What have you “quiet quit?”

This piece is great, and forces a reflection: What does it mean that so many women are leaving what no longer serves them? That we are walking away from plum jobs, professional opportunities, relationships, etc., and are okay with it—even if all of those things were once a proud part of our identity?

In one part of the piece the author writes, “We are quietly quitting the things that once defined us.”

I was raised with a strong, full-time working mother who I adore, who excelled professionally, who showed me the importance of independence in every sense... and who also somehow had a meal on the table every night, and kept a beautiful home.

I really thought I could do the same thing—everything in life, full out.

What I didn’t account for was how the working world has changed drastically since the 80s and 90s, while the expectations put on women have not.

I was quietly burning out in my job in TV news.

I chose to do something I never thought I’d do—I walked away from a career I’d given everything to. Yes, I’m fortunate I was able to, and I’m also grateful for a partner who saw me struggling and gave me the space and time to redefine my place in the world.

When you realize you need no one else’s permission to evolve into a new version of yourself, it’s seismic.

So no, it doesn’t surprise me that women are quiet quitting a world that was never built around us, and becoming, as the author says, the “awakening generation.”

A huge shoutout to the author, Jennifer, for articulating this movement that so many women have experienced.