"Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit."
— George Carlin
Most People Work Just Hard Enough
Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.
About this quote
From Brain Droppings (1997), Carlin's first and best-selling book of observations, aphorisms, and extended rants. The line describes a tacit negotiation Carlin saw operating in most workplaces: a mutual, unspoken agreement to maintain just enough productivity to avoid consequences on both sides. It functions as social commentary presented as a perfectly balanced equation, and its symmetry is part of the joke.
Source
Brain Droppings