The changing tides of the workforce: How quiet quitting is reshaping the landscape

An issue plaguing the industry of late has been quiet quitting. Discussions about what it is, how it’s affecting the workplace and the ways to manage it have become commonplace in the industry. But before we delve into quiet quitting and outline what it lacks by definition, let us explore the status quo that has been prevalent in the last few years.

?Organizational researchers traditionally focus on the task or in-role performance of the employees to understand their position in the workplace. This loosely covers the extent to which employees perform their charted-out job duties. But in lieu of achieving a competitive edge and standing out in a more crowded market, organizations have been giving increased attention to extra-role performance. It simply means encouraging behaviours not included as part of an employee’s official job duties that affect the well-being of the organization or its members. Inversely, quiet quitting refers to an employee doing the bare minimum in their role while still meeting the expectations of the job. So the question to ask here is - can it be considered quiet quitting if an employee is simply someone setting acceptable professional boundaries in order to maintain a positive work/life balance? And how do we differentiate between the two?

?Identifying the sore spot / Narrowing down on the cause of concern?

?A study by Minnesota University[1] , published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that conscientiousness — a group of personality traits that combines being disciplined, focused, tenacious, organized and responsible — is the personality trait that best predicts work-related success across the board. Apart from work-related success, it also includes managing work-life balance, being successful in training and learning, and by extension, even leading a happier life.

?Another interesting aspect of the study outlined the correlation between conscientiousness to motivation. It states that “conscientiousness is related to motivation for goal-directed performance, interpersonal responsibility for shared goals, organizational commitment, perseverance, and proficient job performance, along with avoiding counterproductive, antisocial and deviant behaviours.”

?So the phenomenon of quiet quitting may speak to a lack of motivation, which is why it can be difficult to spot. A recent employee engagement report from Flex Jobs indicates that 9% of workers are “not at all” engaged while 42% of workers say they’re only “somewhat” engaged. Along similar lines, McKinsey’s Year in Charts 2022 highlights that over 30% of employees left the workplace due to uncaring leadership and unsustainable work expectations.

?What this indicates is that over half of the workforce doesn’t feel motivated at work and this lack of interest is what consequently leads to employees foregoing participation in extra-role behaviours.

The answers to the direction we should take next lie in the numbers. A Gallup report[2] shows a significant decline in feeling cared about or having the opportunity to develop, primarily from their manager. For employees under the age of 35, there has been a drop of 10 or more percentage points in those who strongly agree that someone encourages them towards development, and provides ample scope to learn and grow. Regarding remote and hybrid workers, this further dips to a decrease by 12 percentage points. One-on-one face time, once a week for 15-30 minutes with managers who the employees directly report into, can also be tremendously meaningful. The essence of turning a lack of interest into motivation, unsurprisingly, rests on human interaction and support.

[1] Minnesota University

[2] Gallup