Opinion | ‘Quiet quitting’ and ‘lying flat’: why the US and China cannot ignore these trends

Both buzzwords express a desire, by young Americans and Chinese, to live a more balanced life, against a backdrop of mounting debt or extreme stress

Washington and Beijing must act because US-China competition is not limited to international trade or geopolitical influence, but also the ability to give young people hope

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Although “quiet quitting” in the US and “lying flat” in China share some similarities, their causes are different. Photo: TNS

Published: 3:30am, 14 Sep 2022Updated: 3:51am, 14 Sep 2022

Thanks to Gen Z, “quiet quitting” has become the latest meme in the United States. Spreading from TikTok to the mainstream media, the term describes an employee who, instead of quitting a job outright, chooses to do the bare minimum to get by at work. The idea has been compared to “lying flat”, a similar buzzword that became popular in China in spring last year.

Both terms express a desire, whether by young people in the US or China, to live a healthier and more balanced life. If we look at the social conditions they grew up in, however, we will realise that these two terms are outcomes of different cultural traditions intertwined with government policies.

The US champions individual rights, freedom and independence. And yet in 2022, young people find themselves facing mounting difficulties: debt, high inflation and lack of social mobility.

In 2022, total student loan debt stands at US$1.75 trillion, or an average US$28,950 per borrower. More than half of students leave college with debt. It usually takes nearly 20 years to pay off such loans. In addition, runaway inflation makes everything more expensive, while real earnings shrink.

With many Americans being priced out of the housing market, social mobility is declining. According to a Pew survey last year, 68 per cent of Americans think the young generation will be worse off than their parents. All things considered, when being hardworking is not enough to get ahead, quiet quitting seems to be a logical coping strategy.

An employee hands a plate of food to a student at the dining hall on the University of California, Berkeley, campus in on August 30. College students returning to campus this fall will find their dining halls experimenting with everything from fewer salad dressings to “plant-powered” Mondays as schools look for ways to adapt to soaring inflation. Photo: Bloomberg

In the mainstream media, quiet quitting has been characterised as an extension of the “Great Resignation”, a movement which was driven by people reassessing their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic and placing greater value on family, friends and mental well-being.