Boomer parents' perspective towards 'quiet quitting' changes after seeing their child's struggle

The job market is not a happy place for employees as it has always skewed in the favor of the employers. It has been a reason for distress for job-seekers and employees, giving rise to phenomena such as quiet quitting or career cushioning. The boomer generation does not take kindly to these phenomena, thinking it is just a way for the present generation to escape work. It was the message that No-Government-7492 received from their parents throughout their lives, as they were the biggest critics of the attitude young people had toward their jobs. Their tone changed when their own child went through the predicament of the present job market.

The employee began the post by giving a background about their present situation. They wrote, "I started a new job 8 days, 6 business days, ago...Today, my HR manager gave me a call and told me that I can either take a 25% pay cut or leave my job." Such a behavior is sheer disrespect, but unfortunately, it is the reality of most workplaces. They have a great understanding of the economy and the desperation that some of the employees have for a job. The organization plays on that and changes terms as per their convenience. 

It has definitely raised a lot of red flags for the employee. They added, "I'm not even done onboarding yet, as they want me to watch nearly 40 hours of training along with applying for all my permissions without telling me what they are." This behavior has made the employee revisit their decision to stay with the company. The job was never supposed to be permanent and was just a way to hold them over until a better opportunity came their way. They had already taken a 30% pay cut for the job and another 25% did not seem feasible. 

The employee was contacted by their parents who told them the whole thing. They shared about their parents, "Both my parents are avid Fox News watchers and had been complaining about the 'quiet quitting epidemic' for some time." Therefore, they did not expect a lot of support from their parents. But to their surprise, the tone of the conversation was completely different. Their father suggested, "Oh, you should quit and find a better opportunity." The mother added, "Take the offer, look for a new job and do the bare minimum at my current position."

The employee was shocked to hear this as their parents were usually against this trend. They reminded them that this is "quiet quitting" and in turn, they encouraged it more. This change in belief must have taken place by watching their own child's struggle in the one-sided system. It was shocking but at the same time heartening. They explain, "I'm glad I finally got them to see the light of how messed up our economy is. And I feel very proud about it, prouder than most other things in my life and I made discoveries in my industry that fundamentally changed it and you know what, I feel more proud about this than I do that."

The comments section applauded this change of thinking. u/typical_jesus666 wrote how things gain a bit more clarity when they get personal, "I think it's like a lot of things, people suddenly understand when it becomes personal." u/Federal-Sand-9008 commented how the situation required more firm laws, "It baffles me how your laws permit this. Where I live, it's illegal to reduce a person's salary once they have been registered. They would need to fire and re-hire you with a lower salary to accomplish that, but doing so is considered unjustified dismissal so it gives you ground for legal complaints. It sucks to have you doing quiet quitting a week into the new job, but at least you know that things won't be getting any better, so you can move on with looking for another job."