What is "quiet quitting"? A guide for employers and candidates

Posted on 29/09/2022 by Caitlin Ielasi

​"Quiet Quitting" is a relatively new workplace "buzzword". This term has been defined and redefined and is surrounded by ambiguity. 

What is quiet quitting?

As stated by Yessi Bello Perez, Editor at LinkedIn News, "quiet quitting" is about rejecting the notion that work has to take over one's life and that employees should go above and beyond what their job descriptions entail". In a nutshell, employee disengagement, known as "quiet quitting," occurs when team members just do the essential duties of their positions in order to maintain their employment rather than going above and beyond.

Employees who don't feel appreciated at work, burn out, or believe they have no room for advancement sometimes "quiet quit." This could manifest as declining projects because you are uninterested, refusing to respond to work-related messages after hours, or simply feeling less committed to the position.

For Employees

Before disengaging at work, we encourage you to evaluate your perspective and decide whether you genuinely feel this way.

It doesn't assist anyone to distance yourself from your role and feel resentful. It doesn't benefit the company you work for in the long run, nor does it help you personally. You're not improving or advancing, and you're not even learning new abilities that would enable you to advance into a position that you do want.

If you are in any way dissatisfied with your position, we encourage you to establish some open dialogue with your employer.

Before you "quiet quit," give your employer a chance to address any concerns and expectations. Remember, if you check-out, this can lead to poor references, poor work performance, and may impede your future job prospects.

For Employers

Employers should encourage and support their employees to look after their well-being and foster open and honest relationships. We are currently in an employment market where employee expectations are at an all-time high.

Tips

• Maintain reasonable workload expectations. We understand that the business world is chaotic and that overtime is sometimes necessary. However, there is a difference between maintaining a steady workflow and employees continuously working beyond their capacity, which is not sustainable long-term.

• It is vital to keep remuneration competitive with market rates. It is also important to evaluate whether your employees' output and responsibilities are consistent with their pay rate. Without appropriate rewards for going above and beyond, employees are likely to feel devalued. 

• Foster an open and encouraging 2-way dialogue. Understanding and listening to your employees' career aspirations and potential is important. Some employees may have no interest in climbing the "corporate ladder," while others may want advancement. By fostering development and conversations, employees feel empowered and encouraged to take action, rather than inaction.

• The need of maintaining a healthy work-life balance is emphasised, and personal leisure should be combined with suitable after-hours work. Be vocal about a worker's efforts and provide them with positive reinforcement if they put in a lot of overtime. Offer them compensated personal days or flexible hours for appointments and personal affairs after thanking them.

• Support employee wellbeing and build rapport with your employees. When teams feel treated like human beings and not faceless entities, they tend to feel a stronger sense of commitment to their job. 

Employees want fair working conditions and demands, positive workplace cultures, the opportunity to be passionate about their careers, to learn and grow, and to yet have a life outside of the office. Leadership must foster these conditions and address workplace issues so that workers can maintain a good work-life balance without burning out.