Employees who do not go beyond their job descriptions, managers' complaints of 'a strange new generation,' this phenomenon called 'quiet quitting' is rewriting the codes of working life in Turkey, just as it is all over the world.
Sociologist Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan, evaluating the desire of young generation employees to limit themselves only to their job descriptions, said, “Young people do not want to give the system more than what they are paid. This is a kind of emotional withdrawal. Young people are not saying 'they don't want to work.' They are asking, 'Why should I spend my time, energy, and health to enrich someone else?'”
Uskudar University Head of Sociology Department Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan sociologically evaluated the idea of working just enough to make a living, which is becoming widespread among young people all over the world and in Turkey, and is also known as 'quiet quitting.'
All Dynamics of Working Life Are Changing
Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan pointed out that similar behavioral patterns to 'quiet quitting' are observed among young generation employees in Turkey, especially in big cities, and said, “The general feeling among young people is 'too much work, too little appreciation, zero security.' Today's worker brings their body to the workplace but leaves their soul outside. We are living in an era where working life is becoming precarious, work does not offer people a future perspective, and labor is not compensated fairly. For this reason, young generations are questioning what work serves and what it brings. This questioning is changing all the dynamics of working life that we have known and been accustomed to until now.”
Young Generation Employees Want to Limit Themselves Only to Job Descriptions
Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan, also evaluating the desire of young generation employees to limit themselves only to their job descriptions, said, “Once upon a time, loyalty and dedication at work were rewarded with promotions or the appreciation of the boss. Today, the greatest reward is presented as keeping one's job. At the end of the day, often only a salary eroded by inflation and intense stress remain. For this reason, young people do not want to give the system more than what they are paid. Older generations and bosses often explain this situation by saying 'young people are lazy.' However, this is a kind of emotional withdrawal. Young people are not saying 'they don't want to work.' They just think they are not getting the value for their labor. They ask, 'Why should I spend my time, energy, and health to enrich someone else?' Their families, who worked long hours with dedication, may have lost their health and not spent enough time with them, but they were rewarded with financial compensation. When this reward disappeared, a serious rupture began in work culture.”
For Gen Z, Work Is Not at the Center of Life
Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan, stating that Generation X, who are in working life, are gritting their teeth today, continued:
“They are counting down the days while doing their work dispassionately. This generation managed to save some money, for better or worse. They dream of retiring as soon as possible. But with current pension benefits, the dream of retirement could turn into a nightmare. Even though they grew up in a very different work culture, they are now internally entering a quiet quitting mode. They look at the young people and question their past years. Generation Y (1981–1996) encountered incompetence and livelihood concerns in jobs they entered with great hopes. They have no savings, and long working years are ahead of them. Financial reward may still be attractive to them. As for Generation Z (post-1997), the narrative we learned from our families, 'work hard, one day it will be yours,' seems ridiculous to them. For these young people, work is not at the center of life. Work is merely a means of livelihood.”
Young People Focus on Their Own Lives Instead of Making Sacrifices for the Workplace
“For young people in today's world, buying a house, owning a car, or raising children by working an average job has become a distant dream,” said Prof. Dr. Erdoğan. “It is quite normal for this generation, which cannot access almost any of the opportunities their parents had by working at a young age, not to show the same loyalty to the workplace. Because there is no longer a working life that rewards loyalty. In this situation, young people are focusing on their own lives instead of making sacrifices for the workplace. They are trying to find the meaning of life in non-work areas.”
Young People Demand Value, Respect, and a Liveable Wage
Prof. Dr. Erdoğan, pointing out that a significant portion of older generation managers in Turkey find it difficult to understand this transformation, concluded his words as follows:
“Especially managers working in traditional sectors interpret young people's lack of corporate loyalty as 'indiscipline' or 'ingratitude.' However, this is an extremely superficial reading. Young people's expectations from their workplaces have changed. They demand value, respect, and a liveable wage. A system that constantly prioritizes the needs of the workplace under a command-and-control hierarchy stifles them. Therefore, they are pushing the system for a new work ethic.”