As our A–Z Glossary on Women and Work reaches the letter Q, we encounter a term that has quietly reshaped modern work culture. Quiet quitting has become a common term for exhaustion, boundary-setting, and survival in workplaces that demand more without providing sufficient return.
For women, quiet quitting rarely comes from disengagement or lack of ambition. It is often a response to emotional labour, invisible work, constant availability, and systems that reward endurance over fairness. ‘Q for Quiet Quitting’ is not about doing less. It is about stopping the slow erosion of energy, health, and self-worth.
What is Quiet Quitting?
Quiet Quitting does not mean leaving a job. It means performing the work for which you are hired, fulfilling your responsibilities, and remaining professional, but not exceeding what is reasonable or healthy. There is no additional unpaid effort, no endless late nights, and no constant willingness to give more than the role requires.
Quiet Quitting is not a sign of laziness. It is a response to workplaces where expectations continue to rise, while recognition, growth, and fairness do not. When appreciation and respect are absent, people withdraw. Women do this even more because they are often expected to ‘give a little extra‘ without being asked directly.
Who is Quiet Quitting?
Quiet quitting is happening across the world. Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace report notes that about 59% of the global workforce falls into the quiet quitting category. Research also finds that mid-career men and women step back at nearly the same rate, with about 22% of men and 20% of women quietly withdrawing.
Why does Quiet Quitting matter for women?
Quiet quitting matters for women because it exists in a workplace system that already treats them differently. Many women handle work that no one officially assigns to them. They coordinate tasks, guide teams, support colleagues, smooth conflicts, manage communication, and protect team wellbeing.
This unseen emotional and organisational labour often falls on women because workplaces still view them as “naturally caring,” “more patient,” or “better at people management,” even when it is not part of their job role. This is gender bias, even when it looks subtle.
Most of this extra work goes unnoticed and unrewarded. It rarely leads to promotions or pay increments. Instead, women face expectations to always be helpful, calm, available, and understanding. When they do not take on this extra labour, they risk being labelled as difficult, uncooperative, or less committed than men, who are rarely judged in this way for setting boundaries.
Why are women quietly quitting?
People quit because work demands too much without offering enough reward or fairness. Burnout spreads as expectations rise, and recognition often lags. Many employees believe they give more effort than they receive in pay, appreciation, opportunities, or respect. Around 8 in 10 quiet quitters already experience burnout, so exhaustion plays a significant role in this decision.
For women, the experience becomes more complex. Studies show that workplace conditions, emotional expectations, and social roles influence how women engage with work. Among working mothers, unfair pay strongly drives withdrawal. In one study, 92.2% of working mothers reported stepping back because their wages did not match the amount of work they performed.
Health is a factor. Many women go through perimenopause and other health transitions, yet most workplaces do not adjust workloads, expectations, or policies to support them. Instead, organisations expect women to manage everything on their own, which pushes many toward quiet quitting.
How can workplaces address Quiet Quitting?
Quiet quitting does not disappear by forcing employees to do more. Workplaces must understand why people withdraw and actively create environments that feel fair, supportive, and sustainable.
Clear expectations and fair workload
- Define roles clearly so employees know what they are responsible for
- Set realistic timelines instead of constantly pushing urgency
- Distribute workload fairly to avoid overburdening a few people
Recognition and growth
- Acknowledge effort consistently instead of only noticing failures
- Offer growth opportunities, learning support, and career pathways
- Reward contributions in meaningful and transparent ways
Supportive leadership and communication
- Train managers to listen, communicate, and support teams
- Encourage honest conversations about stress, concerns, and workload
- Build trust instead of fear-based work environments
Wellbeing and burnout support
- Address burnout directly instead of ignoring it
- Encourage boundaries around working hours
- Create wellbeing initiatives that employees can actually use
Fair pay and economic respect
- Ensure wages match effort and responsibility
- Maintain transparency in compensation practices
Support for women, mothers, and health needs
- Provide flexibility and support for caregiving responsibilities
- Recognise that women experience unique pressures at work
- Support women dealing with perimenopause, menopause, and health transitions with understanding, flexibility, and policy support instead of expecting silent endurance
Women are not stepping back because they lack commitment. They are stepping back because the system often expects more from them while giving less in return.
The closing thoughts
Quiet quitting tells us that workplaces must listen. Clear roles, fair wages, better support systems, attention to women’s lived realities, and respect for personal time can reduce the need for quiet quitting. When individuals feel valued, they do not need to withdraw. They engage with confidence and stability.
ChangeInContent will be back with the next letter in The A–Z of Women and Work, building this series one essential topic at a time.
Changeincontent perspective
Quiet quitting forces organisations to confront an uncomfortable truth. People do not withdraw because they stop caring. They withdraw because caring has cost them too much. For women especially, stepping back is often the only way to survive systems that normalise overwork, underpay care, and penalise boundaries.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content. We broadly define inclusivity as media, policies, law, and history. It encompasses all elements that influence the lives of women and marginalised individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
