What is Quiet Quitting and How Do You Prevent It?

The concept of quiet quitting, which started with a video on TikTok that went viral, refers to workers who decide to stay on the payroll while doing the bare minimum required for their job. 

Employees who only do their job and not much else can have a negative impact on a company's bottom line, especially in small businesses that rely on their workforce giving it their all to stay competitive. 

Being aware of this trend as well as the signs and solutions can help small-business owners prevent quiet quitting from gaining a foothold at their company. 

What Is Quiet Quitting?

"Quiet quitting" refers to employees doing the minimum work to get by, refusing to put in extra hours, and no longer going above and beyond their duties to give employers their discretionary effort. Quiet quitters are rejecting the hustle culture of being constantly on and sacrificing personal and family time to go above and beyond their regular work.

Causes of Quiet Quitting

According to a 2022 Gallup poll of over 15,000 full-and part-time US employees aged 18 and over, at least half of American workers are “quiet quitting.”

This trend is continuing. The just-released State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report shows that the majority of the world's employees are quiet quitting, that is, they are psychologically disengaged from work. "They may be physically present or logged into their computer," states the report, "but they don't know what to do or why it matters. They also don't have any supportive bonds with their coworkers, boss, or their organization." Nearly 6 in 10 employees surveyed fell into this category. (The survey includes almost 122,500 respondents from more than 160 countries.)

One of the reasons for quiet quitting is that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more demands on employees’ time. The US workforce is smaller than before the pandemic, putting more burden on remaining employees who are often required to do more work without a pay increase.

The extra work has taken its toll on employees, particularly younger workers who are burnt out and unwilling to clock in at all hours to do their jobs. According to Asana’s 2022 Anatomy of Work report, almost one in four surveyed workers experience burnout four or more times per year. (The survey included over 10,000 workers across the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and Singapore.)

Employees suffering from burnout are responding by reconsidering how they manage their personal and professional lives, prioritizing their mental health and life outside work.

Working from home or hybrid work has also contributed to some employees quiet quitting as they start feeling disconnected from other team members and their purpose at work. Disconnected employees mentally check out and lessen their contributions in meetings and other workplace activities.

“Our research shows that poor leaders had nearly five times as many employees who could be defined as quietly quitting as the best leaders,” explains Jack Zenger, CEO of leadership development firm Zenger Folkman. “Note also that the best leaders had about three times as many people willing to put forth a high level of discretionary effort in contrast to the poor leaders.”

How Quiet Quitting Affects Small Businesses

From a business perspective, quiet quitters can harm a business in many ways. This is especially true in small companies where quiet quitters can have a more immediate negative impact than in large organizations where quiet quitters can go undetected for extended periods.

In a small business with fewer employees, quiet quitters can erode productivity because they can increase the workload of others who are forced to pick up the slack.

Being aware of this trend as well as the signs and solutions can help small-business owners prevent quiet quitting from gaining a foothold at their company.

In a small shop, it can be easier to flip the work culture upside down quickly – all it can take is one or two to influence the rest negatively. Quiet quitting can affect team morale and have repercussions for other employees who want to give their energy and commitment to advance in the company.

Employees who go above and beyond to give their best efforts to their jobs can create a significant competitive advantage for their companies. By contrast, quiet quitters can be a detriment to a company's bottom line, especially if it's a small business.

How to Identify Quiet Quitting

While quiet quitting tends to be inconspicuous – hence the term “quiet” – there are some telltale signs. These include:

• A reduction in an employee’s usual work output
• Lower contribution to team projects
• Lack of attendance at meetings
• Not speaking up in meetings or consistently keeping webcams turned off
• An uncharacteristic lack of initiative
• Reduced interaction with colleagues
• Regularly refusing to work extra hours
• Unwillingness to take on any additional work

How to Combat Quiet Quitting

Conducting regular employee surveys can be an important strategy for increasing employee engagement and satisfaction and preventing quiet quitting. This is what Waterford.org, an early education nonprofit that provides equitable access to early learning programs that support teachers, families and children, regularly does with team members to get a sense of what employees perceive the company is doing well and what it could do better.

"We partnered with an outside consulting firm to do a comprehensive study and audit of our compensation program," says Chief People Officer Lori Pugh. "We now have a robust salary grading system and documented processes and procedures that help to ensure internal and external equity, which will be shared with employees."

The company is also dedicated to the employee's professional development. "We recently purchased a software platform," says Pugh, "that will allow us to:

• better foster a coaching relationship with managers and their direct reports,
• clearly designate objectives and key results for every department and team to quantify the organizational impact of each employee, and
• design career tracks associated with every role in the organization to transparently show the path and criteria that could be available to that role."

As Pugh shows, a company can do much to pre-empt quiet quitting.

Here are a few additional no-cost or low-cost ideas than may help your small business combat quiet quitting:

Keep Workloads Reasonable

Consider if the extra work piled on employees is higher than their available time, resources, or skillset. While overtime is essential from time to time, during the busy season, for example, try to avoid making it the norm. Try to keep any increases in workload short-term.

As Much as Possible, Offer Flexibility

Desiring flexibility doesn't only apply to knowledge workers. Frontline workers also crave flexibility and autonomy. A 2021 Gartner survey of 5,000 employees and 77 human resource leaders shows that nearly half of the employees who are not knowledge workers want greater control of aspects such as when and how much they work.

Retail employees, for example, could perhaps be given a schedule choice and allowed to trade their hours. Scheduling could also be adjusted as needed, e.g., four ten-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.

Abandon the Notion of Having an “Always On” Culture

Promoting an “always on” mindset can lead to employee burnout and could backfire with more employees choosing to quiet quit. How do you change a hustle culture?

• First and foremost, try to avoid sending and expecting answers to emails after hours.
• Consider not asking employees to work evenings or weekends unless it is a part of their regular work schedule.
• Consider turning off any unnecessary notifications and the constant pinging of texts.
• You may want to reconsider the number of meetings employees must attend and limit the length of meetings.
• Consider limiting discretionary workplace activities such as team building exercises and other ostensibly “fun activities.” At least make it clear that declining participation is okay.

Regularly Have One-on-One Meetings with Employees

According to the 2022 Gallup research mentioned above, Gallup recommends having one meaningful weekly conversation with each team member for 15-30 minutes. 

What constitutes a meaningful conversation?

• Genuinely try to get to know your employees' work-life situations. Are they able to cope easily with their workload? Do they need support? 
• Try to understand their mindset. Is the work not challenging enough? Are they bored? Are they having difficulties with a co-worker leading them to withdraw? 
• Try to clarify their roles, goals, and expectations. Unclear expectations can lead to anxiety, which can trigger withdrawal. 
• Do they feel unappreciated? Are their efforts undervalued? Consider offering resources and positive feedback that lets them know you value them.
• Try talking to employees about how you can be a better manager and make your company a great place to work.

Observe These Potential Red Flags in Your Job Postings

Consider eliminating phrases in your job postings that may signal a fast track to burnout and dissuade applicants from applying. 

Examples of such phrases include:

• "Fast-paced environment"
• "Self-starter"
• "Agile"
• "Works well under pressure"
• "Highly motivated"
• "High energy"

Help Managers Become Better Leaders

Consider developing leadership skills in everyone at your company who oversees others. Try to train them to be human-centered leaders who create nurturing environments and are dedicated to improving the employee experience.

Most people may want to work for more than just a paycheck. They could want managers who encourage the heart, foster a sense of purpose, and make them feel that their work matters. Zenger puts it best: “Help leaders to be more inspiring by reminding their colleagues of the impact their work has on clients and society in general.”

The Takeaway

Ultimately, quiet quitting may have more to do with a manager’s management style than the employee's work ethic. Something may have to give when employees are continually asked to go the extra mile, resulting in emotional and physical burnout. A good manager can give employees more control of their working life, creating a workplace that respects employees’ work-life balance needs. In the end, work-life harmony can be good for everyone – the employees and the business.

Photo: Getty Images