What they didn’t tell you about ‘quiet quitting’
The last few years have presented some workplace phenomenons that became trending topics and a source of content for many mainstream publications. We saw trends like the great resignation, the motion for a four-day work week, the ‘Tear the Paper Ceiling’ campaign and the more popular phenomenon, quiet quitting. These are terms that have been described as a sign of a labour revolution and a call for employers and policymakers to reflect on the relevance and sustainability of the current labour market and practices as they stand. But, I’ll park that discussion point for now and hone in on ‘quiet quitting’ for the purposes of this opinion piece.
It’s no surprise that a phenomenon like quiet quitting emerged post pandemic and hit mainstream media like wildfire in the latter part of 2022. For those who may not be familiar with the term, according to Forbes, quiet quitting is a trend where employees put in minimal effort just to get through the work day and are not emotionally or intellectually engaged in their job. On the surface, it would seem that this movement is about personal gain and self-interest from an employer’s perspective. And one where employees do not take into account the strategic goals and mission of the organisations that they work for, but instead prioritise self-interest and preservation.
However, when one looks closely, they will realise that quiet quitting is actually reflective of deeper institutionalised issues in the workplace that have upheld the structures of the corporate world for years. This reality then compels one to think if quiet quitting is really a new phenomenon or one that has just been given a new name since the systemic issues present in the workplace are a result of the marginal progress – if any - over the last few decades.
It would be worthwhile to think of quiet quitting as a reflection of a workforce that has been experiencing significant levels of burnout due to work environments that have not taken the responsibility to prioritise meaningful employee wellness interventions. One that is reflective of how even as the world was changing four years ago, employees were expected to show up and deliver the same standard/quality of work whilst their emotional, psychological and physical worlds battled uncertainty. Quiet quitting is a resistance to the lack of effort that most corporate institutions have made to understand and demostrate that employee wellness has always been at the center of their businesses and in absence of that, it has has huge effect on the sustainability and profitability of their businesses.
While it wouldn’t be ideal for any organisation to solely act on employee wellness initiatives because of the direct impact that these have on levels of productivity and profitability, it is an entry point to having discussions that focus on the humanity of each employee and the unique value they bring to the organisation. For as long as organisations refuse to acknowledge this fact, quiet quitting will be a phenomenon that will just take on different names and will continue to challenge employers to think and act differently in their quest for longevity and sustainability where people are concerned.
This is a call to go beyond temporary interventions and to instead look at long-term initiatives that seek to address the root cause of quiet quitting. While the reasons for each employee that decides to quietly quit differ, the knowledge and understanding that there is a space for such employees to come forward and open up about the challenges that have led them to resort to this level of disengagement, will create work environments that are inclusive, empathetic and progressive in their mission to put employees at the centre of their business. And that would only be only the beginning.
