<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=349935452247528&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Find out where you can get a Taste of TAB... our global events blast is on!
Search
word-map-thumb

The Alternative Board Blog

Everything You Need to Know About Quiet Quitting

Sep. 15, 2022 | Posted by The Alternative Board

Quiet quitting. It’s the latest business buzz, and a sizzling hot topic on social media and throughout employment and HR sectors. Depending on who you ask, quiet quitting either refers to workers establishing healthy boundaries within their employment dynamic or them setting the perfunctory job bar as low as possible. Quiet quitting is not really about quitting altogether, but rather performing one’s duties to a bare minimum standard.

Weary business owners, still reeling from the Great Resignation and other post-pandemic labor issues, have been trying like gangbusters to increase employee retention. But retention might not be a good thing if those employees are unenthusiastic and furtively not producing what they should or could be.

Whether self-advocates or slackers, quiet quitters just might be quietly undermining the growth and profitability of your business.

The Psychology Behind Quiet Quitting

While there are certainly other factors at play, the increase in quiet quitting seems to be directly related to the rise of the modern employment dynamic. Today’s employees, particularly the younger ones, tend to consider their work engagements as both transitory and strictly transactional, thus they lack the above-and-beyond mentality associated with a desire to climb the company ladder. Mostly gone are the days of those plucky kids starting their careers in the mailroom and working their way all the way up to the C suite.

While apathy related to performance and personal career growth is arguably indicative a limiting employee mindset, perhaps more importantly, it may also be a strong telltale of an unsatisfactory company culture.

How Does Company Culture Play Into Quiet Quitting?

Businesses that hire and reward workers who possess a positive personal growth mindset tend to avoid the pitfalls of quiet quitting. Furthermore, businesses with mentorship and career development programs are better able to hire and retain growth-minded talent. It’s about creating and fostering a company culture that embraces and incentivizes growth, training, and advancement. And that starts in the job interview.

To prevent hiring quiet quitters, business owners and HR directors should vet job candidates for past promotions, industriousness, and other factors that tend to represent conscientiousness, diligence, and drive. Then hire those people and reward them well for exceeding performance expectations.

It’s about creating a company culture of growth and excellence from the ground up.

Ways to Identify Quiet Quitting

Quiet quitters tend to be chronically and almost overtly disengaged. While quiet quitters likely consider meeting attendance as a basic requirement, they don’t actively participate in discussions or group activities. Their productivity and performance, while generally fine at face value, never surpass minimum expectations.

Another indication that an employee is quiet quitting is when other team members complain of taking up the quiet quitter’s extra workload.

Are Quiet Quitters Worth Salvaging?

The sad but true answer is maybe, maybe not. Accepting underperformers or just-good-enough producers can disincentivize your entire team, stymie innovation, and dramatically decrease profitability.

But don’t give those quiet quitters their walking papers just yet.

Once you suspect an employee is a quiet quitter, consider scheduling a meeting with them during their standard workday. Keep in mind that this conversation can be a little tricky, as these employees are technically not doing anything wrong. Discuss their expectations, how they rate their performance, where they see themselves in the future, and ideas they might have for the business.

From there, you will likely have a better read of whether this employee brings value to your business now and for the long-term. If the answer to that question is no, then begin the recruitment and hiring process with a much better understanding of the drive and performance you expect of your next great hire.

Read our 19 Reasons You Need a Business Owner Advisory Board

DOWNLOAD

Written by The Alternative Board

Related posts

AI Meets HR: The Next Frontier in Workforce Management
Aug. 14, 2024 | Posted by The Alternative Board
Artificial intelligence is everywhere and is supercharging the way we run and grow our businesses. One of the more interesting and exciting AI developments from an operational standpoint is how the...
How to Build an Ethical Workplace Culture
Mar. 6, 2024 | Posted by Lee Polevoi
Most of us understand what it means to act in an ethical manner. CEOs and business owners frequently advocate a set of ethics by which to run their organizations, helping the workforce maintain a...
Goal-Setting Tips for Your Remote Work Team
Jan. 31, 2024 | Posted by Lee Polevoi
Is there any difference between setting goals for your on-site team and your remote workforce? Certainly, there are striking familiarities. For example, whether employees work in-house or are...
How to Cultivate a "Goal-Focused" CEO Mindset
Jan. 17, 2024 | Posted by Lee Polevoi
The coming of a new year is the best time to re-think the past year’s professional and personal goals and start cultivating new goals for the weeks and months ahead. Of necessity, this means...
Leverage Internal Communications to Boost Retention
Oct. 2, 2023 | Posted by Lee Polevoi
What are the most effective ways to retain valued employees? Experts point to workplace culture, the quality of pay and benefits, and/or opportunities for advancement within the organization. All...
Peer Coaching Groups for Company Success & Employee Well-Being
Aug. 18, 2023 | Posted by Dave Scarola
Do you incorporate peer coaching and peer learning into your company? Should you? This article will explain what Peer Coaching Groups are and how they can positively impact organizations and...
How To Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning
Aug. 9, 2023 | Posted by The Alternative Board
Talent acquisition and retention can be difficult for many businesses, even in the best of times. No doubt, these post-pandemic years have exacerbated HR challenges due to all kinds of fluctuations...
A Great Employee Experience Can Lead to Greater Retention
Aug. 2, 2023 | Posted by Lee Polevoi
We all know about the importance of a positive customer experience. Lately, word is spreading about the employee experience, defined by BetterUp as “the interactions an employee has with people,...