What is ‘quiet quitting’ and how to manage it
‘Quiet quitting’ is a new trending term doing the global rounds on social media and is leading to reduced productivity in the workplace.
Workers are said to be ‘quiet quitting’ when they disconnect from work. Essentially, this means they show up – but do the bare minimum required.
If you notice your worker’s productivity dipping, they are leaving work early, or they are no longer contributing as much to projects, they might be quiet quitting.
Quiet Quitting
What Can I Do If My Employee Is Quiet Quitting?
If your worker still meets their contractual obligations, it can be difficult to take formal action.
However, this attitude can create a toxic workplace. Happy workers are more successful workers. Support your staff where possible, and if they still underperform, get to the bottom of it and find ways to improve it together. To keep staff productivity high and prevent your workers from joining in the trend, HR Team recommends the following steps to counteract quiet quitting.
1. Provide regular feedback
According to a study, 85% of employees take more initiative if they get regular feedback. Lack of feedback is a big factor in decreased staff morale leading to them leaving their jobs.
Give your worker the advice and tools they need to succeed, and you’ll help keep them engaged and loyal. If an employee is unaware of how they are performing, they’re likely to disconnect and start looking for opportunities elsewhere. If performance is not at the required standard, let the employee know this in a private and constructive way.
Positive feedback is also a great motivational tool. When an employee performs particularly well let the employee know this.
2. Invest in the employee experience
If you want to keep staff invested, you must provide a great staff experience. When you do this, your workers will be more likely to stay loyal.
You can create a good employee experience by following best practices, such as:
- Looking at what motivates your employees. Time off and work-life balance have become important factors for employees when choosing an employer. This could involve setting up a flexible working policy that can help staff better manage their work and personal lives – leading to higher employee satisfaction and productivity.
- Engaging with employees – staff want to be recognised for their performance and they want feedback from senior management on how well individual and company performance is doing.
- Following correct procedures in cases of bullying or harassment, and taking the right steps to tackle issues may lead to speedier resolutions. Having an ‘open-door’ policy and keeping staff in the loop helps them feel valued.
3. Help employees manage their workloads
Staff may begin to disengage because they feel overwhelmed by their workload.
Employees who are constantly under pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines or have an outstanding number of tasks to complete might experience burnout. Staff burnout leads to lower productivity, mistakes, and health risks – it’s important to avoid this at all costs.
Make sure you arrange regular one-to- ones with your staff. And if you start to notice anyone is disengaging or dipping in productivity, talk to them about this to discover what the problem may be.
4. Make staff wellbeing a priority
If your staff are struggling with their mental and/or physical health, they might not feel able to perform as well at work. And if they feel under pressure, this might eventually lead to burnout or resignation.
It’s important to encourage your workers to ask for help if they need it and outline the support systems you have in place. We recommend having a mental health policy in place which outlines what the organisation is doing and will do to assist employees who are suffering from mental health concerns.
