quit will do none of that, accept that the job is a dead end job, and just do the minimum to keep from getting fired.

[–] wellheh@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 4 hours ago

People do give their time to companies for free- it's called working free overtime and tons of people do it (exempt employee pain), which is why employers are not happy with the change. What my comment says is just the short version of what you're saying- you're doing what the job requires and no more

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[–] BussyCat@lemmy.world 40 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

It’s doing the bare minimum, sometimes below the minimum so that they have to fire you. Like how you would act if your boss yelled at you for no reason and you no longer care about your job.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (2 children)

So is the goal to actually get fired? Or to just not go for a promotion? I'm a little confused.

Or is it the guy from office space? "[make a guy]...work just hard enough to not get fired."

Edit: Oh.. I've got a good way to help clarify this...

Another office space reference, but I think this quantifies it well:

So if they ask you to wear 37 pieces of flair, is quiet quitting wearing 35, 36, 37, or 38 pieces of flair?

  1. and that's a write up for explicit underperformance and en route to being let go.

  2. is basically the same thing but could be taken as a technicality or mistake.

  3. is technically right, but a lot of shitty bosses will have a fit with their own standards and be all passive aggressive about it, and may even rock the boat until they have to fire you.

  4. is juuust above the bare minimum, so they can't say shit, but you won't be getting a promotion anytime soon.

And anything above that, I'm just going to categorize as not quiet quitting for sake of simplicity. Don't worry about performance percentages, that's not the point here.

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 hours ago

“[make a guy]…work just hard enough to not get fired.”

This one.

[–] BussyCat@lemmy.world 28 points 11 hours ago

The goal is apathy. How can I put in the absolute minimum amount of effort to not get fired with the mindset that if I did get fired it wouldn’t be the end of the world. It generally comes from feeling like you aren’t appreciated or properly compensated from your job.

I think the guy from office space with the “work just hard enough to not get fired” sums it up perfectly

It’s not a new concept as office space made a joke about it in the 90s but it’s a current buzzword and becomes more applicable as the gap between C suites and average employees continues to grow

[–] The_Caretaker@lemm.ee 91 points 18 hours ago (8 children)

Japan has strong worker protections. It is very difficult to fire an employee in Japan, without showing that the employee committed a crime. Employees can do practically nothing at work and still get paid. Call in sick as much as they want and the only penalty is not getting paid sick days once they run out of paid sick leave and vacation days. If an employer does mass layoffs, they have to show that the company is on the verge of bankruptcy and they have tried everything else, including reducing the pay of executives or removing executive positions before firing employees. Elon Musk is in hot water in Japan for mass firing Twitter employees in Japan. He violated Japanese labor laws.

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 9 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

It's a different culture altogether, where a job is expected"for life", which also makes it difficult to quit a job. People are literally hiring other people to deliver their resignation notices because it's impossible to do in person.

[–] The_Caretaker@lemm.ee 3 points 4 hours ago

No, not that I have seen. Job for life is some outdated Boomer generation shit. When people want to quit they just quit. But quitting on your own may mean no unemployment benefits. When an employer wants a worker to leave, for whatever reason, they come to ask the employee to resign and offer them some money for agreeing to quit. Usually about 3 months pay. The employee can also collect unemployment benefits for several months if the resignation is at the request of the employer. So if you want to quit, it's better to make your boss want you to leave, without committing any crimes. That way they ask you to resign. Much better than it was in the USA.

[–] demonsword@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago

Japan has strong worker protections

this doesn't apply to contractors and part-time employees, AFAIK

[–] cuteness@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

That was several years ago, so surely the water isn’t that hot. Have they tried bringing it to a rolling boil yet?

[–] The_Caretaker@lemm.ee 8 points 9 hours ago

As with most governments, Japan has a justice system that works slowly and methodically. Thousands of workers were not given their required notice or severance pay when they were unilaterally terminated. Twitter / Musk cannot make the case that the company was on the verge of bankruptcy and didn't even bother trying to. He just assumed because workers have no rights in the USA that he could do the same thing in Japan that he does in America. By not paying the workers their severance or giving them proper notice he opened himself up to each individual having the ability to sue him for at least a year's salary, probably more. The government can also attach additional fines and penalties because they have to dish out unemployment benefits for all of those workers because Musk broke the law. The water will boil when it boils and it won't stop.

[–] klemptor@startrek.website 4 points 9 hours ago

Ooh, 'boil the billionaires' has a nice ring to it

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[–] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 74 points 18 hours ago (11 children)

Yea, every article using the term quiet quitting is getting a down vote. Doing what you're paid for is simply doing your job. This is basically akin to getting mad you didn't get a tip. A TIP IS OPTIONAL.

[–] SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 32 points 16 hours ago

Doing just what you’re paid for and not one bit more is called “Work to Rule” and it’s just total bullshit that it’s an effective labour tactic of resistance, because it implies that exploitation is part of the expectation in capitalism.

People want to do a good job and employers milk that.

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