THE LAST WORD ON… QUIET QUITTING

STAFF PUT IN MINIMUM EFFORT BUT DON’T GO BEYOND THE REQUIREMENTS OF THEIR ROLE – THAT’S QUIET QUITTING. AND THE RESULTS COULD BE SERIOUSLY DAMAGING

Daniel Herron for Unsplash

It’s a post-Covid trend in teams around the world – quiet quitting, where team members do the bare minimum and no more. For Gareth Hoyle, managing director at Marketing Signals, it can be younger employees taking a stand on their wellbeing. “This sees Gen Z workers ‘quitting’ doing tasks that they’re not paid to do, and not doing more work than is required. This new trend is a response to grind culture, and the mentality that workers must be switched on, work longer hours and be available to work at all times to achieve success. Essentially, quiet quitting is about making a healthy work/life balance and setting boundaries.”

In an age of balance and wellbeing, should putting in only the required effort be penalised? Some see it as having a domino effect, leading to poor performance and a culture of absenteeism, and lowering team morale around them.

Quiet quitting isn’t always obvious. The clue is in the name, and you need to pay closer attention, explains Melissa Timperley, founder of Melissa Timperley Salons. “Watch for reduced participation and effort, lower quality of work. People who quietly quit usually don’t say they’re unhappy, so it’s hard to see.”

Leah Durrant, founder of Leah Durrant Hair, believes that forging good relationships with employees can help identify quiet quitting. “As a salon owner, I try hard to build trust with my team by investing in ensuring we have good communication,” she explains. “If you have a good relationship with your team members, it makes it much easier to spot someone who isn’t enjoying their role or who needs more from their job.”

But identifying quiet quitting isn’t enough; intervention and prevention is a must, and Melissa agrees with Leah that creating an open environment “where people can talk” makes a huge difference. For Melissa, this includes regular “one-on-ones” and allowing for anonymous feedback. On a team-wide note, bonding activities are useful as they “recognise achievements to help everyone feel they belong”. On Leah’s salon floor, holding regular touchpoints with staff empowers them to voice their discontent enabling her, as the boss, to make changes. “That’s why I invest so much time in creating a safe environment, so people can approach me about how they feel or if they have an issue. I have regular team meetings and appraisals to prevent a need for quiet quitting.”

Could employers be offering staff more incentives to get them out of their funk? Mike Smith, director at business consultancy BusinessExpert, thinks so. “Offering growth and skill development to employees will prevent the feeling of stagnation that’s often at the root of disengagement,” he says. Other possible incentives include “adding some flexibility to work arrangements”, which could “show your employees you trust them and gain their enthusiasm back”. But the reasons for quiet quitting may not be work related at all: “quiet quitting is often caused by mental health issues, so try and promote resources for that,” he adds.

Sometimes, you can’t turn back the tide, says April Pattara, owner of Somewhere in London’s Queen’s Park. Quiet quitting might just be a sign of someone, well, quitting. “People who want to leave have already checked out of a job,” she says. “There’s usually a long period of thinking gone into leaving, so handing in your notice is often the last step.”