By EEW Magazine News // African American Issues

Quiet quitting —the idea of not outright quitting your job but quitting the hustle of going above and beyond at work—was popularized on TikTok before being co opted by mainstream publications and subsequently the masses.

But some experts say that despite quiet quitting making a ton of headlines recently, this is largely a luxury for white workers, while workers of color don't feel safe setting the same boundaries.

Celeste R. Warren, vice president of the Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence at Merck and author of How to Be a Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador: Everyone’s Role in Helping All Feel Accepted, Engaged, and Valued, points out that much of the hype around so-called quiet quitting doesn't take into account the struggles of minority employees.

“Workers of color already typically have to go above and beyond at work to get ahead or just to get a foot in the door,” Warren says. "As a result, quiet quitting simply isn't an option for them."

She argues that this is especially true when considering the historically racist stereotypes of laziness plaguing many people of color, and it's worse in workplaces that haven't embraced or enacted diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“Many individuals feel they don’t have a role in driving diversity and inclusion across the company, but everyone has a role to play,” Warren explains. “Whether you’re a senior leader, a middle manager or an entry-level employee, all of us are important and critical to any strategy for driving a diverse and inclusive culture.”

She says this includes expecting the same level of engagement and respecting the same work-life balance and boundaries for all workers of all backgrounds.

A piece published in NY Times titled “Quiet Quitting Won’t Work for Everyone” further notes, there are plenty individuals that “wish they could quietly quit but believe they could never get away with it because of their race or gender.”

Where is the lie?

It is a commonly known broadly repeated saying that “Black people must work three times as hard” to secure professional positions and promotions.

While everyone should strive for some semblance of work-life balance and avoid losing themselves in the frenetic pace of the constant grind, phoning it in is not the answer.

Whatever your stance may be on quiet quitting, as a Christian, a good guideline is found in Scripture: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people” (Colossians 3:23 NLT).