One of the post-pandemic phenomena that employers need to understand is quiet quitting, when employees do exactly what they are employed to do and nothing else.
“There is a new trend among unhappy professionals: quiet quitting ... We should see quiet quitting as a serious measure of the relationship between companies and the people they rely on ... [It] is a passive rebellion based on the view that companies often take more from their employees than they give,” says PaySpace MD Sandra Crous.
She advises:
- Quiet quitting happens when workers do only what is required of them, which may shock companies, but it is a result of people working unpaid overtime, burning out as they take on more responsibilities without compensation and poor project management;
- It is likely to happen in organisations that are hierarchical, do not have good incentive schemes and communication with workers, and where workers are not given independence;
- It is a sign that workers feel underappreciated, overwhelmed and out of control;
- Leaders can avoid it by ensuring workers know what they contribute to the organisation so they have a sense of purpose about the work they do; and
- People need to feel that they have some autonomy at work and control over their working lives.
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