How a culture of innovation is the solution to 'Quiet Quitting'

'Quiet quitting' is a phenomenon?taking the internet by storm. It’s a trend that is bringing attention to the disillusionment felt by workers across the globe: who don’t feel valued, face burnout, and aren't inspired to go above and beyond. It’s a form of quitting that doesn’t involve an employee outright leaving an organization, but means that they have mentally checked out, putting in no more effort than is absolutely necessary.?This is detrimental in many ways but can be particularly damaging to an organization’s day-to-day business and its ability to innovate and drive change. A lot of the time, employees are the everyday innovators that a business relies on to find great ideas.

Here are some ways to prevent quiet quitting and how innovation – especially harnessing the power of your employee ecosystem to innovate – can help keep employees engaged and invested in your organization’s goals.?

Valuing Employee Opinions and Ideas?

Every employee should feel that they have the power to make real, lasting changes in your business. Giving employees a seat at the table to offer their points of view on wider business issues leads to employees feeling more fulfilled in their role and connected to your organization’s goals.

Employee engagement?is at the core of the quiet quitting phenomenon, and a solution to this could be involving your employees in your innovation program. Utilizing the power of the innovative minds within your organization is a clear solution to not only keeping employees invested but unleashing the collective intelligence of your company's talent.?

Recognition

One of the biggest reasons why employees consider quiet quitting is because they don’t feel their efforts are being appreciated. Humans thrive on receiving validation and recognition which is why striving for perfection is something that many employees do. Feeling unable to achieve this because of lack of praise and recognition is a key factor behind increasing rates of quiet quitting.

A way to curb this is to regularly recognize and celebrate employee wins, no matter how big or small. Our?Employee_360 innovation management product?offers a space to give public recognition for good performance, so that your employee wins are not just celebrated at an individual level, but across the business as a whole!?

Opportunities to Grow?

Feeling stuck in a role without room for growth and development is also cited as one of the key reasons employees turn to quiet quitting. Setting up clear progression paths, being upfront about employee expectations, and making it easier to access coaching or development tools are just a few ways to ensure an employee has definite knowledge of their development path.

An interesting way to offer new development opportunities to your employees is through?intrapreneurship programs. ‘Intrapreneurship’ refers to entrepreneurship that happens within an organization, giving someone the opportunity to innovate while remaining in their role. In our experience, these schemes have helped uncover new opportunities and identify projects to undertake: all geared towards improving the company someone already works for. These kinds of programs are directly linked to heightened job satisfaction, as intrapreneurs feel more secure in their ability to explore new ideas while still working at their existing job.?

In this article, we’ve looked at the recent phenomenon of ‘Quiet Quitting’. We’ve outlined what the term means and what some of the causes of it are. Finally, we have illustrated how – using innovation practices – companies can avoid creating an environment that gives employees no choice but to ‘quiet quit’.

All these suggestions are underpinned by the successes of our customers that use?the Wazoku Platform?to involve, encourage, and celebrate staff in a way that is essential to the health of a modern business.