The concept of ‘Quiet Quitting’ went viral after career coach Brian Creely posted a Tik Tok in March describing the idea of not stressing yourself out at work and knowing there is a healthy balance between life and work. People no longer want their work to consume their life and are making the deliberate choice to do the bare minimum. The two paths that an employee can choose to take in pursuing this method is refusing to do more work without compensation that they feel entitled to or all together not giving their 100% effort.
Furthermore, ‘Quiet Quitting’ focuses on individuality and the belief that a person’s mental health and life outside of work should always be priority to that of work life. Many people have an issue with adapting to this idea because their work is not entirely independent and they are part of a department and team. By not giving their all, they will be letting down their coworkers who are going above and beyond. This misconception leads to guilt and the refusal to prioritize your own well being because you do not want to let down those you work with on an everyday basis. Many employees who are hearing about the phrase and realizing this is something they have already been doing and never had a correct name for it.
How did Quiet Quitting start?
Stemming from post pandemic conditions, employees started to feel underpaid and were faced with the realities of mental health, as well as adapting to different work environments such as remote and hybrid schedules. Employees have come to the realization that sometimes investing the above and beyond energy will not result in a raise or promotion so there is no incentive and a company should not make you feel that is a requirement.
According to the World Economic Forum, more than half of 18 to 25 year olds in the workforce are considering quitting their job. In the past 2 years, the way we work has changed dramatically and employees are redefining their expectations of their employers. A shift to remote working environments and an increase in technological communication has also led to digital burnout, which has mainly affected Gen Z.
With the loss of in person interaction, the workforce industry has fostered separate team relationships with their closest coworkers since there are no longer passive interactions in the office space. The new remote work style has also opened the door for employees to explore new ways to use their time, such as hobbies or more quality time with family and friends due to the flexibility in work location.
The Great Resignation
In 2020, we saw a widespread employment loss of 9.37 million jobs in the U.S. which exceeded the job loss of the global financial crisis in 2009. From the service industry to hospitality, minorities were at the core of this epidemic and suffered the increasing rate of unemployment. This increase in job loss across the country also led to employees who were facing low pay, lack of opportunities for advancement and feeling disrespected at work to quit their job, as reported by Pew Research Center.
In the midst of a recession with inflation in gas prices among countless necessary items, ‘Quiet Quitting’ has become the alternate to quitting a job that is not meeting your expectations. Employers are continuing to ask more of employees without increasing pay or incentives due to the nature of the economy. Employees are resorting to doing the bare minimum as a reaction to their employers expectation which is contributing to the overall dissatisfaction across the workforce industry.
Signs of ‘Quiet Quitting’ Work
Due to the Great Resignation, employees were faced with an increase in job related responsibilities because of vacant roles that were never filled. Here are a couple signs that indicate job dissatisfaction which may lead to ‘Quiet Quitting’
- Lack of appreciation
- Being underpaid
- Inadequate management
- Limited career growth
- Lack of development options
- Workplace relationships
- Work Life Balance
- Lack in interest in job
Source: https://www.aihr.com/blog/job-dissatisfaction/
How are companies combating ‘Quiet Quitting’ and re-engaging the workforce?
Some ways companies can combat quiet quitting include maintaining boundaries, keeping increases in workload short-term, and properly compensating employees. This advice helps employers understand the reasons behind the phenomenon and give actionable steps to fix the problem.
Keep increases in workload short-term – Try to ensure that employees would have predictable and steady workloads.
Properly compensate your employees – Pay discrepancies are one of the leading causes of quiet quitting. Learn more about employee benefits and perks.
Maintain boundaries – Quiet quitting allows employees to set boundaries and prevent co-workers or managers from overstepping and intruding on personal time.
Employ employee recognition strategies- Quiet quitters tend to feel under-appreciated. When the work goes unnoticed and un-praised, employees feel they could stop without leadership catching wise or caring, and they are often correct. Check out this list of employee recognition ideas.
Build rapport and relationships – Quiet quitting is the result of a disconnect between employees and employers. Building rapport and relationships with employees is one way to bridge this gap. Here is a list of relationship-building ideas and activities.
How Productive are Remote Workers in America?
The data on remote work indicates that remote workers on average tend to be significantly more productive than those working in an office. (Owl Labs, 2021) Data shows that those working from home in 2021 were 47% more productive, spent 10 minutes less per day being unproductive, and worked one more day a week.
Only 15% of remote workers are distracted by office politics as compared to 25% of office workers.
34% of office workers said that interruptions from colleagues affected their productivity, compared to only 16% of remote workers.
28% of office workers said that their daily commute negatively impacted their productivity, compared to 18% of remote workers.
Overall, employers would benefit financially and with great production output to adopt the trend of remote work going forward in America.
What Types of Hybrid Work Schedules Exist?
Hybrid work comes in many forms and a team’s work schedule may now be adjusted for particular employee needs and preferences.
Cohort schedules are the most structured hybrid work approach. With this format, everyone follows one common rule set by their manager or the company. For example, everyone at the company works in-office on Mondays and Tuesdays, with the option to work from home Wednesday through Friday.
Flexible schedules provide no hard-and-fast rules. Instead, employees can work from home when they want and come into the office when they want.
Hybrid schedules boost flexibility and employee satisfaction. Employees prefer the flexibility of a hybrid work environment because it helps them fit work around their personal lives. Since employees don’t have to commute every day, they have more time and flexibility for personal and family commitments.
Some types of hybrid work schedules can help you save money. If employees are in the office less, you might be able to downsize and reduce overhead costs for office space and materials.
What is the Status of Remote or Hybrid Work Today?
Post-pandemic, employees have made their new work expectations clear and employers had better take notice. Technological advances are supporting the ability to work anywhere and the stress-test on the system that the pandemic forced on employees and employers proved that, at minimum, hybrid work was possible and even profitable.
1 in 3 would quit their job if they could no longer work remotely after the pandemic.
71% want a hybrid or remote working style after the pandemic is over.
39% of employers are requiring employees to be in the office full-time post-pandemic, but only 29% want to be.
38% said that their employer has upgraded their video technology to allow for more hybrid collaboration.
In general, how companies decide to structure their workplace — for example, mandating a single schedule for the whole company or deciding on days on a team by team basis — the decision comes down to the individual company and its needs but it is likely that some concessions to hybrid or remote work will need to be made.
Are Remote and Hybrid Work Schedules the Future?
Remote work isn’t going away and companies should be actively adapting their work environments for increasing remote work demands for the future. Employees with the ability to work remotely are largely anticipating a remote or hybrid office environment going forward.
Approximately half of the U.S. full-time workforce, or 60 million workers, are “remote capable”, meaning their job can be done remotely or on a hybrid schedule from home.
Remote-capable employees have indicated in Gallup surveys that a hybrid work schedule will be the predominant office arrangement going forward. About 53% expect a hybrid arrangement, and 24% expect to work exclusively remotely (Year, Gallup).
Failing to offer flexible work arrangements is a significant risk to an organization’s hiring, employee engagement, performance, wellbeing and retention strategies.
Sources:
Bretous, M. (2022, October 14). What is “quiet quitting”? and why it’s trending on social media. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/quiet-quitting
Krueger, A. (2022, August 23). Who is quiet quitting for? The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/style/quiet-quitting-tiktok.html
Min, Sarah (2022, October 26) “Stanford University economics professor says hybrid work is here to stay” CNBC Work. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/26/stanford-universitys-nick-bloom-says-hybrid-work-is-here-to-stay.html
Owl Labs. “State of Remote Work 2021. 5th Annual Addition.” https://owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2021/
October 30, 2022 “Quiet Quitting: How to Prevent & Combat it at Work” https://teambuilding.com/blog/quiet-quitting
COUNCIL POST (Jan 10, 2023) “What’s The Future Of Remote Work In 2023?” Forbes.com.
Tik Tok linked examples: https://www.tiktok.com/@zaidleppelin/video/7124414185282391342