I’ve been “quiet quitting” - I just didn’t know it
Have you heard of the term “quiet quitting”? I’m here to explain. Simply put, it means to start setting boundaries with your workplace to have a better work/life balance…at least that’s the definition I subscribe to. Because of the “newness” of the term, it’s evolving as we speak. For now, we’ll use this definition for the purpose of this blog.
A little over 10 years ago I had a job as a therapist in community mental health and was a single mom of two little kids. They were 5 and 6 at the time, and you can imagine the germ factories they were back then… not to mention how busy things were with soccer, dance, and Girl Scouts. I knew if I wanted to be the mom I wanted to be and bring in an income, my professional life was going to look different than some of my colleagues. So I made a decision to learn to accept that. This meant that I wouldn’t be going to happy hours or events, I would only participate in continued education when it was during work hours, and I most definitely would not work on the weekends. At the time, I felt bad (kinda) because I knew my career was going to move much slower than my counterparts. It was true - as I worked within clear work/life boundaries, I noticed that my colleagues were making more money and getting in positions of power, and again, I had to be ok with that.
After years of community mental health work, I became an independent contractor, thinking I would get to be my own boss, which helped me make more money, but found out I was still attached to the rules of other people (you know, the people that “contracted” me). I had to meet a certain number of hours, and work Saturdays…BOOOOOO! So, I decided to start my own business. Now, I know that sounds fancy and all, but it was really a way for me to make my own rules, call the shots, and mostly to feel really proud of myself while also being the mom I wanted to be...balance if you will.
Sounds all good right? Right. I love what I have been able to do. Not only do I get to create my own schedule (for the most part, I mean I still have to earn an income), I get to spread the love of work/life boundaries to people that also work at Via, and that’s a great feeling. But, in the spirit of full transparency, I still have to remind myself that there are sacrifices that come with setting work boundaries and in my case, I remind myself often that I would rather have the balance than the burnout. So, years ago, I decided I was not going to fit into the corporate world model and decided to create one for myself.