Quiet quitting is a rising and concerning trend that can lead to serious consequences for both employees and employers. It can be challenging to recognize when quiet quitting is occurring within your organization, so raising awareness and addressing the underlying issues is important. Leaders who establish proactive measures can assist in combating this trend and create more positive and productive workplaces for everyone.
Quiet quitting can sneak up on employers.
As defined recently on social media, quiet quitting is a steady transition from going above and beyond (which as my generation knows, is the goal we all strive for in the workplace) to doing only the bare minimum.
These days, it seems like the working environment is getting more and more stressful. With the constant onslaught of news and social media about quiet quitting, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you don’t have healthy work-life boundaries. It’s no wonder that workplace burnout is becoming an increasingly common problem.
In addition to learning more about this rising trend and how to combat it, it’s also important to show that you support your team members and that you are invested in their well-being by engaging a resilience keynote speaker.
A resilience keynote speaker can help to inspire and motivate your team members to keep going, even when things are tough. They can provide practical tips and advice for dealing with stress and help to remind your team members that they are strong and capable of overcoming anything that comes their way.
Workplace Burnout Leads to a Rising Trend in Quiet Quitting
The trend of quiet quitting that has been taking over social media lately, especially TikTok, can be a bit misleading as it doesn’t actually refer to people quitting, but rather finding ways to set boundaries at work.
This movement was sparked by the younger generation of employees, especially those in their 20s and 30s, who were tired of being taken for granted by their employers. For too long, employees who were dealing with an incredibly high workload were expected to sacrifice their health and well-being in order to get it all done.
The recent global pandemic we all lived and worked through ended up being the catalyst needed to reimagine a more flexible and manageable workplace. In order to continue business as usual, employees began offering remote work or adopted a hybrid work culture, which organically created healthier work-life boundaries.
In today’s workplace, many businesses are faced with the challenge of balancing the need for productive employees while also focusing on their well-being. Finding the perfect harmony is vital, as happy and healthy employees lead to greater success for an organization.
How Does Quiet Quitting Impact Your Business?
As your employees take a (silent) stand by steadily setting more boundaries at work, what happens to the overflow from the high workload they previously handled? This additional work has to flow somewhere and it’s crucial that employers take proactive steps before the entire organization is under water.
Below are some of the unintended effects that can arise when workplace burnout becomes too much and your entire workforce begins establishing work-life boundaries all at the same time without you having had the opportunity to put measures in place to support the transition.
Setting Boundaries at Work Leads to a Decline in Productivity
With so much pressure to perform at a high level, some employees are finding themselves exhausted, stressed and battling workplace burnout. Many of them deal with this by focusing more on their overall health and well-being, which leads to a decline in workplace productivity.
In today’s climate, more and more employees are finding ways to intentionally slow the pace of their work through quiet quitting, which reduces their overall stress level. If organizations don’t find ways to implement stress management activities for employees in order to build resilience in the workplace, they will not be able to get ahead of this rising trend.
High-Cost Employee Turnover
Quiet quitting is really just a kinder and gentler way to define low engagement at work, which typically leads to high staff turnover. If leaders fail to recognize this challenge and take proactive steps to counteract it, productivity will continue to decline, until it eventually becomes near impossible to retain top talent.
If an organization is unable to strike the perfect balance between retaining employees who perform productively and attracting new talent, the business’s bottom line will ultimately suffer.
How Can Leadership Deal With Quiet Quitting?
While this trend that came out of the pandemic continues to rise, there are many ways that leaders can combat it. One way to start is by focusing on creating a positive workplace culture that places greater importance on employees’ well-being through the methods detailed below. With these strategies, you can show your team that their overall well-being matters to you.
Pay Attention to Employees’ Well-Being
A primary underlying issue that has led to the recent quiet quitting trend is leaders not paying attention to their employees’ well-being. In today’s uncertain climate, it’s more important than ever to take time to listen to employees in order to better understand how they are feeling, both at work and at home.
Creating a happy workplace is essential to increasing business productivity.
As a leader, the organization’s success or failure ultimately rests on your shoulders, and since you rely on your team to complete the work necessary to sustain and grow your business, you need to ensure they are productive. When individuals are carrying trauma, especially post-pandemic, it can manifest in a variety of ways, such as anxiety, depression, anger or irritability. None of these emotions are conducive to a positive and productive workplace.
As a leader, it is important to create a safe and healthy environment where employees feel comfortable talking about their struggles. By being an empathetic leader, you can create meaningful change for your team.
Appreciate Your Employees
We’ve all heard the phrase, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” and this is never more prevalent than in the workplace. Employees who silently and steadfastly complete their work without seeking credit or calling attention to themselves are often overlooked by supervisors or colleagues who may be focused on more challenging team members.
The last thing a leader needs is for their most dedicated and productive employees to feel as if they are invisible or insignificant. Frequently, rather than bringing their concerns to light, these formerly committed employees begin the process of quiet quitting instead.
It’s crucial for leaders to recognize hard work.
When employees feel appreciated, they are much more likely to be productive and remain employed with your organization. Offering heartfelt recognition leads to employees feeling valued and heard, which helps to foster team building and collaboration.
Ultimately, you can create a positive and productive work environment that cultivates loyalty and retention by showing a deep appreciation for your employees’ contributions.
Set Healthy Work-Life Boundaries
Long hours, inflexible schedules and a lack of paid time off all contribute to a poor work-life balance. Even if your organization offers paid time off, if employees return to an overwhelming amount of emails and tasks, they may choose not to take time away from work at all.
As a leader, you can help combat this by setting your own limits and making sure your employees understand that they are not expected to be available 24/7. You should also encourage employees to take breaks, utilize paid time off benefits and avoid all work-related activities during their off hours.
By helping employees manage stress at work, you are building resilience in the workplace and showing that you support your team members.
Create Opportunities for Career Advancement
Growth is incredibly vital to the success of your team and your organization. When an employee feels as if there is no opportunity for advancement, they tend to lose motivation and their productivity will decrease. Especially for long-term employees, it’s crucial to stir up excitement about their work, and a great way to do that is by encouraging personal development and growth.
As a leader, you can support the advancement of your employees by offering paid courses or workshops and engaging a resilience keynote speaker to motivate and inspire your team through practical strategies and stress management activities for employees.
Through these actions, you will show your employees that you care about them and that you are committed to their professional development and growth.
Combat Quiet Quitting Issues with a Resilience Keynote Speaker
As a leader, it is critical for you to discover ways to be proactive in the battle against quiet quitting. This can begin with fostering a workplace culture that supports a healthy work-life balance, helping employees build resilience at work and bringing in a resilience keynote speaker that will support and help you maximize your efforts.
By loudly combating work stress, you can halt the quiet quitting trend in your organization.
