We have, most likely, all heard the term “Quiet Quitting” recently. I think this is a timely topic for us to unpack.
Quiet Quitting is the term that refers to not outright quitting your job but, instead, quitting the idea of going above and beyond. We also have “Quiet Firing” entering the arena, which refers to the situation where an employer may make the work environment unpleasant with the intent for the employee to leave on their own.
So much to unpack, but let’s focus on quiet quitting for now.
Gallup is a leading source for all things engagement and does report that engagement continues to be down in the second quarter of 2022. However, while research is still forthcoming on quiet quitting, my thoughts are that it is different from disengagement. When I think of disengaged employees, I think of the poison, those that have negative intent towards the organization. Even when I think of “Not Engaged” employees, I think of employees that, while they may not have it out for the company, they certainly don’t care about performance, metrics or anything mostly beyond their paycheck.
Quiet quitters are those that have, in many cases, gone above and beyond repeatedly and are making the decision to not do that anymore and instead, only do what is required.
What does this mean for us as leaders? We love those employees that go above and beyond and probably wish we could have a team full of them. But what happens when they continually go above and beyond? Particularly when they do this without recognition and/or time to recharge. That is what, I believe, is at the crux of quiet quitting.
Our takeaway, for now, from this new phenomenon can be to recognize our people, especially the high performers, in a meaningful way that they receive. It can also be a reminder for us to provide intentional space for our employees to recharge, whether it be a vacation free from work, or not sending our own emails on nights and weekends.
I hope that this helps you to take an intentional look at your team, understand if you have any quiet quitters, and most importantly, find some tools to put into place that benefit you and your organization.
