Quiet quitting is taking the corporate world by storm. Although this might be a trendy term, it has nothing to do with quitting, nor is it a new phenomenon.
So, what is quiet quitting?
Quiet quitting is when employees limit their tasks and responsibilities to reflect those clearly outlined in their job description. Besides what’s on an employee’s to-do list, it’s also about disengaging from the idea that work is life. For example, pre-pandemic, employees worked beyond their 9-5 schedule almost three out of the five-day work week. The more they do this, the more it becomes normalized and expected, which is exactly what young employees are pointing out and attempting to move away from through quiet quitting.
Working from home adds a new layer of challenges. It becomes difficult to stop working when there aren’t physical signals of other co-workers wrapping up their days. For example, 70% of those who work from home admit that they work on weekends while almost 50% say that they are working more than they did when everyone was in the office.
Where does it originate?
Quiet quitting is a significant indicator of burnout in employees. Often shrugged off as another normal work emotion, burnout is more than just feeling stressed and should be taken seriously. It’s the result of stress that becomes a persistent norm, causes overwhelming feelings, and leads to avoidance behavior.
Know the signs of burnout in your employees.How can you spot quiet quitting?
It can vary in appearance throughout your population, but it can most easily be identified in a few distinct ways:
- Low motivation to complete tasks
- Employees are only interested in helping with what’s required
- Reserved behavior and unwillingness to brainstorm with a team
- Often straying into projects that aren’t aligned with their direct role
What employers can do:
Once the feelings of quiet quitting begin, it can be hard to re-engage employees. But there are a few things employers can do to support their people so that they don’t fall down the rabbit hole:
- Schedule frequent check-ins with employees
- Encourage employees to make time for life
- To do this effectively requires managers to lead by example.
- Support employees on issues they care about
- Ask them what benefits they care about.
- Be flexible
- Motivate your employees to get their work done in a way that best suits them.
