‘Quiet quitting’. It’s a phrase that has gained huge traction this year in conversations about the workplace, and it’s certainly divided opinion. While some view quiet quitting as career suicide, others see it as a means to re-establish boundaries and cultivate a healthier work/life balance. For some, it’s a non-issue, and it simply means you’re doing what’s expected of you at work – what’s wrong with that?
Whatever your views on it are, it’s not necessarily a new trend, despite being propelled into virality this year by various TikToks. It’s simply the modern-day equivalent to worker disengagement.
Why should my organisation care about quiet quitting?
The question is; should employers be concerned about it? The short answer is yes. A now infamous study by Gallup shows the proportion of employees that are engaged at work has dropped, while those who are actively disengaged has increased since 2019. Why does this matter? Because the ability to engage employees matters in our current labor market – a great employee who feels disengaged will realise they have options and leave. In fact, quit rates remain at a 20-year high.
So can disengagement be ‘fixed’? Not overnight, at least. But the good news is we know from decades of research that what works when it comes to re-engaging employees, is the same as what helps to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and a sense of belonging.
How to re-engage employees in four steps
At Peoplism – which is a DEIB consultancy that has helped a whole host of companies build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace – a strategic plan that involves improving four areas is recommended as the ‘antidote’ to quiet quitting, all while improving D&I at the same time:
- Clarifying expectations (and making sure they’re fair)
- Providing equal opportunities for professional growth – and this doesn’t always mean promotions and payrises
- Teaching managers the importance of leading inclusively, and arming them with the skills to put this into practice
- Creating opportunities that promote a sense of ‘belonging’ in the workplace – and making sure these opportunities don’t inadvertently alienate team members
Dr. Liz Kofman-Burns, co-founder of Peoplism, holds a Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA. Here, she breaks down these four areas.
Clarify expectations
“A lack of clear job expectations, and especially raise and promotion criteria, have long plagued organizations and driven disengagement. But after two-plus years of pushing employees to step up and adapt at work amid a global health crisis, now is an especially good time to give all employees true clarity about what is expected of them at work,” says Dr. Kofman-Burns. “That means that your job descriptions should match the core competencies really needed to perform the role, and those core competencies should be what is reviewed and rewarded in raise, bonus and promotion decisions. These expectations should be fair and compensate people for all the work they do.
“If you ask or expect some employees to step up and take on extra responsibilities that benefit your culture, like planning events and celebrations or serving on committees, that work should be made explicit and compensated. Women, especially women of color, are more likely to take on such unpaid culture-building work, and they are sick of it.”
Provide equal opportunities for professional growth
Advancement doesn’t necessarily mean getting a promotion. Business needs often mean that not everyone can be promoted. But everyone can grow and learn in their job. And there is a vast amount of research that shows employees crave growth and learning opportunities. A Workday Peakon study of millions of employees, for example, found that employees that said they didn’t have growth opportunities were much more likely to quit within 9 months.
The key to introducing growth and learning opportunities is to ensure that they are equitable. Don’t just give growth opportunities like coaching, mentorship, or stretch assignments to people that leadership has already identified as stars (these are often people who look very similar to the current leadership due to similar-to-me bias). Research shows that organizations actually benefit most when learning opportunities are democratized and given to those employees that are least likely to be on leadership’s radar, including underrepresented employees. We’ve also published a detailed report on this very same topic.”
Teach managers inclusion skills
“It’s not enough for managers to have good relationships with some employees. In fact, researchers studying employee turnover have found that employee turnover is highest when managers have great relationships with most of their team, but not all of their team. That scenario is actually worse than having just okay relationships with your whole team. The key is for managers to be able to connect with all their team members.
Evidence shows providing managers with management training is highly effective. Invest in advanced manager training that encompasses why fostering inclusion and belonging is important for engagement and teaches the behaviors (like leading inclusive meetings, soliciting all voices, building equal relationships, etc.) of inclusion.”
Foster a sense of belonging
“If you want engaged employees, it is in your best interest to provide opportunities for belonging. This can include opportunities for colleagues to connect as human beings, like icebreakers, events, retreats, affinity groups, and cross-team collaboration.
Once again, it’s paramount that you take diversity, equity, and inclusion seriously when designing these opportunities. It’s much easier to feel like you belong when you are in the majority or your life outside of work fits into the norm. It’s much harder when you’re a member of an underrepresented or marginalized group, and may feel you need to hide important parts of your identity to fit in. Work events scheduled in the evening and centered around alcohol, for example, may not be appealing to parents with young children or people that don’t drink for religious or other reasons.
When done well, investing in employee resource groups (ERGs) is a highly effective way to promote belonging. ERGs create community spaces for colleagues from an underrepresented or historically marginalized group to connect across their shared identity. And remember, you should fairly compensate the leaders of these groups if it’s outside the scope of their core role.”
