Bring Life Back to Your Job
(Cross-posted from INspired Leadership)
The first time I heard the phrase “quiet quitting,” I was sitting with a group of professional women. A small business owner, who also held a full-time job with a company, lamented dissatisfaction with one of her employer. She and another employee were “quietly quitting” by looking for other jobs with the plan to leave as soon as possible.
This comment was interesting as shortly thereafter she also lamented the fact that it’s hard to find “good employees” these days for her own business.
Some are calling this phenomenon of “quiet quitting” a current trend. I’ve heard it described in two ways:
Silently withdrawing in the current work role to as little responsibility and least amount of effort as possible
Eventually slip out the back door for greener pastures and formally quit.
Both definitions often leave companies and school districts high and dry.
On one hand, this action is lauded by the self-care crowd: Do what’s best for you! You should win!
On the other hand, it’s leaving employers in a lurch to pick up the slack with a decision that leaves a wake of fallout: Our students/customers/other employees lose with this gaping hole.
It’s often a win-lose situation.
You’ve seen it, too, haven’t you? In education, it’s administrators and educators waiting two weeks before school starts to notify a district they’re not coming back. Or it’s simply walking out mid-year. One day they’re here, the next they’re gone.
Some argue in our current culture that unwillingness to make a commitment seems to be an increasingly sexy move. (Just consider the NCAA’s transfer portal. Or small-town schools or local rec leagues cannibalized by year-round club teams. Don’t like your coach? Your sub-par teammates? Quit and come play with us!)
Who are the quiet quitters?
According to a Gallup survey in June 2022, quiet quitters “make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce—probably more.”[1]
You may be building relationships and investing in teamwork right now with someone who is secretly looking to part ways, or who is not equally invested in the good of the organization, without motivation to innovate or improve anything.
Why?
For one, burnout. Employees are answering emails outside of work hours, being given more and more responsibility, and feeling disconnected from the company, the mission, their boss, or their personal purpose in all of it.
For two, resentment. Too many are choosing resentment over feeling the discomfort of a conversation to share their dissatisfaction or ideas to be part of a solution.
Coaching around choosing “discomfort over resentment” continues to be a common theme when working on building healthy cultures. Healthy cultures include conversation and engagement from both parties: employers and employees.
Unfortunately, it’s a dance too many are sitting out.
And it’s not just the workplace. The term “quiet quitting” is also being used to describe non-work aspects of people’s lives, such as marriages and relationships.
What can employers do about it?
Listen, listen, and listen more.
Children who are listened to become confident adults. Employees who are listened to, stay.
Acknowledgment and validation are essential skills for leaders to master so employees feel heard.
Consider enrolling in a coaching course to learn to listen well.
Do some honest self-reflection.
Ask yourself, “Is this a problem with me and my leadership abilities? Would I want to work for a manager/boss/leader like me?” Then be honest about the answer.
Better yet, consider a culture audit and survey all employees. Use data to make decisions.
What can those dissatisfied with their job do about it?
Start a conversation about your dissatisfaction with the correct individual.
Instead of passively protesting, take an active approach.
Choose discomfort over gossip with colleagues or passive aggressive posts on social media.
Get your talking points in a row, your outcome clear, and invite a face-to-face sit-down to create a better experience for yourself with the person(s) who can help make it happen.
Do some honest self reflection.
Ask yourself, “Is this a problem with me and my leadership abilities? Would I want to hire an employee like myself?” Then be honest about the answer.
Better yet, survey 30 people anonymously, colleagues, bosses, friends, etc., about your strengths and weaknesses, stick-to-it-ness, and areas of growth. Then consider what they say.
The ultimate goal here is for all parties to create a win-win together.
Create a win-win by looking through the eyes of each other. What might they be experiencing?
What can you do or say to create a win-win for both you and your employer/employee?
For example, there’s nothing wrong with walking away, but can you give enough notice for an employer to fill the position?
To address this challenge of quiet quitting, leaders and employers must come together - after first reflecting about themselves - with a spirit of creating something that works best for both parties…even if overtly quitting is the agreement made.