In a 2026 study titled ‘Illegitimate tasks and quiet quitting: a moderated mediation model based on the strength model of self-control’ published in Frontiers in Psychology, Liu, Chi, and Sui found that being given unfair or pointless work at the office drains workers’ psychological energy, and that drain directly feeds quiet quitting. The researchers also found a partial buffer: employees who use AI tools display a weaker form of that effect.
The study, which surveyed 229 full-time employees in three waves, two weeks apart, offers a task-level explanation for a phenomenon affecting the American workplace
