In our latest guest blog, we asked Lucy Eckley of communications consultancy The Leading Story® to help us recognise and respond to a new buzzword in business – quiet quitting.
Don’t you just love a business buzzword? Quiet quitting is one right now – just Google it for a ton of articles and opinions. But what is it, why is it a hot topic and how can you avoid it in your business?
Quiet quitting gained traction in a Tik Tok video which described it as “…not outright quitting your job but…quitting the idea of going above and beyond.” Another description might be “a low level of engagement and motivation.” Employee engagement has long been a focus area for leaders, so is quiet quitting really a new phenomenon?
The pandemic has changed the relationship with work for many people. More of us have been able to work from home, structure our days differently and reflect on what’s really important in life.
For some this ‘great reset’ has led to going freelance, starting a business or leaving the world of work altogether. Others still in traditional jobs are revisiting their psychological contract with their employer. In order to ‘go the extra mile’ they are increasingly looking for interesting and challenging work that aligns with their values and provides opportunities for career development. When they feel their employer isn’t keeping their side of that bargain they may ‘quiet quit.’
Why is quiet quitting a challenge for employers?
With companies struggling to recruit and retain staff in a tough labour market, they need their existing employees to be fully engaged and delivering to the best of their ability.
Gallup’s global workplace report for 2022 showed that only 9% of workers in the UK were engaged or enthusiastic about their work. When you consider the amount of change we’ve had to deal with over the last two years and the cost of living crisis on people’s minds, this is probably no surprise.
What can you do about it?
To minimise the risk of quiet quitting or low engagement, you need to tackle the root causes. This article can only scratch the surface but three areas come up constantly in articles and conversations:
- Trust
- Managers need to build trusting relationships with employees and stop measuring productivity by presenteeism
- Trust your team to deliver – don’t worry that because you can’t see them (or their green light in Teams) they’re not working! The chances are they are working more productively than ever, in a way that works for them and delivers results for you
- Flexibility
- Flexibility is the number one thing people are looking for at work right now
- Think creatively to find ways for employees to work where and when suits them
- Great employers are making this possible, even in industries where it isn’t easy, such as M&S’s new flexible working offering for store colleagues
- Collaboration
- Engagement and effective collaboration happen when people feel connected with their colleagues
- Hybrid working means the way we connect and collaborate has changed
- Use technology to enable greater collaboration and reduce the need for constant, draining video calls
- Make sure days spent in the office have a clear purpose – don’t ask people to come in only to spend the day on Zoom calls with colleagues elsewhere
- Treat people as individuals but recognise the needs of the team
How good internal communication can help
The great reset is a huge opportunity to improve the way that work works, for everyone. Open, honest, two-way communication can help, now more than ever. You may need to work harder at it now your team is not all in one place. Remember communication is an exchange of information. Don’t just broadcast updates to employees, listen – look for constant opportunities for feedback and dialogue
When it comes to uniting colleagues behind a shared purpose, having a clear, consistent and compelling narrative is invaluable. It helps employees understand your organisation’s purpose and priorities, where their role fits in and what’s expected of them in their job – resulting in greater engagement and motivation. If you haven’t reviewed your internal narrative in a while, now could be a great time.
About Lucy
Lucy Eckley is managing director of communications consultancy The Leading Story®. The Leading Story® works with business owners and leaders to co-create a compelling narrative for their organisation so that employees understand the strategy and feel involved in it.
Related articles
Interested in reading more about attracting talent and employee retention in the current labour market, take a look at our recent guest blogs from Ben Thompson and Emma Browning.