50-year-old employee begins quiet quitting after younger coworkers get promoted above him: 'I stopped trying'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 7, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

False promises of future promotions can only last so long. Suppose you're someone who has put decades of time and energy into a company and you still haven't gotten the proper validation and acknowledgment for all your hard work. In that case, it's time to start rethinking your relationship to your work.

Unfortunately for this 50-year-old employee, he started to realize that the chatter about "quiet quitting" among his younger, jaded coworkers may have had some validity all along. The good news is that it's never too late to change your life. Here's hoping he found a nice hobby with all this extra time on his hands!

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    Cheezburger Image 10490270464
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • This Gen-X employee shared his tale of quiet quitting after realizing that he probably hit a peak in the workplace a few years ago. Sure, he got some promotions, but at a certain point, he realized that the younger coworkers with greater social and cultural capital were the ones who would get promoted to the top no matter how qualified or unqualified they were compared to him. 

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    When I first heard the term 'quiet quitting' I needed to understand more of what that meant. Now that I know, I think that's me right now.
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    I've been working the same job for 10 years at a major global electronics company, a name all of you would know instantly. It's
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    a good job, it pays well, it's low stress with great benefits. I am good at what I do and my co workers are cool. And I don't give a anymore.
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    I stopped trying to advance. I stopped going the extra mile. I stopped being the one offering input at the weekly meetings. It just doesn't get me anywhere after all these promises of working your way up the ladder.
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    I realized I hit a peak a few years ago and no matter what I do, or how hard I work, it doesn't matter. Upper management are mostly ambitious borderline sociopath MBA career climbers who are all young enough to be my children.
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    They all give a creepy vibe almost like a politician who acts like they care about you, then they talk behind your back.
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    So I still do my job but I do the minimum amount required not to be noticed. I don't report errors on our website, I don't correct people when they are wrong. I just don't, period. The biggest thing that put
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    a target on your back here is attendance, like even clocking in 1 minute late gets you on the tardy report that goes out once a week but I never have a problem with
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    that, and quite honestly it blows me away how many co-workers just can't seem to get here on time. because we aren't in a giant metropolis with lots of traffic. Usually the younger co-workers are the late one.
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    I am in my early 50s and I've spoken with my immediate supervisor who is two years older than me about this, and we're both in agreement that we're too old and lazy to want to start over, so we'll just coast here as long as we can. Anyone else feeling this?
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    Cheezburger Image 10490270720
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Several members of the online community shared their feedback and similar stories of becoming disillusioned with their own workplace environments. Here's hoping that this Gen-X employee has gotten some satisfaction from taking on this more millennial mindset and approach to work!

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    MyNextVacation · 19 hr. ago I just call it work/life balance.
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    hmjones99 13 hr. ago I wonder how they can age us out when so many of them don't want to work, and the boomers are all retiring. Won't they need senior leaders?
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    handsomeape95. 19 hr. ago YOU'VE BEEN MISSING A LOT OF WORK LATELY yam.co I WOULDN'T SAY I'VE BEEN MISSING IT, BOB Quiet quitting started in 1999.
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    . Six Pack Attack - 19 hr. ago I quiet quit after the last missed promotion. It's been liberating to put that extra energy into things I actually care about.
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    UncleFlip 18 hr. ago I've got an interview next week for a promotion. I'm going to do my best to knock it out of the park, but I really don't expect to get it. If that's the case I'm done, just the bare minimum until retirement. I've went so above and beyond that I really feel I deserve it. We shall see.
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    starryvelvetsky. 18 hr. ago Amen. I've hit my peak possible position without having to join "leadership". Not interested in the slightest in joining that lot.
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    Learned long ago that no matter how much extra you do, you're still going to be 3/5 on the annual review and get the same 3% raise that everyone gets across the board.
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    So I do my tasks and clock out. And don't think about any of it until the next morning. I'm cruising all the way until I can draw SS.
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    Alternative-Row-84 19 hr. ago I am currently a quiet quitter too. Have it made at my job for the most part. Asked for a raise got a mostly unattainable bonus program instead. Ok boss I got you. Point taken and I'll no longer go the extra mile because I'm not getting any of it anyway.
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    Then_Trouble_8902. 18 hr. ago I prefer to label it working your wage and/or meeting the job description requirements. Quiet quitting implies it is negative. It is not. Company policies and practices have changed over the course of our lifetime (e.g. no more pensions, few retirement benefits, limited raises that do not match cost of living increases, etc.) and we have to evolve to match this new environment. You adapted. You didn't quit.
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    herefortheguffaws 17 hr. ago My new mantra is "I'm here for the income, not the outcome."
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    rfriend73 19 hr. ago. edited 19 hr. ago I think of all the hard work I did at a younger age and now I'm just coasting to the finish line.
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quiet quitting workplace-stories employee toxic-workplace work toxic-boss overworked-employees workplace Horrible Bosses
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