Generation Z and the Quiet Quitters

I have spoken a lot about the unprecedented quit rates that have occurred in the job market in the last few years, but a new phenomenon is occurring that is called quiet quitting. It has recently been referenced in a Wall Street Journal article, and has garnered a lot of enthusiasm on TikTok and other social media forums. Quiet quitting is the idea that people are no longer willing to give extra discretionary effort-especially if those efforts have no return on investment. Employees are starting to realize that going the extra mile may not reap the same benefits as it did before, and with the effects of the pandemic still looming in the strong labor market, many people are pushing back on their employer’s demands while trying to regain a sense of work-life balance. The difference now (according to some quoted in the article) is that while they work just as hard, the stress and the emotional investment are not translating to growth in their roles or in their careers.

We have found in our research that nearly 20% of any employee population fits into a category called the opportunity group. These are individuals who are on the fence about their jobs. They may love certain aspects of their work but loathe others. This group could be those quiet quitters who are apathetic towards hustling beyond the demands of their job. Whatever the causes are of this state of mind, the outcomes can be significant for organizational cultures. We have found that when interventions are not made with those in the apathetic or opportunity group, they often end up psychologically quitting their jobs or leaving altogether.

While the white Wall Street Journal article does posit some interesting theories, data that we have from millions of respondents globally would suggest that there may be more to what is happening. Our research suggests that generation Z is not the most cynical and apathetic cohort. Instead, Generation X possesses the least favorable opinions of their career opportunities, with generation Z having some of the most favorable. In terms of compensation, nearly 75% of baby boomers report feeling like their compensation was fair as opposed to only half in all other generational cohorts. ?This may support the idea that people outside of the baby boomers will quietly quit their work when they do not feel that they are paid fairly.

As I mentioned in previous newsletters apathy may be the cause of the quiet quitting phenomenon. When people feel like they do not have control over the outcomes of their discretionary effort they may stop giving that effort. Apathy can also be described as a complete shift of?locus of control?from the intrinsic self to factors outside of one's control. Why put in the effort if it will not yield results? And especially, why give extra effort when extra incentives are not yielding individual rewards? Often apathy comes when a sense of autonomy has shifted or diminished. When individuals who are used to a high degree of autonomy (i.e., an internal locus of control) suddenly lose their autonomy to bureaucracy or poor management, problems tend to manifest in two ways: resignation and learned helplessness. Resignation occurs when people accept what comes their way and absolve themselves from responsibility and follow authority figures blindly. Resignation can be useful in high-stress situations, but prolonged resignation causes deep apathy and psychological suffering. Learned helplessness is a well-known mental state, first described by psychologist Martin Seligman, individuals learn through repeated episodes of failure that they are powerless to change or improve their current conditions. They eventually feel this is permanent and accept a total lack of control over their circumstances.

The key to addressing the quiet quitting phenomenon-if indeed it is real- is not by overhauling compensation and benefits, but rather by increasing meaning and purpose. When employees see the importance of their work beyond the work itself, it creates self-determination and results in extra-role behaviors and better performance. In essence, leaders and organizations need to identify and market the “why” behind their work.

Does your work provide Meaning? Ask yourself these FIVE critical questions:

1.?????How does my job support what’s important to me? Where does my job detract from what’s important to me?

2.????What are the values within my workplace, and are they congruent with my own values?

3.?????How could I better align my work with what is important to me?

4.?????What about my work provides me with a sense of purpose, and where am I making a difference because of my work?

5.?????What about my work brings me joy?

In reading these questions nearly 10 years after they were developed, I have taken a very honest and humble look at my own work. Am I a quiet quitter? The answer for me is a clear – No. The problem that I am seeing in organizations is that people need to be more vocal about what is important to them, and how their values need to be aligned with their jobs. If money is the only reason people are motivated to hustle, then that motivation will be short-lived.?