What Quiet Quitting Really Means
Quiet quitting refers to employees who do their bare minimum required for their job position, without sacrificing their (free) time and putting in extra effort to excel in their roles and move upwards on their career ladder. Quiet quitters are sitting on the opposite side of engaged employees. Their emotional connection with the work they provide is missing, and they do not feel any relationship or bond with their company.
But here’s where it gets a bit complex: it’s more about a working style than it is actually about quitting. Research reveals that even up to 90% of the UK workforce consists of quiet quitters. These aren’t necessarily underperforming employees, as they are simply doing what their contract says, no more, no less. Quiet quitters continue with their work responsibilities, but without any excess engagement, like staying late or showing up early. We can define them as actively disengaged employees, or, as Gallup’s research, State of the Global Workplace, names them, psychologically detached.
To put it more clearly, quiet quitters are the ones who show up precisely on time, take their lunch breaks regularly and away from their desks, and leave the office when their work hours end. After that, they put a full stop to work – switching off emails and phones for any work-related inquires.
The Origins of Quiet Quitting
Quiet quitting emerged first as a result of COVID-19. Gen Z were the ones who were just starting their career when this once-in-a-century event took place, and the concept of fear of losing a job has not yet taken its place in their minds. After all, it’s their first/second job, and according to their conceived image, their paycheques are still small, but sufficient, until they find a better solution.
More importantly, work-life balance became non-negotiable for this generation. Mental health took centre stage as their top priority, especially when the pandemic’s constant uncertainty left many feeling emotionally unsettled. Ultimately, when you combine a generation that refuses to compromise on personal well-being with the unprecedented disruption of traditional work patterns, it’s hardly surprising that quiet quitting found its momentum.
The quiet quitting trend actually had its predecessor in a movement in China: the #TangPing (lay flat) hashtag was used to protest against the Chinese culture of overworking. Meanwhile, Gen Z workers from their neighbours, Japan, started trading career advancement for improved personal life and work-life balance.
Post-Pandemic Shifts in Work Culture
The pandemic made us pause from the social pressure of office environments, and made us think towards prioritising personal boundaries. That office disconnection led to a collective reevaluation of the meaning of the workplace. We can even name it a Work Culture Reset, putting things back in their original place, for example, if the job requires working from 9 to 5, then that’s it – no more working overtime. It’s a sharp detour from the 24/7 culture that took its toll around the corporate world. And it felt like quite a relief, because managers suddenly understood that employee productivity hadn’t dropped; instead, it was progressing upwards. Healthy work environments started to arise quickly afterwards, with pioneering companies leading the way towards a more employee-centred culture.
Why It’s Not About Quitting Your Job
We can define it as a reasonable workplace arrangement and engagement, but certainly not as quitting your job per se. Again, it’s about setting (healthy) professional boundaries. What was once considered the norm, defining yourself by the work you do from 9 to 5, is now set upside-down: Gen Z members identify themselves by their activities made from 5 to 9. The clash between the work ethics of the generations takes place now, and we’re up to see whose style will prevail in the coming years.
Signs an Employee Might Be Quiet Quitting
The fact is apparent: we all hear about quietly quitting colleagues from word-of-mouth. At first, we are surprised, but then a few telling signs appear in every story as a pattern. Let’s go through each of them.
Decreased Engagement and Initiative
Although it looks clear in theory, it’s pretty complex in practice. Noticing the decrease in engagement and initiative in every one of your employees can be a challenging task, especially if you haven’t previously had a worker who chose soft quitting as a method of disengagement; you won’t know when to raise your red flags and talk to them while there’s still a chance of getting them back on track.
And here are some of the red flags:
- Arriving precisely on time rather than early as previously.
- Leaving the work at five sharp.
- Completing the assigned tasks, but without enthusiasm.
- Avoiding on-work and after-work interactions.
Withdrawal from Extra Duties and Social Interaction
Many quiet quitters often step back from extra projects and non-essential workplace activities. Subtly, but surely, they begin rejecting invitations to after-work events and skipping regular workplace gatherings. They no longer feel like a contributing team member; they rarely join debates or provide ideas and feedback.
Quiet quitting introduces social implications as well. Avoiding deepening workplace friendships that were once regularly happening or disengaging in the informal networks that often drive organisational culture. You can notice them by their decreased laughter around the office.
Why Employees Choose Quiet Quitting
Understanding the motivation behind quiet quitting can lead us to finding more answers on how to slow this process and reskill managers to adequately response to the challenges of the new hybrid environment. Let’s go through several factors why workers end up quietly quitting their jobs.
Burnout and Work-Life Imbalance
Whenever we talk about quitting jobs, the first thing that comes to our mind is burnout. The silent motivation-killer is known for its ability to slowly stretch the boundaries between work and life, until they are too thin and break. This all comes as a result of the modern workplace issues, like 24/7 connectivity expectations, leaving many employees feeling constantly “on work”.
Lack of Recognition and Career Progression
Reactive quiet quitting results from increased employee engagement being undervalued or unrecognised. People who invest themselves in their career, but there is no reward for their extra effort, turn to quiet quitting, disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement from their line managers. Just as Harvard Business Review says in their article, “Quiet Quitting Is About Bad Bosses, Not Bad Employees.“
The Impact of Quiet Quitting on Businesses
Quiet quitters affect the productivity of businesses as a whole. They create a ripple effect that can also spread to other employees, diminishing the entire team’s performance. Join us as we examine the two most important consequences of their action.
Reduced Productivity and Innovation
Breakthrough ideas often emerge from workers willing to go above and beyond their immediate job requirements by experimenting with creative solutions and closely cooperating with their colleagues. But once the “spark” is gone, employees turn to operate in maintenance mode instead of growth mode.
Unlike dramatic crises that demand immediate attention, the gradual withdrawal of discretionary effort creates a slow-burning effect that can go unnoticed until the damage becomes significant.
The long-term consequences are more severe than many employers realise. A recent analysis revealed that persistent quiet quitting precedes significant declines in organisational performance metrics, including customer satisfaction (-18%), operational efficiency (-22%), and financial performance (-15%) over a period of three years. By the time the leadership recognises this pattern, reversing the damage would cost more time and effort than actually preventing it in the first place.
Cultural and Team Morale Consequences
Let’s first talk about the imbalance. Someone has to fill the job gap of the quiet quitters. The rest of the team takes on part of the load each, distracting them from their focus and pushing them further away from “going the extra mile” needed for the company to perform better each year.
This leads us to significant cultural and team morale declines. When you remove a brick, you’re shattering the basis upon which the team productivity was built. Because of the weight of the increased workload, the blame culture finds holes and starts sneaking in. Talks begin to appear on separate, unofficial communication channels, and opposing camps emerge from what was once a compact team. Before you know it, there’s a massive fire in your office, which you must put out.
How Employers Can Address Quiet Quitting
Addressing quiet quitting requires comprehensive approaches that tackle root causes rather than symptoms. Successful interventions focus on rebuilding worker engagement through improved management practices and bringing more straightforward value propositions of how employees’ work contributes to the overall success, thus enhancing the overall workplace culture.
Open Communication
Talk. Talk. Talk. Many things can be solved if they are put on the table. The issues dwelling inside our heads could sound much less complicated when said out loud, especially if the company has a culture of safe spaces and feedback channels. Don’t build weight on the matters by waiting for things to resolve by themselves; do regular check-ins instead. It’s a way to identify early warning signs of disengagement whilst demonstrating genuine interest in employees’ well-being and job satisfaction.
Flexible Work Arrangements
Gen Zs love to be flexible in their workplace. They even prefer it before any traditional benefits. Creating a hybrid schedule would mean a world to them. Flexibility applies not just to location and time, but also to role responsibilities. This approach can reignite interest in employees who feel constrained by rigid job descriptions that don’t utilise their full capabilities.
Recognition and Career Growth
Recognition doesn’t only mean improving your employees’ financial situation. It means nothing without a chance for career growth. Mentoring programs, skills training, and educational support demonstrate investment in employee engagement and their future. When workers see clear pathways for growth and development, they’re more likely to go the extra mile in their current roles, while building capabilities for their career advancement.
Building a Supportive Workplace Culture
Building psychological safety within teams encourages employees to contribute ideas, admit mistakes, and engage fully without fear of negative consequences. When workers feel secure in their roles and valued for their contributions, natural engagement often returns without forced interventions.
Regular team-building activities, celebration of achievements, and investment in the workplace environment, like snacks and drinks availability, and recreational spaces for foosball or table tennis. These efforts help build the emotional connection between employees and companies.
Conclusion
The rise of quiet quitting reflects broader cultural shifts towards sustainable working practices and more precise work-life boundaries. The goal isn’t to extract maximum effort from workers, but to create conditions where employees willingly contribute their best work because they feel valued, supported, and connected to your company’s success.
Do you want to know how to prevent your workforce from going into quiet quitting? Or what’s more, do you need someone to help and guide you every step out of an unengagement crisis? Get the right candidates whose values align with your company culture. Get the recruitment team that doesn’t just provide you with placements, but with loyal employees willing to stay with you for the long run.
