The Glamorous Grind
Where grit meets glamour, and the law is always in style.
Hosted by attorneys Ilona Antonyan and Mila Arutunian of Antonyan Miranda LLP, The Glamorous Grind delivers bold conversations at the intersection of law, lifestyle, and mindset.
Each episode features riveting stories from inside the courtroom, celebrity interviews, and real-life legal battles that shape lives and headlines. From empowerment and entrepreneurship to manifestation and vision boards, we explore the hustle behind the glam with fearless insight.
No topic is off-limits! Expect unfiltered talk on relationships, mental health, success strategies, and building your legacy.
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The Glamorous Grind
Why “Quiet Quitting” Isn’t the Flex You Think It Is
Is quiet quitting a form of self-care, silent protest… or just career sabotage in disguise?
In this episode of The Glamorous Grind, Ilona and Mila tackle the controversial workplace trend of quiet quitting. They break down the generational clash between hustle culture and the new wave of boundaries, the harsh realities of inflation, the emotional cost of underappreciation, and how to protect your peace—without sabotaging your career.
Whether you're burnt out, fed up, or just wondering if it's worth going the extra mile at work, this episode gives it to you straight. Learn how to set better boundaries, get clarity on what you want, and build the kind of career that serves your future—not just your frustration.
Grab your coffee or cocktail and tune in for unfiltered truth, tough love, and some glam grit.
Subscribe to The Glamorous Grind for more on ambition, law, lifestyle, and the realities of modern success.
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🎙️ Hosts: Ilona Antonyan & Mila Arutunian
📲 Follow us on IG: @glamorousgrindpodcast
Welcome to the Glamorous Grind where grit meets glamour, and ambition is never on silent mode.
Ilona:Today we're diving into a hot-button issue across industries Quiet quitting. Is it a form of protest, a sign of burnout, or is it just a career messed up?
Mila:in disguise, we're breaking down toxic workplaces, generational shifts and what it takes to really protect your peace and build your power in today's professional landscape. So quiet, quitting is a work trend where employees, while still employed at an employer, will reduce their work quality to like the bare minimum, and it's usually when they're unhappy with something. It's toxic or negative and rather than trying to communicate it and make changes, they just stop performing well.
Ilona:They just stop performing well, and I think what they probably want to get out of it if they're trying to quit quietly instead of speaking to their employer so that the employer could address it by making a change if it makes sense, or at least considering their opinion, because most employers would like their employees to be happy and to feel like they're heard. But for the employer to know what the problem is, aside from the person's potential disinterest in life or work, they need to hear directly from the employee or through management what is the problem that takes it to the level where this person doesn't want to work there anymore.
Mila:yeah, there's a cultural shift where people kind of expect places of employment to be I don't want to say a sorority, but like. People are just a lot more sensitive these days and part of that is because of social media. But you know, back in the day workplaces were not nice. No one was nice to you and you could criticize someone's work product and it was fine and they were expected to improve.
Ilona:Ultimately, every business wants to deliver a good service to their clients that are paying money for it. A good product to their clients are paying money for it, so it's important to have quality employees to take good care of clients. So, by resisting and underperforming at your job instead of just going and speaking to your employer or you know if it's not a right place for you, go sooner than simply waiting to be fired to then collect unemployment benefits because you are hurting customers, clients.
Mila:And the whole culture of quiet quitting. They say, oh, it's because workers are underpaid, but I feel like it's so much broader than that. I think it's inflation. It's just the time we live in now. I think employers are paying employees very well. You know, most employees are making good money. The problem is, you can't live off that money anymore. So whereas 50 years ago, you know, a man could work in a gas station and support a family of four and have a decent home and buy food, now that's impossible. I mean the minimum wage in California. You can't live off of that. So if you're a minimum wage earner, even if you're making $30 an hour or $35 an hour, it's barely enough to cover your minimum expenses. So obviously, I think as a result of that, people care less about their jobs and keeping those jobs.
Ilona:You know, I think, that inflation has been a problem historically Think of the 70s, 80s, whatever but the work ethic then was different than it is now, because commitment to work is commitment to yourself and to your career and your growth. If you do a good job, your employer or somebody at the company will see it. You will grow within the company, you will advance, and if there are places where that may not happen, if you stay at a place long enough, it looks good on your resume. When I see resumes where people have short-term jobs and they just jump around, I don't want to hire that person. To me, this is a noncommittal person. She's going to come here, learn a few things and be out, and I'm wasting my time training them. Who knows if they're a bad apple that's going to come here and poison the. Well, I mean, you don't know, but it doesn't look good on the resume. For that reason, a lot of employees nowadays also have noticed do not put the recent places they worked on their resume because they weren't there long enough. And then during the interview they may be asked well, where's the last place you worked and why is there such a long gap? That raises questions from employer's perspective and I don't think it's good for a long-term career.
Ilona:The benefit again, to me as an immigrant in America is that you have a chance, no matter how poor you are and even if you work at a gas station and you can barely afford your rent or buy food. I mean, I was there, my family was there. My dad was making $3 an hour. You know it was a long time ago and we came to America but painting walls and my mom had to clean homes and I had to go to work at 14. But you know you can still make it. Your lifestyle is different. You're not going to be living fancy, wearing fancy clothes, eating, you know, expensive food. My mom used to use coupons like all the time. But we knew we live in America and we know that here if we go to school, if they do good at their job, that there's hope that you will step it up in life and I think people should remember that.
Mila:Here's the thing. You had that work ethic, as did I, because we saw the other side of it. We saw the other side of the coin where in other countries, no matter how hard you work, you have a ceiling and you're not going above that ceiling. Here we don't have that. But unless you understand, like, really can conceptualize the advantages of living in this country, you can't even take advantage of that if you wanted to. I mean, I know plenty of Americans. I mean we came here. Our families didn't speak English. That didn't stop us from going to college, going to law school, you know taking loans because, like you know, you take loans to get through school.
Ilona:But it's all possible in America. You get FAFSA, you get student aid.
Mila:There are so many Americans, too, who grow up here and have families that speak English, which we didn't have, and have families that are educated and they don't want to go to college because it's easier to be home. And I think nowadays the culture is look for that dopamine, look for what's easiest to to get, look for what's easiest because you have to live and enjoy your life and you know it's the like, drastic opposite of hustle culture is what's being popular now.
Ilona:It's all about how you perceive where you're headed and where you're now and what you want.
Mila:But you don't really care about what you want.
Ilona:If you don't have goals, if you don't set goals and you don't revisit your goals, then you're going to be in this la-la land. I don't know what I'm doing today or tomorrow. So I think it's about goal setting.
Mila:It's about goal setting. It's also about personality, character and the society that we live in now. I mean, everywhere you turn, people are YouTube influencers or social media influencers or whatever it is. They look like they're not really doing work, but they're actually working very hard behind the scenes, but everyone thinks that like that should be real life. So who wants to sit in an office and like review documents or pick up phones or do all of these boring things when you could go live your best life?
Ilona:The good life is. Ai is going to be reviewing documents soon, so that's off your plate, don't have to worry about that. But those people who young generations now who focus on their education, their future and doing well at their jobs and increase their performance and show where they work that they're really good, they care and they can do more, we'll go further and we'll rule the world eventually. Because those who are not focused right now, who are living, you know, pura vida or whatever right, being at the beach and changing jobs here and there, they're going to be way behind.
Mila:I'm going to say an unpopular opinion, but I think there's a lot of truth to it that our society now and I think foundationally has good intentions but we focus so much on in childhood really praising kids for things that maybe they don't deserve to be praised for.
Mila:Right, you get the participation trophies without really having them earned a lot of times and you want to do that for your kids because you want them to feel like they're champions, even if they're standard or basic right, like that's the culture now. But then these kids are growing up as adults and they're going into the workplace and they're putting in effort. But if they don't get that like pat on the back good job, you're doing so well, great job. And like a trophy for every little thing that they do, they don't want to keep doing it. They're not incentivized to keep trying unless they are constantly given validation that everything they're doing is amazing, even if they're just doing the bare minimum. And I think that and that underlying culture plays a huge part in this whole quiet, quitting movement and the society, the culture. I think, like you said before, the work ethic might be there, but they need to be motivated to work and because they're so used to constant validation growing up. When they don't get that in the workplace, their motivation just fades.
Ilona:I think you're right. It's about focus. Are they focused more on? Hey, I want to be recognized. You know, today I did a little more than my coworker did, so I need to be recognized. And if they don't, they feel unappreciated and I think that then builds resentment against their employer or their supervisor or the company in general, and then bad attitude starts and they quit if they did a little more than what's expected of them and then they feel not recognized.
Ilona:Versus looking at it from a different perspective, I did a little more today, a little here and there, and I have a potential to grow here, to improve my skills and to go further in my career. I'm doing it for myself because really you are doing it for yourself, because you're showing yourself how far you can go and how much further you can take it. It doesn't have to be in the same place with the same employer. If your employer doesn't see your potential, doesn't appreciate you, doesn't compensate you fairly, yeah, go find something else. But focusing on small things like it just to like focusing your negative energy against the employer, versus introspect, like here's who I am, here's what I can do, here's what else I can do for me, for my career and how I'm helping people and clients. I think that's more important.
Ilona:Like I had jobs where, after law school, I was getting paid $13 an hour and it took me a lot of negotiations to raise it to 15 bucks an hour, when I was already like post bar clerk Okay, that was like in 2000, 2002, but still then I passed the bar exam and I wanted to negotiate a salary and my employer canceled on me five times. He didn't meet with me until I decided to walk out to get his attention. And then I got an offer about $50,000 a year, which was below the market at the time. I know you came out making what? 68?
Ilona:I got 50, but he said he couldn't really pay it and offered that we open up an office together and split the rent in North Park, which is not where I saw having an office. That made me curious what it would be to open up my own office. Right, and I went and I did the math and did that on my own. But sometimes employers simply can't afford to pay a salary that you may deserve because of economic circumstances. So then you have a choice, like I did, to go open up your own practice or go look for a job somewhere else, an employer who can't afford to pay you more, but will expect more of you because they are paying you more. Like, how hard did you have to work when you were a new?
Mila:attorney. Oh my God, I worked crazy hours. I was constantly trying to do more than everyone else, and that's the, that's the good thing like. If you do have the work ethic, you will stand out. Yes, I think people see that, but it's not easy and it's not easy to sustain that and I can't say it was good for my mental health.
Mila:I think everyone kind of suffered in my family because I was. We would go on vacation, especially when I was on the defense side and I had billable hours. I had to bill more than everyone else all the time, but that's because you did it to yourself, right? Not because your employer required it. Yes, I did it to my, but I was just. That's my work ethic is like. I need to show that I'm not only capable, but I will exceed everyone's expectations, like my inner standard has always been so ridiculously high for myself that it's the opposite extreme, which is also, again, not good.
Ilona:But I mean it's tough. I absolutely agree and I think if you have family it takes a toll and it's I don't know. I can't speak for other industries, for attorneys. It is tough when you have other commitments and you just have to find the right place for you at the right time, because you know you may have the ability, want and desire to do it, but just may not be the right time for you to do it, because you may have small children, you may have other commitments. You're going to be unhappy if it's not the right time, when the time is right. Really, you don't know anything to anybody except for yourself and then if you accept a position, you owe it to the clients and customers who deserve your full attention and the best you can be.
Mila:I always felt like if I, since I went to law school and I, you know, spent seven years getting my doctorate and then got this degree, I'm going to go all in like I'm not going to half-ass it. And I remember even working at Jackson Lewis, which was a big law firm, and every weekend, like I would be working. And I still, to this day, I work every Saturday and Sunday just because I don't like to be behind on my emails. That's just my personality. But we would go on vacation and I would be like I need to bill hours even though I had taken a vacation day. But I was like I'm not going to leave anything on the table and people were like, why don't you just go in-house and just work eight to five? I was like, why would I go to law school to work eight to five?
Ilona:I want to like I think it's OK for you want to dominate and that was like more important to you. But again, for some people they may want that, but just at a different time. I worked until I had kids and I had my daughter in 2019. I worked a ton, every weekend I worked, but I don't expect that from people that work for me. I don't expect that from everyone, because people have different lives, different priorities. So, if you have a family and that's your number one priority- it should be.
Mila:Unfortunately, like, some people have families and you know they have a schedule if they're a nurse and they have to be there a certain amount of hours or however else, or if you have to pick your kids up after school. So it just it becomes difficult to prioritize family when you have a job, and I think that's also another reason why a lot of people are giving less emphasis on their job and giving more emphasis on their personal lives, which is contributing to this quiet, quitting movement. Okay, so we have a listener. Question audience Q&A. I just started my first corporate job and I'm already feeling over it. The culture is off, the communication is bad and I'm questioning everything. How do I know if I should stick with it or find another job?
Ilona:Okay, I would say, if you started a job and you right away from first day or second day, no, it's not a right fit, you should just go.
Mila:I don't know. I think that a lot of times there's an adjustment period and there's a lot of there are a lot of negative feelings associated with unfamiliarity. And a lot of times, I mean, when I start my jobs, it's exciting from one perspective, but it's also extremely stressful as I'm learning processes, processes, procedures, getting to get along with everyone you have to. You know, depending on if you report to one boss or several, you have to figure out their personalities and what ticks them. All of that can be very high stress. So I think, from one perspective, you should try to stick it out to see if it changes, because once you are more comfortable in the environment, maybe you'll feel differently.
Ilona:I think if your gut on your first or second day says, hey, that's not for me, then follow your gut and find something else, because you'll be struggling with that, constantly trying to see, okay, is this where I want to be, or not, and you're going to waste the employer's resources trying to. They're going to train you, you're going to establish relationships and I think it does for you. You're uncertain not because, look, you know, coming in a new place of work, there's going to be a learning curve everybody has to undergo a learning curve but it's just not the right feeling, not the right culture for you. Something is not right, it's not driving, and you know it, and your gut is telling you that. I would just say it's better to leave sooner than later because, again, the team is relying on you and you're going to establish a relationship with clients, with customers, who are then going to be let down when you leave later rather than sooner because of the built relationship, including coworkers.
Mila:And I will add that if culture is not a fit, then the culture is not a fit. Cultures of places don't change and they're pretty easily ascertainable from day one. So the role that burnout could play in quiet quitting, I think is huge, because a lot of people are burnt out and it's not. I think a lot of times burnout is not just because of work, it's because of our society. And I'm not saying there weren't always societal problems. There obviously always were wars and all of these awful things.
Mila:But nowadays this widespread information of just negative news all the time, anytime you open up Yahoo or Instagram or TikTok, it's always just like people just like saying negative things, negative articles about death. That never used to be a thing. The news stations do that on purpose, because then you'll want to turn them on. But the fact is like we don't understand how our brains wiring is. Like that's why they say when you wake up you shouldn't check your phone, because that you know when you wake up, everything you put into your mind is going to be kind of what comes out. But I think a lot of people are burnt out just because society is so awful these days and if you're not aware of how it's affecting you. It causes burnout.
Ilona:I don't know. It sounds like BS. Look, burned out. Can you be burned out if you simply work nine to five? I think the answer is yes, because it depends. What are you dealing with at work? Are you doing the job you don't enjoy doing? Are you working with co-workers who are not nice to you? You don't want to be around them. That can cause burnout. Are you just bored of work and you don't have enough to do? Because if your day goes really slow, you'll be burned out because that's not how you want to spend your life. It's moving too slow. I feel like being busy is good, because then it goes like fast, but that too can cause for some to be burned out because they don't want to work so fast and have so much expected of them. I think it's different for everyone on the individual level, and everything can be put under this cap of burnout, but it's individual for each person, regardless of their schedule right and based on their attitude towards their work and their work environment.
Mila:I think most people need to find some type of purpose in their work, and historically, that purpose could have been supporting your family. Like you, a lot of people didn't care what they did as long as they brought in a paycheck, and that in and of itself was sufficient purpose.
Ilona:But nowadays that's not really a thing. Supporting your family, I think it's honorable and that's a thing to do if you have a family, but if you don't support yourself, you gotta build your future, but maybe people don't care about that.
Mila:Like most, people don't live for their future If they live for it right now. No, if you quit, you're not going to live for it.
Ilona:You care about yourself because you're quitting, since you don't like where you are or who you're working with.
Mila:You don't feel like dealing with it. You don't feel like dealing with adversity because it's hard, so you don't want to do it anymore.
Ilona:You're doing it because you love yourself more than anything else. So if you love yourself, have pride in where you have to go and what you want to accomplish for yourself.
Mila:Okay. So I remember this so well when I was like 18 and I was working at Aldo shoes and I remember like my mom was like you have to go to college. It wasn't even like a question for me. I had to go to college. And I remember the manager of the store came in and she was 19 and she's like, yeah, this is my job, I'm just going to be a manager. And I was like why you don't want more? And she was like no, because I want to make money now.
Mila:I don't really care about like what goes on down the future. And it hadn't even like clicked in my mind at that time that that was a possibility, that some people think that way because I was not raised in that manner. But I think a lot of people they don't think about their future. They don't think about how is my credit going to be? Am I going to be able to buy a car? They're just like I don't feel like doing this now. I'll find something else that also pays me 16 bucks an hour or 30 bucks an hour, and it doesn't matter, and I don't really give a shit how my co-workers are going to be affected by me not performing, and I think that's just society these days, like that's something that we have to address, that like.
Mila:But what people are, just not nice anymore, for people now give a shit anymore. Individualistic mentality, um, burnout, just toxic environment. Everywhere you look on social media like just everything has changed in our culture and in our society With a toxic work environment. Some people consider it a toxic work environment if they're not constantly receiving validation or if they receive any criticism when sometimes it's like actual, legitimate criticism, like you did a bad job, do better next time. Employers are scared to say this to employees because that could be considered a hostile work environment. I get cases all the time that come to me where people are like my supervisor is mean and did this and that and I made a complaint. But they made a complaint of something that wasn't illegal. It's not illegal to be mean in the workplace California is an at-will state, so but it's like at what point does it reach the level of hostile work environment? It's technically, under the law, supposed to be severe and pervasive, but like go ahead and define that and recurring right.
Mila:Doesn't have to be recurring. There was actually a court ruling that came out, I believe, a couple years ago that said that even one action like if, especially if it's a discriminatory action, if it's bad enough, it doesn't have to be recurring and even one could qualify as a hostile work environment.
Ilona:Does the employer get a chance to cure if they didn't know about it, and it happened once?
Mila:If they didn't know about it, then obviously they're not going to be liable for it. But if a supervisor knew, the employer automatically knows.
Ilona:Right the agency vicarious knowledge.
Mila:The question is what can employers do to address these things before they start?
Ilona:Have, I think, an open environment to welcome people's opinions and thoughts about how to make it better for everyone.
Mila:I think suggestion boxes like anonymous anonymous suggestion boxes would be helpful. Some employers have those so that people can put in their suggestions if they're feeling like, or like anonymous hotlines for HR complaints.
Ilona:In my experience, like sometimes employees are scared to come and talk to their bosses, like I know that I think, oh, anybody can come talk to me about anything. But that's not how my employees feel. Like some of them don't feel comfortable to just come and talk to me directly about something and they may go tell their friend or they may go tell someone else. And it never goes up to the top for the employer to really consider and make a change that would be beneficial for the entire company, for others, to keep the collegial work environment, to keep everybody happy. Maybe something small, but even that would be important for an employer to know. It just sometimes doesn't go all the way up to the top. So how do you address?
Mila:that it's tough, I mean, I think. And then the other question is is the issue that's going on with that individual, is it a subjective issue that they're facing because of whatever they're going through or their personal experiences, or is it an actually a cultural thing? Because, having represented both employers and employees, I have found personally that the vast majority of employers want to keep their employees happy. The vast majority of employers make efforts, like very serious efforts, to keep a positive company culture and who wouldn't want their business to succeed?
Ilona:If you are, if you're running a business, that is your baby, you, that your employees earnings, their livelihood depends on you having a successful company to pay their wages, to help them do better, also to sustain your lifestyle and support your own children and family. So business owners care about the success of their business, which means they care about keeping their employees happy and hearing from them so that they can keep the same pool of people, so that if sometimes, you know, people grow apart, it happens because when life changes, certain things and attitudes change and sometimes it's okay to part, right, but are you going to do it silently, through protest and sabotage things before you leave, or are you going to be an honest, through protest and sabotage things before you leave? Or are you going to be an honest person that's going to say, okay, I'm honest with myself and I'm going to be honest with the people that I've worked with for a while. It's no longer just the right fit for me, because I have different goals in life, whatever it may be, and this is not a place where I can continue to thrive or grow just based on my own personal goals, and then leave peacefully Like peacefully mean be fair to because I believe in karma.
Ilona:Be fair to yourself, your employer, because your employer is not just the person who owns the company. Your employer is a company that employs your coworkers, your former friends or current friends who are there and who services clients. So by trying to hurt or get revenge towards your employer, you are hurting the sustainability of the company and potential jobs of others who are there. What is revenge? Quitting? It is a rising trend where employees abruptly leave toxic or allegedly disrespectful jobs as an act of retaliation. Not just quitting, but quitting loudly and dramatically to send the point that they left for a good reason, including posting social media posts and viral videos that often go public.
Mila:So why is this happening now? It's a combination of things, including burnout, poor management and lack of flexibility.
Ilona:Or an excuse for their parents or friends to leave a good job just because they want to find the next great thing out there.
Mila:Workers are fed up with being overworked, underpaid or disrespected, especially post-pandemic. There is a cultural shift. Gen Z and millennials aren't afraid to walk away and call out bad behavior. And with boomers retiring, gen X is stuck in the middle. That's the new quiet. Quitting is the revenge quitting. So what do you think about that as an employer?
Ilona:I think it's stupid. I mean, if you're going to quit, it's your business, like if you're doing it for the show, to post it on Instagram. Is your intent just to make yourself popular, to make it look like you're such a victim, or is your intent to expose the employer because they did something wrong? The ones that I saw were like, oh, I'm getting fired, but just to document they're being fired, like as if it's bad, but they don't talk about their performance up to that. Right, maybe they deserve to be fired. You don't know that they're trying to dramatize the actual moment of being fired and then act out and make it dramatic of being fired. And then act out and make it dramatic it's bad because, well, it probably it doesn't show the full story, right? The employers in California, unfortunately, their hands are tied to really express the true reasons why somebody got fired, because the employer then can get sued by opening up the employee's HR file to the public. Isn't that true? So, for example, somebody does a really shitty job or does something bad.
Mila:Well, they can't open it to the public.
Ilona:Not to the public, but like the employer can't record a video, like you know what? You just didn't show up to work. You called in sick many times. You lied, you weren't sick. I saw you partying online. Like they can't just respond and say you're full of shit, you can't, you can't. And that's not fair, because one side can go and make up whatever lies, yep, and the employer's reputation will be damaged, but they cannot go and say the reality of why this person no longer has a job. So that is unfair. And, for example, if someone no longer works for an employer and their future employer calls and says so what do you think about him? You kind of you're better off not saying what you think. Other ends like no comment will probably say it all, but you can't even comment. So that's where I think the inequity is. But there's inequities in everything, so it is what it is.
Mila:So let me tell you about this case that I had really quickly. I almost never represent people on the defense side, so this office asked me to represent them and they had an employee working there for about six months and she got into a car accident and she was constantly out. She was always 20 minutes late, 30 minutes late, 40 minutes late out last minute, like no shows, and it was probably 30 or 40 times that that happened. I'm not even underestimating or overestimating. It was about you know that many times and it was all in text messages of I'm running 20 minutes late, I'm running 30 minutes late just a chain of text messages. I'm like this is easy, let's give her like five grand to walk away and call it a day.
Mila:So the attorney reaches out and I told her I'm like, hey, take a look at all these. I had to upload it to a Dropbox link because there were so many texts I couldn't attach them to an email and I was like take a look at this. Here's $5,000. Like, see what you can do. This is not a case that's worth your while. I wouldn't file on this as a plaintiff's attorney. She literally was like I'm filing a lawsuit. This is ridiculous. I can't believe, after my client was discriminated against, after you know, suffering injuries from her accident even though, like 80% of her call outs were because she had to take her kids to school.
Ilona:Well, you mentioned another episode if they were hired and then have something to accommodate. As long as they provide medical records, something the employer stuck. So is that a case here?
Mila:If the reason she was out was all because of medical appointments and the employer failed to accommodate, it would be one thing, but most of the reasons she was out was unrelated. She was just always late because she had to drop her kids off and that was documented in text messages, not when you have a schedule.
Mila:You can't just like come in whenever you want if you have a schedule. So anyway, I ended up giving that case over to one of my defense firms that I work closely with that does a really good job. Okay, let's decode this legally Quiet quitting may feel personal, but there are legal implications if your employer perceives it as insubordination or performance decline.
Ilona:It is very important for business owners to know the red flags when anticipating quiet quitting and how to properly document it from both perspectives. So, mila, what can an employer do if they perceive that someone is getting ready for quiet quitting?
Mila:If an employer feels that someone is checked out and doing quiet, quitting, technically, they can fire them. As long as it's not because of a protected class, they can fire them. It's obviously a different story if they're disabled or if they have made some type of protected complaint. Then they have to think twice. But generally speaking, you can write them up and say they have performance issues. If they have performance issues, write them up and say they have performance issues. If they have performance issues, you know, usually what I would always recommend when I was on the defense side is employers should have a very clear scope of work for every employee, what is expected of them, so that if they're not performing you can easily point to where they're not performing, where they're not meeting the scope of their work that they are required to meet. You can write them up. You can fire them. California again at will state you can fire anyone for anything or for no reason at all, as long as it's not because of a protected class.
Ilona:Makes sense. People should be protected and should not be fired because of their gender, their sex or because they're disabled, as long as they can do the job right?
Mila:Yeah, absolutely, and there should be a written record of it. There should be a written record of you know whatever they're not performing. However, they're not performing where they're not meeting the expectations that the employer sets. A lot of employers will also have what's called corrective action plans or performance improvement plans, where they put them on a plan for 30 days or 60 days and you know they make clear like this is what's expected of you. This is where you're not meeting your standard. You have 30 days to improve and then usually they'll have weekly check ins with their supervisor to see how they're doing. Sometimes those help, but a lot of times those end up in termination because if they're not performing, usually if they are checked out, there's not a ton of room for improvement and I feel just as sorry for the employer as I do for the individual going through the quiet quitting because empathizing with them.
Mila:That must be difficult to come into a place every morning, day in and day out, be unsatisfied, feel unvalidated, feel no purpose and day out, be unsatisfied, feel unvalidated, feel no purpose and checked out and continue to stay there because you don't want to quit or maybe you can't, maybe you need the money. That is hard it is. So, to all the people who are in this quiet, quitting position right now, my recommendation would be don't settle. If you're happy, keep looking, and you should find purpose in everything that you do. Today's clam tip If you want to make noise in your industry, don't go quiet. Show up, speak up, stay strategic.
Ilona:Your voice matters. So if you're unhappy about something, don't go quietly and just quit. Say what's the problem. Give your employer a chance to fix it, to make it better for everyone.
Mila:So here's the takeaway Quiet, quitting might feel like rebellion, but the real power that comes from clarity, that comes from communication and courageous moves.
Ilona:We're not here to shame boundaries, but we are here to remind you that your career deserves more than just silence.
Mila:If this hit home, send it to someone navigating burnout or a work crossroad.
Ilona:And remember, the grind doesn't have to be toxic. It can be transformational when you lead it with positive intention.
Mila:This is the Glamorous Grind, and we don't fade out quietly, we rise audibly.
Ilona:With purpose. See you next week.
