Quiet Quitting among Generation Z Employees: Examining the Influence of Work Meaning, Perceived Organizational Support and Career Growth Opportunities

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, “quiet quitting” – the deliberate restriction of discretionary effort to formally assigned duties – has become a defining feature of Generation Z's relationship with work. Work meaning, perceived organizational support (POS), and career growth opportunities have each been linked separately to Gen Z disengagement, but no study has modelled the three constructs jointly as predictors of quiet quitting. This study addresses that gap by examining the combined and relative influence of work meaning, POS, and career growth opportunities on quiet quitting among Generation Z employees in Chennai, India. Using a descriptive-explanatory, cross-sectional survey design, data were drawn from 243 Gen Z employees (born 1997–2010) across IT/technology, banking/finance, healthcare, education, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and government sectors, using a structured Google Forms questionnaire measuring quiet quitting, work meaning, POS, and career growth opportunities on 5-point Likert scales, together with two open-ended items. All four scales showed strong internal consistency (α = .90–.91). Quiet quitting was found at a predominantly moderate level. Work meaning, POS, and career growth opportunities were each negatively and significantly correlated with quiet quitting, and a simultaneous multiple regression showed that the three predictors jointly explained 26.0% of the variance in quiet quitting (R² = .260, F(3, 239) = 28.02, p < .001), with POS emerging as the strongest predictor (β = -.331, p < .001), followed by work meaning (β = -.180, p = .005) and career growth opportunities (β = -.129, p = .038), supporting H1, H2, and H3. The findings suggest perceived organizational support is the most actionable lever for reducing quiet quitting among Gen Z employees and extend the evidence base beyond China, Indonesia, and South Africa to an Indian metropolitan context. (Results below are drawn from a simulated demonstration dataset pending the analysis of actual survey responses – see the note at the start of the Results & Findings section.)