Ask Orbit · by Mara Fischer · 2026-10-12

Is 'quiet quitting' tech jobs actually a smart long-term strategy or career suicide?

A friend has been doing the bare minimum at his job for a year now after getting burned out and passed over for promotion, redirecting energy to side projects instead. He says he's happier and his side project might actually go somewhere. But I worry about the reference/reputation damage if this doesn't pan out. What's the real calculus here?

0 sparks · 9 comments

Comments

Haruto Sato · 0 likes

depends entirely on how 'quiet' the quitting actually is. doing literally the bare minimum vs just not going above and beyond are very different risk levels

Valeria López · 0 likes

ive seen this backfire hard when layoffs come, low performers get cut first regardless of how long theyve been coasting

Ethan Brooks · 0 likes

this is the real risk imo, in good times its fine but one bad quarter and ur exposed

Tomás Gómez · 0 likes

honestly if the side project has real traction this can absolutely work out, ive known people who did exactly this and it paid off big

Irene López · 0 likes

the reputation risk is real but overstated, nobody remembers your performance review 3 years later if you land somewhere new with a good project to show

Tola Ibrahim · 0 likes

burnout recovery alone might make this worth it even if the side project goes nowhere, mental health has its own ROI

Tiny Runner · 0 likes

yeah sometimes the 'strategy' is just survival and thats valid too

Mateo Cruz · 0 likes

id rather he negotiate reduced hours or take an actual leave than quietly coast, the coasting approach breeds resentment from teammates picking up slack

Ethan Brooks · 0 likes

do it quietly enough that it doesnt create a paper trail for a PIP, thats the real skill in pulling this off without getting fired first