Quiet Quitting: How Can Your Organization Prevent It?
As the global employment space evolves, employees constantly search for a better work-life balance. The pandemic, for example, is the latest trigger to employees leaving their jobs, citing job dissatisfaction.
However, in the quest to prevent resignations, employers have always ignored a rather severe problem; "quiet quitting." This is a situation where employees choose to keep their jobs but will only do what is within their contracts and will not go out of their way to do more.
The quiet quitting trend has contributed significantly to the financial losses of many companies. Employers should therefore try to identify the problem's causes and mitigate further quitting.
In this article, we will discuss what quiet quitting entails and tips on how employers can prevent it.
What is the meaning of Quiet Quitting?
The quiet quitting concept is old, although the term is relatively new and gaining popularity, especially among TikTok users. It is a scenario where dissatisfied and unmotivated employees deliberately slow down performance and do nothing beyond the necessary.
Employees who work in an unhealthy environment and experience a patchy work-life balance will silently rebel and evade extra duties outside their mandates. Employees are also likely to decline to take up new responsibilities or, even worse, refuse to offer a helping hand to their colleagues.
Disgruntled employees can derail work progress and affect overall company goals. The primary triggers of quiet quitting are often the lack of trust and commensurate compensation for the workload.
In addition, employees may feel overwhelmed and suffer mental, physical, and emotional strains if the work environment is toxic. Therefore, employers should try their best to address any disharmony and ensure employee satisfaction.
How to prevent quiet quitting?
Give an Ear to Your Employees
Quiet quitting is not an event but a process. Whenever an employee expresses concerns to an employer, it is wise to find a solution rather than ignore it. If employees are dismissed, they may view the employer as unapproachable, which eventually erodes confidence.
Employers should build rapport and constantly listen to their employees. If an employee feels ignored, they will resign or quietly quit. On the other hand, when an employee feels you are welcoming, they are likely to express their frustrations giving you a chance to find solutions to the problem.
Be consistent in your conversations with employees, hold meetings, and actively listen to them. That way, you will nurture solid relationships and stand in a better position to understand their plights and discuss how to solve them effectively.
Adequately compensate your employees
Inadequate pay is one of the primary causative agents of quiet quitting. The employee may be willing to do extra work, but for an incentive. Employees who do not receive a stimulus or the manager does not appreciate their effort feel demoralized and disrespected.
The well-being of employees is vital for productivity. So employers should avoid heaping loads of work at the expense of employees' comfort and without commensurate pay. Otherwise, the employee will feel like the employer only values output rather than balancing it with their well-being. Any unpaid work is also an infringement of the terms of the contract and a breach of trust.
A commensurate pay for work is the foundation of trust between an employer and employee. Without proper incentives, employees will feel undervalued and taken advantage of despite being willing to do extra work.
Therefore, rewarding employees according to their contributions to the company's success is essential. Compensations should also reflect existing market rates and living standards.
While money is the primary compensation unit, other rewards like benefits and recognition can motivate employees. Remember that you cannot hoodwink underpaid employees with supplemental pay.
Make Career-upgrading non-compulsory
Employees have different life and career goals. It is unfair to pressure employees to take up new roles without engaging them in a conversation about the same.
Since career change is an employee's personal decision, you only have one option, to encourage them to take up new roles without necessarily forcing them. You can start by testing how they respond to new tasks and check how they give feedback on their experiences about the same.
If you plan to assign one of your team members and management role, ensure the roles come with a new pay, title, and influence; otherwise, your efforts may be in vain.
Your conversation with the team member should also reflect your faith in their capabilities for it to yield. If an employee feels insufficiently furnished to assume new roles, you can suggest and sponsor (reimburse tuition fees) them to further their studies by taking an online MBA. The employee can thereafter receive a promotion, which is a motivation on their part.
Note that there should also be a balance between what the employee has to gain and the company. Otherwise, a one-sided goal will only demoralize the employee further.
Bottom Line
Quiet quitting can harm the company's and employees' overall welfare. Before employees respond to this harsh response, employers should strategize and implement prevention measures. Other than incentives and recognition of hard work, allowing your employees to improve on their skills by earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, for instance, can help restore your employees' confidence.
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