General
quiet retreating
What does quiet retreating mean?
Deliberately dialing down one's career drive and workload to preserve mental health and personal time, without fully disengaging from the job.
"After the burnout scare she started quiet retreating, declining stretch projects to guard her evenings."
Origin
Named in mid-2020s workplace-trend coverage in the 'quiet' family of terms.
Frequently asked questions
What is quiet retreating?
It's deliberately dialing back your career ambition and workload to protect your mental health and personal time, without fully checking out of the job.
How is quiet retreating different from quiet quitting?
Quiet quitting is doing only the bare minimum; quiet retreating is intentionally lowering your ambition to guard wellbeing while still staying engaged.
Where does the term come from?
It emerged in mid-2020s workplace-trend coverage alongside other 'quiet' terms like quiet quitting and quiet firing.
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