The Great Resignation was a phrase often tossed around in 2021 and 2022 as many workers reassessed their priorities at work. The reasons for people quitting their job are increased pay, a better company culture, better benefits and a better work-life balance.
Now in 2023, there is a new attitude on both ends of the spectrum with workers and management having to think about their relationship with one another. The uncertainty that surrounds the economy has workers holding on to their jobs, but that still does not mean they are all in with the company.
This is leading to “quiet quitting,” which refers to opting out of tasks beyond one’s assigned duties and/or becoming less psychologically invested in work. Quiet quitters do fulfill their primary responsibilities but are not engaged in activities such as showing up early or attending non-mandatory meetings.
“Quiet quitting is not a new phenomenon. It is a catchy new social media-made phrase. It basically boils down to disengagement,” said Abigail Chambley, director, talent acquisition, Mission Cloud.
Chambley participated in a panel discussion during the 2023 Future of Work Expo in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The question came up as to why quiet quitting is even a thing.
“Quiet quitting is a result of quiet management. People are apprehensive to have those hard conversations,” said Dave Fox, CEO, Focus Global Talent Solutions. “People don’t quit companies, they quit leaders. It comes down to management.”
After discussing what quiet quitting is, the panel came to a conclusion that quiet quitting is starting to stall in the tech space because of layoffs, which is making employees second-guess if they want to leave their current role.
“Everyone knows the employees ran the show in COVID. With the layoffs going on in the tech world, the power is coming back to the corporations,” said Steven Edwards, CEO, Premier Virtual.
Still, there is that worry among leaders that employees continue to disengage. With employees disengaging, companies need to find a way to keep them engaged. The answer to this is to give them some motivation, a goal to work toward that allows them to grow professionally.
“With the hourly workforce, they want growth opportunities,” said Andreina Morales, vice president of community operations, Instawork. “We established a program to earn points for things like instant pay or the ability to get access to the best paying jobs, which is a huge motivator. As long as workers have something to strive for, they are worth keeping if they perform well.”
This reiterates that managers need to provide coaching and career development to an employee. Leadership also has to be less quick-draw from pushing out an expensive resource and learn to keep that resource in.
“If you have someone who is great, it is up to the company to paint a compelling future for them to advance forward,” said Fox.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
