Quiet quitting: How to deal with a passive employee

Quiet quitting refers to the practice of employees doing the bare minimum in their jobs. They perform the tasks necessary to their jobs but do not go above and beyond. These employees are disinterested and disengaged at work.

The term quiet quitting is relatively new. It first emerged in March 2022 when a video describing quiet quitting trended on TikTok. Now quiet quitting has become something of a phenomenon. A Gallup survey released in September 2022 revealed that at least 50% of American workers are quiet quitters.

Why now for quiet quitting?

While the COVID-19 pandemic itself didn’t spawn quiet quitting, it did arguably kick start a movement where workers questioned their dedication to work, and more specifically, putting work above their home life.

For many workers, working from home during the initial phase of the pandemic highlighted how they could achieve a better work-life balance. It also gave them time and opportunity to reassess their lives.

A by-product of the pandemic, the Great Resignation, saw many workers leave their jobs to pursue other opportunities.

This mass resignation meant many organizations faced staff shortages, making it more important than ever to retain current employees. In this workers’ jobs market, employees may have felt more secure in their roles, and could take their foot off the pedal without the risk of losing their jobs.

For others, it became important to set boundaries at work, like not answering emails or phone calls outside of work hours, downing tools at exactly home time, or taking their full allocation of holiday and sick days.

What are the effects of quiet quitting?

You’d be forgiven for thinking that quiet quitting isn’t a particular problem. Workers are doing their jobs, right? Well yes. But for organizations to thrive they need their employees to put in extra effort at least some of the time.

The growth in the trend of quiet quitting coincides with a record drop in productivity rates in the US during the first two quarters of 2022. A drop in productivity has several implications. I

t can hamstring an organization, and cause it to cede advantage to its competitors. Of course, it can also have a dramatic impact on an organization’s bottom line. More generally, the drop in productivity in 2022 cost the world $7.8 trillion, which equates to 11% of global GDP.

More worrying for the long term, the Gallup survey revealed that the engagement levels of workers under the age of 35 dropped by 6 percentage points between 2019 and 2022.

This suggests that work ennui is becoming more prevalent among the Gen Z and younger millennials demographic. This does not bode well for the future of work.

So how can organizations reduce quiet quitting and encourage more engagement among their employees? Let’s have a look at some of the tactics for improving worker engagement.

How to manage quiet quitting in your organization

1. Focus on engagement levels.

We’ve written at length about the importance of employee engagement. It simply cannot be overstated. Engaged employees are more enthusiastic about their work, and will be more likely to go that extra mile.

Organizations need to work on making employees feel valued, but also, and this is crucial, that their work has value. Traditionally, organizations focused on offering high salaries and excellent benefits in a bid to boost engagement, but that doesn’t impress the Gen Z cohort.

They need to feel a sense of purpose in their job. Here are some ways to foster that sense of purpose:

• Create an open and transparent workplace
• Communicate all relevant company decisions
• Recognize employees’ work
• Encourage employee feedback
• Invest in employee wellbeing and development
• Consult employees. They are experts in their area so can offer key insights
• Set up peer-to-peer groups where employees can train each other

2. Stick to your promises.

The Great Resignation forced organizations to re-evaluate their internal culture and their relationship with their employees. To improve staff retention, many promised to introduce programs aimed at improving employee conditions, including wellbeing, work-life balance, and flexible work schedules.

These promises re-invigorated workers who saw it as proof that organizations listened to them and valued them. Now is the time for organizations to stand by those assurances. Half-heartedly enacting stated promises, or not keeping them at all, is a recipe for disaster and is a fast track to quiet quitting.

3. Assess your culture.

What does your culture say about your organization? Is it employee-centric and inclusive? Does it value worker feedback? Does it have staff wellbeing—physical and mental—at its core?

Some organizations may only need to make minor tweaks to their internal culture to boost employee engagement, but for others, it will require wholesale changes. The culture your organization projects to the outside world needs to align with the internal culture.

4. Enlist and train strong managers.

Managers play a vital role in maintaining employee morale and engagement. Good managers understand what makes their workers tick. They see what motivates them.

Best practice for any manager is to make regular time to have a conversation with their team. This could be a simple 10-minute call each week, or whatever is practical. The point is that this should be a regular check-in.

And the call doesn’t need to focus on work, it could be an opportunity for managers to get to know their employees better, find out about their home life, and what challenges they may be facing.

Managers who truly know their employees can then interact with them in ways that build trust and loyalty. The characteristics of a good manager are more than just the obvious skills.

In fact, soft skills can often be even more important than your typical skills. Here are some key soft skills for instilling loyalty and dedication in your employees:

• Transparency
• Good at communicating
• Excellent listener
• Open to feedback
• Consistent
• Empathetic
• Flexible (open to change)
• Good at motivating employees
• Good at resolving conflict
  

Key Takeaway

Quiet quitting is when your employees scale back on their efforts, doing the bare minimum each day. This can have a significant impact on an organization as productivity levels drop. The main cause of quiet quitting is a disengaged workforce.

Employees who may feel undervalued or who feel they are not being looked after. Disengagement levels among younger employees in particular are rising, which should ring alarm bells in organizations around the world.

The good news is that organizations can reduce the potential for quiet quitting. The most effective way to reduce quiet quitting is to focus on increasing engagement levels among employees.

Organizations can improve staff engagement by:

• Developing an open and transparent workplace
• Continuously assessing the workplace culture
• training strong managers and
• By living up to their commitments to staff.