DEI Can End Quiet Quitting. Here’s How.

Dr. Nika White • September 19, 2022

Quiet quitting has taken the business world by storm. It’s a phenomenon where workers are no longer going above and beyond to please employers in the workplace, but instead meeting the minimum requirements as outlined in their job descriptions. While many workers are enjoying the work-life balance, not everyone is okay with workers cruising to the finish line.

Thousands of people are talking about why they chose to quiet quit or how they can stop their employees from doing it. The opinions are widespread on the pros and cons and why it happens at all. From business owners to employees, the Boomer generation to Gen-Z, the deeper issue of quiet quitting comes down to boundaries, work productivity, and work-life balance; or as I like to call it, work-life blend.

What if DEI could be the overlooked solution to slowing down quiet quitting? Today, we’ll explore exactly that. We’ll talk about how DEI can help employees receive greater work-life blend and satisfaction while helping businesses create work environments that address the issues fueling the quiet quitting movement.

The Double Standard Of Quiet Quitting For Marginalized People

I don’t like the phrase “quiet quitting.” I don’t think it has much to do with quitting at all. I think of it more as employees setting boundaries and meeting job expectations. Is self-preservation in the workplace really that bad? The truth is: quiet quitting (or setting boundaries as I like to say) could have disproportionate impacts on folks of color and other marginalized groups.

It’s long been known that marginalized folks such as gender minorities, people of color, and people with disabilities have been perceived as less capable of producing the same quality output as the dominant group.

If a person from a marginalized group chose to quiet quit for self-preservation and work-life blend, would these already existing stereotypes become more prominent? It’s fair to say some marginalized folks don’t have the privilege to quiet quit without it being noticed and used against them in the workplace.

Historically, people of color, gender minorities, and folks with disabilities have been expected to work twice as hard as the dominant group even if they’re exhausted, burnt out, and battling daily microaggressions. Even then, their work can often be overlooked and undervalued.

With the rise of quiet quitting, there’s a risk that if certain groups assert their boundaries and claim their work-life balance, it could further perpetuate stereotypes of racism, sexism, and ableism that keep some groups out of the race for advancement opportunities.

Quiet Quitting Is About A Difference In Values

It’s important to state that owners and managers value certain aspects of being in business that employees may not. Employers may value impact, profit, reach, and sales while employees may value their contribution, impact, balance, and wellbeing. Being honest and open about what motivates each party at work may reveal why there are so many different opinions about quiet quitting.

I’m hearing from business owners in the Boomer generation that those who quiet quit are lazy, slackers, and don’t value “real work” while Millennials and Gen-Zers are embracing quiet quitting as an opportunity to distance themselves from an overbearing work atmosphere and to reclaim their work-life blend.

While different generations may view the issue through different lenses, a few questions remain: Do employees need to revolve their lives around work? Does good work mean more work? Is work-life balance only afforded to those at the top of the hierarchy? Do people feel respected enough to go above and beyond? Or are workplaces leaving some employees feeling underappreciated?

As we ponder these questions, there are some things businesses and employees can think about to help lower the temperature on quiet quitting.

How To Prevent Or Slow Quiet Quitting In The Workplace

If you’re a business owner whose employees are quiet quitting at high rates or you’re an employee who’s on the verge of quiet quitting yourself, there are a few ways DEI can help remedy the situation.

1. Build Trusting, Genuine Relationships Between Leadership And Employees

Part of the emergent quiet quitting trend is the result of employees not trusting their employers to look out for their best interests and needs. The pervasive idea that some employees need to be workhorses at the expense of their physical, mental, and financial wellbeing is harmful to leadership, other employees, and the workplace as a whole. Plus, it can drive some workers to give up on any desire to go the extra mile and focus on self-preservation instead.

In an article recently published by Harvard Business Review, the quiet quitting epidemic is explained as perhaps being more about unresponsive managers than lazy employees. They found that “the least effective managers have three to four times as many people who fall in the ‘quiet quitting’ category compared to the most effective leaders.”

Unconcerned and uncompassionate leadership may be a bigger culprit than previously thought. Shifting from seeing employees as workhorses whose value depends solely on their output to seeing them as individuals with whom you want to develop trusting work relationships may help slow down quiet quitting. The process requires leadership and employees to work together to build the psychological safety to communicate more, listen more deeply, and find a happy medium that maintains output but also fosters employee satisfaction.

2. Allow Employees To Set Boundaries

In DEI, work boundaries and wellbeing are essential topics. If employees feel underappreciated, underpaid, and have few boundaries separating work from their personal lives, it’s a recipe for burnout and underperformance.

While many businesses prefer to hire rockstars who can work 12 hours a day and never complain, know that the average person can’t work to that degree without burning out. Not everyone can or wants to work 10+ hours a day to prove their loyalty to a business.

Workers should feel the safety and freedom to take off early to handle private affairs with their families or take a personal day to recoup and recover from a busy work period. The boundaries between personal time and work haven’t always been respected and may have influenced some workers to quiet quit.

If organizations want to slow down quiet quitting, they have to think about how being more attentive to the boundaries set by employees can help–not hurt–output, work-life blend, and retention.

3. Address The Root Cause: Burnout

If you look underneath the hood of the quiet quitting epidemic, you’ll see massive burnout–people who aren’t sleeping well, are stretched too thin and are not utilizing their PTO.

It’s unrealistic to expect employees to go above and beyond at work when they’re burnt out and exhausted. The challenging part for employers is that not every employee will communicate verbally that they’re struggling. Some will suffer in silence until it’s too late. Fortunately, leadership and fellow employees alike can take a proactive approach and become familiar with the signs of burnout.

If you notice some employees…

  • Look physically and emotionally drained
  • Isolate themselves in their office or cubicle for hours and days on end
  • Become short-tempered and irritable with other employees
  • Seem to be out sick more frequently than usual

…then, the employee may be burnt out and in need of some R&R, even if they don’t ask for it. Make it a mission to encourage employees to use their PTO and sick days even if it’s for personal rest. The goal is to support employees who may not be able to advocate for themselves and help them feel like they have an ally who’s got their back.

Additionally, if people are working 40+ hours every week and feel the need to work more hours to make ends meet, perhaps their pay is too low. The pay gap is still an issue for women, racial minorities, and folks with disabilities. Low pay and too many hours can easily cause someone to burn out and quiet quit as a way to preserve their energy, time, and wellbeing.

4. Foster An Inclusive, Compassionate Work Environment

For some employees, quiet quitting is a response to a challenging, uncomfortable, or unwelcoming workplace. Why would any person work harder in a place where they don’t want to be? If the workplace were more compassionate, inclusive, and met their needs, wouldn’t they be more inspired to stick around and do their best? I think so.

Managers and leaders should work to create an environment where people feel accepted, understood, and supported. There are several ways organizations can create physically inclusive spaces.

However, building an inclusive cultural environment is just as important as an inclusive physical environment. Leadership should think about how to foster healthy work cultures where people feel comfortable showing up fully and where their gender, race, ability, or sexuality are seen, respected, and embraced. Only when folks feel seen and respected will they be willing and eager to stick around and do their best at work.

5. Be Transparent And Set Expectations About The Company Culture And Job Requirements

Quiet quitting is forcing some employees to be self-reflective about their work situation, their needs, and desires. It’s empowering for them to leverage their agency and take control of their energy and work output.

However, where there are pros, there are cons. One con is that quiet quitting could backfire on employees who are in non-recession-proof roles. With the recession looming, it’s important for employees who have bought into quiet quitting to think twice about the message they may be sending to leadership and to be very clear about their job expectations before accepting new employment.

The last time I checked, companies are still hiring people who would willingly go above and beyond. They aren’t hiring those who are average or are producing mediocre results. The reality is that competition in the marketplace still exists and the mentality of hiring the best person for the job will continue to win out in the minds of many recruiters and managers.

I believe in transparency in the workplace. It’s critical to communicate the expectations of the role before employees accept offers. Having that transparency allows both potential employees and employers to decide if the role will be too taxing or right on par with an employee’s productivity level and work-life blend.

Companies have to make sure that the right role will be met by a person who is willing to do the work. The more informed everyone is about the roles and expectations, the better the outcome and perhaps the less likely it will be that someone quiet quits.

Final Thoughts

Employees have choices just like employers. The quiet quitting movement is all about employees choosing to slow down, set boundaries, and step away as employers overlook their need for work-life balance. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

It takes organizations and individuals working together to look at the underlying motivations for quiet quitting and then collaborate to build a workplace that addresses both parties’ needs. Only through productive conversations, trust-building with leadership, and actionable DEI change will we see a decline in quiet quitting.

 

Read more from The Human Shift on Substack, where I share long-form essays on leadership, culture, and how we work and live.

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The Question Beneath the Question-What a Request for Reassurance May Actually be Telling You

By Nika White • October 19, 2026
A team member asks whether you’re happy with their work. You answer yes. A few days later, they ask again. It’s tempting to assume they need more confidence. But maybe they’re trying to understand where they stand with you. When expectations change without explanation, or praise is followed by unexpected criticism, people start looking for clues. Even a straightforward question can carry a second question: Am I safe to trust what you’re telling me? We’ve talked in The Human Shift about what people learn from our reactions. They learn from our consistency, too. A reassuring answer matters. A predictable experience makes that answer believable. A Reframe Reassurance helps in the moment. Consistency helps people stop needing to ask. One Simple Practice When someone seeks reassurance, answer their question. Then ask, ‘Is there anything about my expectations that feels unclear?’ Listen without making them defend the question. What This Looks Like In Practice A director notices that a capable colleague keeps checking whether a presentation is ready. Instead of saying ‘You’re fine’ again, she explains what good looks like, what decisions the colleague owns, and when feedback will come. The repeated checking begins to ease. Question to Consider Where might someone need clearer expectations rather than another encouraging word? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What helps you feel confident that you know where you stand with a leader?

Before Culture Changes, Climate Changes Every lasting culture shift begins in everyday interactions

By Nika White • October 12, 2026
Organizations spend a lot of time talking about culture. Mission statements. Values. Leadership competencies. Strategic plans. All of those have a place. But culture doesn't change because new language appears on a website or because a new initiative is announced. Culture begins changing much earlier than that. It changes when people experience something different. A meeting where they feel heard. A leader who responds with curiosity instead of defensiveness. A difficult conversation that ends with greater trust instead of greater distance. A mistake that becomes an opportunity to learn instead of something to hide. Earlier in The Human Shift, we've explored trust, presence, silence, repair, pace, and leadership aftermath. They may seem like separate ideas, but they all point to the same truth. Before culture shifts, emotional climate shifts. People begin feeling safer. More connected. More willing to contribute. More willing to tell the truth. Culture follows those experiences. A Reframe Culture isn't built one initiative at a time. It's built one interaction at a time. One Simple Practice At the end of this week, don't ask yourself, "What did I accomplish?" Ask, "What kind of environment did I help create for the people around me?" Notice what comes to mind. What This Looks Like In Practice A leadership team spends months discussing ways to improve collaboration. Instead of launching another initiative, they begin with a commitment. Every leader will become more intentional about listening, repairing conversations, slowing unnecessary urgency, and making it safer for people to speak honestly. Six months later, employees describe the culture differently. Not because the organization changed overnight. Because the experience of working there changed first. Question to Consider If culture is built through everyday interactions, what kind of culture are your interactions creating today? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What's one small leadership habit you believe has the biggest impact on culture?

Emotional Memory Outlasts Organizational Memory - People Forget Many Meetings. They Rarely Forget How They Consistently Felt.

By Nika White • October 5, 2026
Think about a leader who had a lasting impact on you. You probably remember a few things they said. You almost certainly remember how it felt to work with them. Maybe you felt trusted. Maybe you felt anxious every time they called. Maybe you felt challenged in a way that helped you grow. Maybe you felt like you were constantly trying to avoid disappointing them. That emotional memory stays with us much longer than most organizational moments. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored the leadership aftermath and the emotional tone leaders leave behind. Over time, those individual experiences become something much larger. They become the stories people tell about what it was like to work there. That's one of the ways culture is built. Not through one memorable event. Through repeated emotional experiences. A Reframe People don't remember every interaction. They remember the pattern those interactions created. One Simple Practice Think about someone you lead. Complete this sentence: "When this person thinks about working with me, I hope they remember feeling..." Don't overthink it. Write the first word that comes to mind. Then ask yourself whether your daily interactions support that hope. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader asks several team members what they appreciate most about working together. None of them mention strategy. None of them mention goals. Every response describes an experience. "I know you'll listen." "I always leave our conversations feeling clearer." "I know where I stand." The leader realizes those experiences have become part of the team's culture. Question to Consider If someone reflected on working with you five years from now, what feeling would you hope they remember most? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. When you think about the best leader you've ever worked with, what feeling comes to mind first?

The Pace People Borrow From You. Your Team Notices Your Rhythm More Than Your Schedule

By Nika White • September 28, 2026
Leaders often influence pace without realizing it. The speed of your responses. The urgency in your voice. How quickly you move from one meeting to the next. How often you say, "We need this right away." People notice. Then they adjust. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored the tension between speed and clarity . Pace is different from productivity. Pace is the emotional rhythm people begin to adopt simply by working around you. If everything feels urgent to you, it eventually feels urgent to everyone else. A Reframe People don't just respond to your priorities. They respond to your pace. One Simple Practice Before beginning your next meeting, ask yourself, "What pace does this conversation actually need?" Not every discussion deserves urgency. Some deserve room to think. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader starts opening meetings with sixty seconds of quiet before diving into discussion. At first it feels unusual. Within a few weeks, people arrive more focused, interrupt each other less, and make decisions with greater confidence. The work isn't slower. It's steadier. Question to Consider If someone matched your pace every day, what would their work experience feel like? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What pace are you setting that others may be quietly adopting?

Repair Builds More Trust Than Perfection - People rarely expect flawless leaders. They do remember honest ones.

By Nika White • September 21, 2026
Every leader gets it wrong sometimes. A conversation comes across differently than intended. A decision has unintended consequences. Someone leaves feeling overlooked. The mistake itself isn't usually what determines trust. What happens next often does. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored leadership aftermath and the emotional tone people carry after interactions. Repair is one of the most powerful ways to change that aftermath. It communicates something every healthy culture needs to hear. "We can acknowledge what happened without pretending it didn't." A Reframe Trust isn't built because mistakes never happen. It's built because people know they won't be ignored when they do. One Simple Practice Think about one recent interaction that doesn't sit quite right. Reach back out. A simple, "I've been thinking about our conversation, and I'd like to check in," can reopen trust. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader realizes she interrupted a team member several times during a meeting. The next morning she stops by his office. "I don't think I gave your perspective enough space yesterday. I'd like to hear the rest of your thoughts." The conversation lasts ten minutes. The impact lasts much longer. Question to Consider What conversation might be waiting for a repair instead of an explanation? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Has someone ever repaired a conversation with you in a way you'll never forget?

Curiosity Changes the Climate - Why questions often move people further than answers

By Nika White • September 8, 2026
Many leaders feel pressure to have answers. It's understandable. People look to leaders for direction, especially when things feel uncertain. But some of the most influential leaders I've worked with ask better questions instead of giving faster answers. Questions create space. Answers often close it. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored how people respond to a leader's presence before they respond to their words . Curiosity creates a different kind of presence. It tells people their perspective matters before a solution is ever offered. A Reframe The goal isn't to have the smartest answer. The goal is to create the kind of conversation where better thinking becomes possible. One Simple Practice The next time someone brings you a challenge, resist solving it immediately. Instead ask, "What do you think is most important for us to understand before we decide what to do?" Then listen. What This Looks Like In Practice A manager walks into a meeting ready to solve a recurring team issue. Instead of offering her recommendation first, she invites the team to share what they're noticing. The conversation uncovers a pattern no one had previously connected. The solution becomes stronger because more people helped build it. Question to Consider Do people leave conversations with you feeling like they contributed or simply received direction? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. When was the last time a thoughtful question changed your perspective?

Permission Is Always Being Given- Leaders communicate more through behavior than instruction

By Nika White • August 31, 2026
Leaders often wonder why their teams aren't doing more of something. Speaking up. Collaborating. Taking initiative. Thinking creatively. The answer is sometimes found in the everyday moments that seem unrelated. People pay attention to what leaders actually do. If a leader says they value reflection but never slows down, people learn that speed matters more. If a leader encourages honest feedback but becomes defensive when receiving it, people learn that honesty has limits. If a leader talks about work-life balance but sends emails late into the evening, people learn what the real expectation is. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored unspoken expectations . Most cultures are shaped less by formal messages than by repeated observations. A Reframe Whether you realize it or not, you're always giving people permission. The question is what you're giving them permission to do. One Simple Practice Complete this sentence: "My team probably believes it's okay to..." Write down the first answer that comes to mind. Then ask yourself whether your behavior has been teaching that lesson intentionally. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader tells her team they don't need to respond after hours. Then she notices she's emailing at 10:30 every night. She schedules those messages to send the next morning instead. Nothing about the policy changes. Everything about the signal does. Question to Consider If people copied your leadership habits exactly, what kind of culture would they create? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What's one behavior of yours that may be communicating more loudly than your words?

What Your Team Is Learning From Your Reactions - Every response teaches people what feels safe

By Nika White • August 24, 2026
People pay attention to what leaders celebrate. They pay even closer attention to what leaders react to. A frustrated sigh. A quick interruption. An impatient email. A defensive response to feedback. None of these moments seem particularly significant on their own. But people are always learning from them. They begin to understand which questions are welcome. Which mistakes feel risky. Which conversations require extra caution. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored how silence often becomes a cultural signal. Silence rarely appears without first being taught what feels safe to say. Your reactions become part of that lesson. A Reframe People don't simply hear your expectations. They study your reactions. One Simple Practice The next time someone brings you unexpected news, resist the urge to respond immediately. Take one slow breath. Become curious before becoming corrective. That small pause often changes the entire conversation. What This Looks Like In Practice A team member admits she made an error that will delay a project. Instead of immediately asking how it happened, the leader asks, "Tell me what you've learned so far." The conversation shifts from self-protection to problem-solving. The mistake still gets addressed. The person doesn't leave feeling like the mistake defines them. Question to Consider What have your reactions been teaching people lately? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. If someone made a mistake today, would they feel comfortable bringing it to you quickly?

The Emotional Tone You Leave Behind - Why people often remember the feeling more than the conversation

By Nika White • August 17, 2026
Most leaders spend a lot of time thinking about what they're going to say. They prepare for difficult conversations. They organize their thoughts. They choose their words carefully. All of that matters. But long after people forget the details of the conversation, they usually remember something else. They remember how they felt. Did they leave feeling encouraged? Did they leave feeling smaller? Did they leave feeling trusted? Did they leave feeling like they had to be careful? Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored the idea of leadership aftermath. What people carry after interacting with you shapes culture in ways that are easy to overlook because they happen quietly. Most leaders don't intentionally create emotional tone. They create it anyway. A Reframe Every interaction leaves something behind. The question isn't whether you're shaping the emotional climate. It's what you're leaving in it. One Simple Practice At the end of your next one-on-one meeting, don't evaluate what you said first. Instead ask yourself: "If I were on the other side of that conversation, how would I describe how it felt?" Notice what comes to mind before you analyze it. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader finishes a performance conversation feeling relieved because she finally addressed a difficult issue. Later that day she asks herself how the conversation may have felt for the employee. She realizes she spent most of the meeting explaining expectations and very little time asking questions. The next conversation feels different because she changes the experience, not just the message. Question to Consider When people leave a conversation with you, what do you hope they carry with them? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Think about a leader you've never forgotten. What do you remember most: what they said or how they consistently made you feel?

When People Stop Bringing You Problems - Why This Isn't Always a Sign of Progress

By Nika White • August 10, 2026
Leaders often celebrate when complaints decrease. Concerns become less frequent. Questions slow down. Conflict seems to disappear. Sometimes that's a sign of growth. Sometimes it's a sign that people have stopped bringing things forward. Earlier in The Human Shift, When Teams Stop Telling You Things , we explored silence as a cultural signal. Silence is not always agreement. Sometimes it is adaptation. People learn what feels worth raising. What feels safe to discuss. What is likely to go nowhere. A Reframe A lack of problems does not automatically mean a healthy culture. One Simple Practice Ask someone you trust: "What is something people may be hesitant to tell me?" Listen without defending. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader notices fewer concerns being raised in meetings. Instead of assuming everything is fine, she creates space for honest conversation. What emerges isn't crisis. It's information that had simply been waiting for a safer place to surface. Question to Consider What information might be missing from the conversations you're having? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. When people disagree with you, do they usually tell you?