Quiet quitting has emerged as a growing trend in the workplace, where employees meet only the minimum requirements of their roles without going beyond what’s expected. For employers, this phenomenon can lead to decreased productivity, low morale and disengagement, ultimately affecting organisational performance.
Whether driven by worker burnout, dissatisfaction or changing attitudes towards work-life balance, addressing this trend proactively can help employers create a supportive and productive workplace.
For employers, therefore, it’s important to be able to spot the signs of quiet quitting, and to understand what can be done to encourage workers to engage positively at work.
What is quiet quitting?
Despite its name, “quiet quitting” doesn’t actually involve quitting at all. Instead, it essentially highlights individuals that attend work and fulfil their contractual hours each week but will refuse to either take on any additional responsibilities, or to work later than they are contractually obliged to, they will ignore after-hours emails, and will avoid helping with tasks that don’t naturally fall within their remit. Other distinctive features of “quiet quitting” include workers clocking out on the dot, not working overtime, only doing assigned daily tasks, and making fewer contributions to team projects. Remote workers in particular may feel a resonance as there may be fewer boundaries of when work starts and when work stops.
While only a relatively new phrase, it seems to be evolving in its meaning and resonance among workers. For some, it is about mentally checking out from work. For others, it is about not accepting additional work without additional pay. Others are perplexed that there needs to be a term to describe something as ordinary as going to work and doing your job, even if it’s not well? Some people feel validated for never raising their hands at work, or judged because they actually like being overachievers.
What quiet quitting really means
Quiet quitting is likely to be symptomatic of wider issues – where hesitance to perform duties outside of what a role requires is in fact a symptom of low engagement or poor management. Employees that feel overworked, underappreciated, or burned out might opt to “quiet quit” in pursuit of a healthier work-life balance.
Engagement is crucial for retention and productivity more generally. It relates to how meaningful workers find their work, their perceptions of managers, and opportunities to have two-way conversations with managers.
Quiet quitting may be a popular term, but it isn’t new. Workers have quietly quit their jobs for years to look for something new – whether it was because of poor pay, lack of growth opportunities, or burnout.
Experts say “quiet quitting” is currently a direct result and extension of last year’s Great Resignation, where companies globally saw workers leaving their jobs in droves.
During the pandemic, many people suffered burnout as they tried to balance work, family commitments, and the mental stress of being confined at home. Conversely, others enjoyed the perks of lockdown and hybrid or remote working – greater family and leisure time, and no more commute to and from work. On returning to the office and getting back to their regular work routine, perhaps the idea of quiet quitting was devised because people realised they don’t want this lifestyle anymore – working long and antisocial hours – especially after experiencing a preferable work-life balance during the lockdown.
The drastic workforce shift during Covid 19 and lockdown has largely brought quiet quitting into the spotlight. The pandemic spurred employees to prioritise their well-being. More people had time to think and re-evaluate their relationship to work– not just how they work, but why.
As well as this, staff shortages have led some employers to ask their staff to take on new or additional tasks, sometimes without more pay. Being asked to go ‘above and beyond’ in your role can reasonably be expected every now and again. But, when this becomes a common theme, employees quietly avoid the kind of additional efforts one might make for recognition or career advancement.
What can employers do?
Employers have a legal obligation to safeguard the mental and physical wellbeing of their workforce, so employees should be able to call on and rely on appropriate support when they need it. Employees who are feeling burnout, disengaged or who are struggling with personal issues should be encouraged to communicate this to their manager rather than being left to mentally ‘check out’. There should be a proximity of relationship and contact between the employee and their manager to discuss this and address issues and provide appropriate support.
Organisations that want to empower their workforce to lead a happy life while also delivering their best work would do well to address the concerns of quiet quitters, taking steps to help, and not criticise non-constructively or penalise.
Promote Work-life Balance
It sounds obvious, but make sure your employees know you support them in achieving a healthy work-life balance. That means encouraging them to shut down their laptops and leave the office on time, take a proper lunch break, switch off from work at the weekends, ignore out-of-hours emails, and take their full entitlement of paid annual leave.
As a leader, you also have an important part to play in setting a good example. If you give off an air of being permanently frazzled or appear to be working at all hours of the day, your workforce will feel pressure to do the same. Take that week-long holiday, attend your workplace socials, and leave early to collect your kids from school when you can.
It’s one thing telling your employees to enjoy a flexible working environment, but quite another to create a culture in which they feel comfortable doing so.
Better employee engagement
Organisations depend on having an engaged workforce. Engagement is a fragile and precious resource. It can decay for a variety of reasons, including avoidable and trivial frustrations.
It’s easy to see how low-level departmental gripes can deplete morale and engagement over time, leading to the sort of burnout that causes people to quit, quietly or otherwise.
the key to improving engagement is for managers to ask better quality (and better timed) questions of their employees. If managers understand themselves in terms of the effect they have on their staff, they will better understand how to keep their employees engaged.
Monitor Workloads
Your job would be so much easier if your employees simply told you when they were feeling overworked or close to burnout. But there’s a whole host of reasons why they might not feel comfortable doing so. Worries about confrontation, letting teammates down, or missing out on future career opportunities preclude these types of discussions. Instead, workers suffer in silence, often feeling isolated, stressed, and under-appreciated.
To combat this, managers should take some responsibility for monitoring their employees’ schedules. That doesn’t mean keeping tabs on them every minute of the day (see “micromanaging”) but they should have a good understanding of the key projects their team members are working on. This way, they can help employees prioritise or deprioritise certain assignments and allocate work fairly.
It’s expected that managers hold regular one-to-ones with all team members, and addressing workload concerns should be a key component of these meetings.
Employee Feedback
The quickest way to find out whether or not an employee is truly happy and fulfilled in their roles is to ask them. One-on-one manager meetings are one way of doing this, but you can’t guarantee total honesty — particularly when an employee’s problems lie with the manager themselves.
Employee feedback surveys are a great alternative, enabling you to gather honest and anonymous feedback from your entire workforce.
Conducting an employee feedback survey sends a clear message that you care about your workers’ well-being and value their opinions, but it will also provide you with the insights you need to make positive changes within your organization. Research suggests employers who take employee feedback seriously enjoy better retention rates, reduced absenteeism, improved productivity, and higher worker morale.
Address Career Growth
Your employees may resort to “quiet quitting” when they feel frustrated by a lack of career progression, and you can’t really blame them.
People don’t put in extra hours, go above and beyond the requirements of their role, attend networking events, and seek out growth opportunities for no reason. They want to know that their hard work and commitment are paying off, be it in the form of a pay raise, a new position, or the acquisition of new skills.
To reassure your workforce that their efforts are not going in vain, addressing long-term career growth should be a top priority. Employees should be able to talk openly about their career goals, but it’s also vital you communicate transparently and honestly about the opportunities (or lack of) they might have at your organization. Don’t string your workers along with empty promises of pay raises, bonuses, and career progression. Performance reviews should be a regular and structured affair, and workers should know what to expect in exchange for their hard work and loyalty.
Setting boundaries
For employees considering quiet quitting, it’s worth considering that simply quiet quitting without warning is a risky strategy. If you have a reputation for going the extra mile, it’s a bad idea to abruptly switch off that part of your workplace persona.
Transparency is important, and good managers will be supportive when workers raise concerns about burnout and lack of engagement.
A conversation with your boss could be the start of reform in your workplace that leads to a better environment for everyone, by helping workers set boundaries that managers respect.
Be clear about your reasons for quiet quitting, and where your employer might be able to play a role in supporting your boundaries.
Employees seeking healthier boundaries tend to either separate work from the rest of their life entirely, integrate work into their life, or operate in cycles that combine both approaches. All are legitimate.
Decide which approach works best for your specific circumstances before having the conversation. And enter the dialogue with solutions in mind, not just complaints.
Even if you have a reasonably emotionally intelligent line manager, it is important to ask the right questions of your boss to get more involved and feel more valued. No point beating around the bush. Find a time when your boss is not stressed and is likely to be more open to dialogue, and let them know that you’re not very happy, and why. People who are quiet quitting may feel undervalued, overworked, exploited and want a better balance in their lives.
Here are some questions you could ask to get the conversation flowing:
- What do you really think of the quality of my work?
- What do you think about the hours I am working?
- How do you feel about my relationship with other members of the team?
- Do you think you and I have a good working relationship?
Based on their response, you have the opportunity to let the boss know just how you feel. There is always a risk in doing this, depending on their openness, but it’s better to speak up than to stay unhappy and operating at half throttle.
Need assistance?
DavidsonMorris’ specialist HR consultants can help with all aspects of workforce management and engagement, including helping to identify and avoid employee burnout and improve engagement. Working closely with our employment lawyers, we provide comprehensive guidance on how to approach and implement policies and best practice approaches to provide optimal support for your employees to maximise performance and minimise legal risk. For help and advice, speak to our experts.
Quiet quitting FAQs
What is quiet quitting?
Quiet quitting is a term that has emerged from social media referring to workers doing only what is in their job description and not going ‘above and beyond’ or showing extra initiative. It’s not about leaving a job but disengaging from going beyond basic duties in favour of a better work/life balance.
Why do employees engage in quiet quitting?
Employees may resort to quiet quitting due to burnout, dissatisfaction with their role, lack of recognition, poor management, or a desire to prioritise work-life balance. It often reflects underlying issues within the workplace.
How can employers identify quiet quitting?
Signs include reduced enthusiasm, a decline in performance, reluctance to take on new tasks, or minimal engagement in team activities. Regular one-to-one meetings and employee surveys can help uncover disengagement.
Is quiet quitting the same as underperformance?
Not necessarily. Quiet quitters fulfil their job requirements but choose not to exceed them. Underperformance, on the other hand, involves failing to meet the basic expectations of the role.
How can employers address quiet quitting?
Support open communication, provide opportunities for professional growth, recognise and reward contributions, and ensure workloads are manageable. Building trust and offering support can re-engage employees.
Does quiet quitting indicate a poor workplace culture?
Not always, but it can highlight areas for improvement in management practices, recognition, or employee well-being initiatives. Employers should view it as a signal to reassess their organisational culture.
What long-term impact can quiet quitting have on a business?
If widespread, quiet quitting can reduce productivity, innovation, and morale, ultimately affecting profitability. Proactively addressing it can help prevent these outcomes.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
