Sisters In Law: What to do if your boss performance manages you over ‘quiet quitting’

A tech worker was regularly putting in 50-plus-hour weeks for his employer, but since rejecting the crazy workload he has been singled out by his boss.

Welcome to Sisters In Law, news.com.au’s weekly column solving all of your legal problems. This week, our resident lawyers and real-life sisters Alison and Jillian Barrett from Maurice Blackburn advise about being performance managed in a job.

Question:

I work for a start-up tech company that expects its staff to go above and beyond. Prior to the pandemic, I was regularly pulling 50-plus-hour weeks, working on weekends, and replying to emails in the evenings. But lockdown made me re-prioritise my life and I’ve decided to work to live instead of live to work.

Slowly, over the past year I have put more boundaries in place at work. I try to work my 37.5 paid hours, have taken my emails off my mobile phone and no longer work weekends – ever. I believe the phrase for what I’m doing is called ‘quiet quitting’ but I like to call it ‘doing my job in the hours I’m paid’.

Recently my boss pulled me aside to say she’s noticed I’m not “putting in the hours” anymore and that I may have to go into “performance management” if my “attitude doesn’t improve”. She added that “putting in extra” is all part of the “culture” at our workplace.

I don’t have a bad attitude – I simply don’t want to half kill myself to get the job done anymore. What are my rights? I feel like they’re trying to performance manage me out of a job. – Harry, NSW

‘I don’t have a bad attitude – I simply don’t want to half kill myself to get the job done anymore,’ he said. Picture: iStock

Answer:

For those that aren’t aware, the new term ‘quiet quitting’ is rejecting the ‘hustle’ culture or the idea that work has to take over your life and instead simply doing what is required of you in your role.

This might include not staying back late unpaid, and not responding to emails or answering calls outside of normal working hours.

During the Covid lockdown it may have seemed like there was nothing else to do than work, so people stayed online working longer hours which led to unpaid overtime and perhaps negative impacts on a person’s mental health.

It sounds like your real concern is that your boss is trying to performance manage you as you’re no longer subscribing to that former hustle culture of work.

You cannot be terminated for doing what is expected of you in your job – you should review your employment contract and position description to ensure you haven’t unintentionally failed to meet the inherent requirements of your role.

Check your contract. Picture: iStock

Your employment can be terminated if you aren’t meeting the inherent requirements of your role.

In addition to reviewing your employment contract and position description you should also review your employer’s policies and practices about your role and what is expected of you.

If this isn’t clear, then you should speak with your boss and ask her to explain the expectations of your role and notify you of any expectations you aren’t meeting – then ask for this in writing.

It sounds like your employer might have unreasonably high expectations. There is a fine line between an employer sharing their concerns about your work performance and bullying.

If you think the line has been crossed and it occurs repeatedly over a period of time impacting your health and safety, it could constitute workplace bullying, which is unlawful.

His boss’ behaviour could be considered workplace bulling. Picture: iStock

You should also find out whether there are any rules, policies or procedures your employer must follow to manage underperformance.

These may be outlined in your award, registered agreement, employment contract or a workplace policy.

Your boss shouldn’t take disciplinary action against you without a valid reason and without following a fair process.

Disciplinary action could include a written warning about your apparent underperformance, which would detail the reason/s for the warning, your employer’s expectations and consequences for not improving your performance over a reasonable time frame.

Putting in extra hours is all part of the culture according to his boss. Picture: iStock

Termination of your employment should only be a last resort if you are continuing not to meet reasonable expectations.

If you are ultimately terminated and you believe it was done unfairly, you should consider an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission.

Strict time limits apply and there are complex legal issues surrounding this area of law so you should quickly seek legal advice if you find yourself in this position.

This legal information is general in nature and should not be regarded as specific legal advice or relied upon. Persons requiring particular legal advice should consult a solicitor.

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Originally published as Sisters In Law: What to do if your boss performance manages you over ‘quiet quitting’