Objective: Quiet quitting is an emerging phenomenon in organizational behavior where employees merely perform the minimum defined job duties and refrain from any voluntary and extra-role behaviors. This study aimed to qualitatively analyze the antecedents, manifestations, and consequences of the quiet quitting phenomenon among faculty members of public universities in Iran.
Method: This research employed a qualitative approach using thematic analysis. The research field was public universities in Tehran, Iran. Participants included 18 faculty members who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The data collection tool was semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data analysis followed the six-step procedure of Braun and Clarke (2006),
Results: The findings were organized into three categories of overarching themes. Regarding antecedents, four overarching themes were identified including "structural/policy contexts", "university governance and management", "cultural/interpersonal climate", and "individual/psychological factors". Regarding manifestations, five overarching themes emerged including minimalism in educational, research, and service roles, impression management, and cold/self-protective interaction patterns. Regarding consequences, four overarching themes were extracted at individual, educational, organizational, and macro/systemic levels.
Conclusions: Consequently, quiet quitting in public universities is a multi-causal and complex phenomenon rooted in the interplay of structural, managerial, cultural, and individual factors. This phenomenon, while weakening the professional identity of faculty members, reduces the quality of teaching and research, and in the long term, endangers the fundamental missions of the university. Redesigning the evaluation system, reducing bureaucracy, strengthening organizational justice, and empowering university leaders are among the most important strategies for preventing and managing this phenomenon.