Zulie, I love this article!

I feel a lot of the hustle culture and the constant seeking for improvement is very much normalised in Western culture.

However, in Southeast Asia, entire cultures take a different view. The quiet quitting movement isn't anything new for them - it's something they've always been doing. For instance, it's not uncommon in Malaysia or Thailand for people to work just enough to cover their expenses - once they've earned enough for the month, they stop working! This has its pros and cons, naturally. For the individual, it's significantly less stress. At the societal level, though, it means less progress than more work-oriented cultures.

Personally, I think both approaches are extremes. It feels like the European approach is the best of both worlds - serious work between 9-5 with a strict cut-off outside these hours.