The Quiet Quitting Phenomenon in Digital Workplaces: A Legal-Theoretical and Comparative Analysis

Sanja Zlatanović

Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade , Serbia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7753-0876

Ranko Sovilj

Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade , Serbia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4048-8528

Marijana Maksimović

Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade , Serbia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6420-8869


Abstrakt

Quiet quitting has recently emerged as a widely discussed phenomenon in organizational science, primarily due to its implications for business operations and employee productivity. However, its impact on labor law should not be overlooked. This paper employs legal-theoretical and comparative methods to explore the key aspects of conceptualizing quiet quitting within both individual and collective labor law frameworks. It also examines how company law addresses the unique status of managers and directors as employees. The analysis is limited to a general legal assessment of the Quiet Quitting phenomenon, acknowledging its conceptual ambiguity and its intersection with organizational management, labor law, and company law.

Słowa kluczowe:

quiet quitting, generation Z, mental health, labor law, company law

Instytucje wspierające:

This paper was written as part of the 2025 Research Program of the Institute of Social Sciences supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia.


Bakotić, Danica. “Relationship Between Quiet Quitting and Leadership Orientation: The Case of Croatian Employees.” DIEM 8, no. 1 (2023): 38–45. (Crossref)

Beck, David, and Uwe Lenhardt. “Consideration of Psychosocial Factors in Workplace Risk Assessments: Findings from a Company Survey in Germany.” International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 92, no. 3 (2019): 435–51. (Crossref)

Cambridge Dictionary. S.v. “work-to-rule.” Accessed March 30, 2025. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/work-to-rule#google_vignette.

Cashion, Hanna. “The Struggle for Work-Life Balance: Quiet Quitting as a Hyper Individualized Tool of Neoliberal Resistance.” PhD diss., University of Arkansas, 2024.

Cazes, Sandrine, Andrea Garnero, Sébastien Martin, and Chloé Touzet. Negotiating Our Way Up: Collective Bargaining in a Changing World of Work. Paris: OECD, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1787/1fd2da34-en. (Crossref)

Dill, Alexander. Bank Regulation, Risk Management, and Compliance: Theory, Practice, and Key Problem Areas. Abingdon: Informa Law from Routledge, 2020. (Crossref)

García, Jorge Andrés Leyton. “The Right to Strike as a Fundamental Human Right: Recognition and Limitations in International Law.” Revista Chilena de Derecho 44, no. 3 (2017): 781–804. (Crossref)

Gerber, Christine. “Community Building on Crowd work Platforms: Autonomy and Control of Online Workers?.” Competition & Change 25, no. 2 (2021): 190–211. (Crossref)

Gernigon, Bernard, Alberto Odero, and Horacio Guido. ILO Principles Concerning the Right to Strike. Geneva: International Labour Organization, 1998.

Hiltunen, Heidi. Quiet Quitting Phenomenon in Finnish Aviation Industry. BA diss., Helia University of Applied Sciences, 2023.

Van Hoof, Elke. Legislation and Practical Management of Psychosocial Risks at Work. Brussel: Vrije Universiteit, 2019.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Company Law. New Delhi: ICSI House, 2021.

International Labour Organization. “Occupational Safety and Health – France,” 2015. Accessed April 25, 2025. https://wwwex.ilo.org/dyn/legosh_en/f?p=14100:1100:0::NO::P1100_ISO_CODE3%2CP1100_SUBCODE_CODE%2CP1100_YEAR:FRA%2C%2C2015.

Islammia Pasha, Elsa. “The Phenomenon of Work-Life Balance among Generation Z: A Case Study of Creative Workers.” American Journal of Open Research 3, no. 11 (2024): 335–41.

Jelača, Sanja, and Marko Golubović. “The Impact of the Quiet Quitting Phenomenon on Employees in Serbia.” The European Journal of Applied Economics 21, no. 1 (2024): 60–80. (Crossref)

JUSTIA Legal Dictionary. S.v. “work-to-rule.” Accessed March 30, 2025. https://dictionary.justia.com/work-to-rule.

Kéfer, Fabienne. “The Right to Disconnect: A Response to One of the Challenges Raised by the Digital Transition? European and Belgian Perspectives.” In Work in a Digital Era: Legal Challenges, edited by Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, Catarina Carvalho, and Joana Nunes Vicente, 429–47. Portugal: AAFDL EDITORA, 2022. Accessed April 7, 2025. https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/259740/1/F.K%C3%A9fer_right_to_disconnect.pdf.

Köckeritz, Hagen, and Guido Zeppenfeld. “Germany: The Right to Disconnect Q&A.” Lexology, March 24, 2025. Accessed May 10, 2025. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0106acc4-5bc4-4912-a20f-ff0bdb6716aa.

Lerouge, Loïc, and Francisco Trujillo Pons. “Contribution to the Study on the ‘Right to Disconnect’ from Work. Are France and Spain Examples for Other Countries and EU Law?.” European Labour Law Journal 13, no. 3 (2022): 450–65. (Crossref)

Mahand, Thalmus, and Cam Caldwell. “Quiet Quitting – Causes and Opportunities.” Business and Management Research 12, no. 1 (2023): 9–19. (Crossref)

Majka, Marcin. “Quiet Quitting Among Managers,” June 18, 2024. Accessed February 25, 2025. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381515236_Quiet_Quitting_Among_Managers.

Masterson, Victoria. “What Is Quiet Quitting and Why Is It Happening?.” World Economic Forum, September 2, 2022. Accessed May 5, 2025. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/tiktok-quiet-quitting-explained/.

Nikolova, Milena. “Loud or Quiet Quitting? The Influence of Work Orientations on Effort and Turnover.” GLO Discussion Paper, No. 1429, Global Labor Organization GLO, Essen, 2024. (Crossref)

Nordgren, Henrik, and Anders Björs. Quiet Quitting, Loud Consequences: The Role of Management in Employee Engagement. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet, 2023.

Ochis, Karina. “Generation Z and ‘Quiet Quitting’: Rethinking Onboarding in an Era of Employee Disengagement.” Multidisciplinary Business Review 17, no. 1 (2024): 83–97. (Crossref)

Pevec, Nastja. “The Concept of Identifying Factors of Quiet Quitting in Organizations: An Integrative Literature Review.” Izzivi prihodnosti/Challenges of the Future 8, no. 2 (2023): 128–147. http://dx.doi.org/10.37886/ip.2023.006. (Crossref)

Sen, Chandrani, and Himangini Rathore Hooja. “Work-Life Balance: An Overview.” International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research 7, no. 1 (2018): 1–6.

Shanshi, Liu, Jialiang Pei, and Chuyan Zhong. “Is the Platform Work Autonomous? The Effect of Online Labor Platform Algorithm Management on Job Autonomy.” Foreign Economics & Management 43, no. 2 (2021): 51–67.

Solymosi-Szekeres, Bernadett, and Sanja Stojković Zlatanović. “Approaching Quiet Quitting from the Labor Law Perspective: A Case Study of Hungarian and Serbian Legislation.” Legal Records Journal, no. 1 (2024): 218–38. (Crossref)

Solymosi-Szekeres, Bernadett. “Hustle Culture and Quiet Quitting – Trends Between Young Workers in the Era of Digital Work.” Hungarian Labour Law E-Journal, no. 2 (2024): 19–30.

Stojković Zlatanović, Sanja, and Milena Škobo. “The ‘Twilight’ of Health, Safety, and Well-being of Workers in the Digital Era – Shaping the Right to Disconnect.” Journal of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2, no. 2 (2023): 129–44.

Thakur, Abha. “Quiet Quitting: The New Corporate Trend.” International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research 6, no. 1 (2024): 1–10. (Crossref)

Twomey, David P., and Marianne Jennings. Andreson’s Business Law – And the Legal Environment, 22nd ed. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2014.

Vasiljević, Mirko. Corporate Management – Legal Aspects. Belgrade: Faculty of Law University of Belgrade, 2007.

Weber, Tina. “Right to Disconnect: Legal Provisions and Case Examples.” Eurofound, April 16, 2020. Accessed March 12, 2025. https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/eurofound-paper/2020/right-disconnect-legal-provisions-and-case-examples.


Opublikowane
2025-09-30


Zlatanović, S., Sovilj, R., & Maksimović, M. (2025). The Quiet Quitting Phenomenon in Digital Workplaces: A Legal-Theoretical and Comparative Analysis. Review of European and Comparative Law, 62(3), 133–153. https://doi.org/10.31743/recl.18618

Sanja Zlatanović  sanjazlatanovic1@gmail.com
Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7753-0876
Ranko Sovilj 
Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4048-8528
Marijana Maksimović 
Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6420-8869



Licencja

Creative Commons License

Utwór dostępny jest na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa 4.0 Międzynarodowe.