We should talk about "Quiet Quitting": Part 1 of 3 - What the hell is "Quiet Quitting"?

"...Quiet Quitting is our new buzzword that seems to make this new concept of passive employment "sexy" and now..."         

Ahh, Quiet Quitting... If you've so much as opened LinkedIn, read any business related blog, been on Tik Tok, or even just browsed news articles, you've probably heard the term "Quiet Quitting". Quiet Quitting is our new buzzword that seems to make this new concept of passive employment "sexy" and now to explain a downward trend in employee engagement; it's everywhere!?

CEOs, senior leaders, economists, and the likes, are going off about Quiet Quitting like a new phenomena that businesses are utterly perplexed ceases to exist (how out of touch can you be?!). Lucky for you, you have me, an expert on employee engagement (this is literally my job and specialty) to talk through Quiet Quitting.

I am kicking off a 3 part series on "Quiet Quitting".?

• This 1st part is about the actual definition of Quiet Quitting?
• Part 2 will be about what caused us to get here
• And lastly, part 3 will be about how to address "the phenomena".

Let's dive in to part 1.?This is an analysis of the terms used, what they are and what they mean, not my opinion of someone who is quiet quitting themselves (hell, I've done it). Part 2 will dive into what has caused us to get here and more of that "why" element.

What the hell is Quiet Quitting?

To answer this fully, let's dig into Quiet Quitting, Employee Engagement, and Burnout... By the end of this article, you'll know what it actually is.

What's Quiet Quitting (as used today)?

While Quiet Quitting (we're gonna call it QQ from here on), seems to have picked up steam the past 2 months, the term actually originated in 2009 following an economics symposium from Mark Bolger, and economist who coined this term about "diminishing ambitions in Venezuela" at the time, and has been used by key economists and business analysts since; a recent viral Tik Tok pushed the term back into the media, and here we are today in QQ hell where you can't open social media without seeing someone using the buzzword; if you're lucky, they may also use "The Great Resignation" in the same sentence (yes, that is sarcasm, if you know me, you already know my stance the term "The Great Resignation" ). But how does this translate over to our current definition of QQ??

"...The term "Quiet Quitting" literally makes me want to throw my laptop off my 28th floor balcony. Why? Not because it isn't real, but because QQ is really just the trendy word for passive, burnt out employees..."        

Definitions of QQ currently include something along the lines of "only doing what is required of you at work without going above and beyond." Basically it's showing up, doing what is only in your job description (no more, no less), logging off promptly at 4:59:59 p.m., not offering to take on additional work or "stretch projects", not attending the work events or extracurriculars, and getting average or just below average ratings on your performance reviews. You're "skirting by" under expected workplace norms, but really, you're not doing anything wrong.

As an Employee Engagement Expert, the term "Quiet Quitting" literally makes me want to throw my laptop off my 28th floor balcony. Why? Not because it isn't real, but because QQ is really just the trendy word for passive and burnt out employees. NONE OF THIS IS NEW! Despite what you may hear QQ isn't a new thing, it's just the word of now. Hell, you even have me writing a random series on it.?Before we have an understanding of QQ, we need to understand what employee engagement and burnout are.

What's Employee Engagement?

Let's define employee engagement. Employee engagement definitions may differ slightly depending on which models and measurements of engagement a company chooses to use, however, generally it is the employee's psychological investment in the organization. The enthusiasm, drive, or vigor one puts into their work and organization. The motivation to go above and beyond. An engaged employee is engaged and committed to the organization and their work.?

In Employee Engagement, there are 4 main levels of employee engagement. We have our:?

1. Highly Engaged Employees - they are the employees going above and beyond, involved in all elements of the company they can be, high achieving, committed to the organization, and embody engagement. They feel connected to the organization, their teams, and the company's results and performance. They are "drinking the company Kool-Aid", so to speak.
2. Moderately Engagement Employees - they are the employees who do a good job, consistently deliver results and do what they need to get the job done, they are involved and show up, but may not go that extra mile to bump them up a level. They are engaged but not committed. Something may be holding them back from being highly engaged, but they are still considered somewhat engaged.?
3. Passive/Indifferent/Barely Engaged Employees - Choose which ever term you prefer. They show up, they do their work, they are meeting requirements of their role, but have no additional vigor or commitment to the organization beyond the walls of their job description. They are not engaged but also not disengaged. They may be passively job hunting, a high risk for turnover, but simultaneously delivering the bare minimum results (does this sound familiar, fans of the term QQ?). For companies, passive employees are the ones from an engagement perspective we try to focus on, because passive employees can be swayed either way still, and are also the greatest risk to company performance as many employees fall into this category. The hope (yes, there is hope!) is to prevent them from falling into our last category.
4. Actively Disengaged Employees - Many engagement models call these folks "The Disruptors". This is because actively disengaged employees tell everyone they are disengaged. They can be toxic to others in a workplace (a liability of sorts) and there is almost always nothing you can do or invest in - no amount of money you can throw at them, changes in the workplace you can implement - that will bring them back to being just passive. Once they're disengaged, it's almost impossible to change that. It's important to note that most "disruptors" don't start this way; often there is something that pushes them here, like a psychological contract between them and the organization being broken (we'll talk about this more in part 2). The only real thing you can do once someone gets to this point is hope they exit on their own as fast as possible to avoid spewing toxicity and bringing down the rest of your work force.

While the breakdown of the four employee engagement levels differs company to company, most employees often fall into the Moderately Engaged or Passive categories. Realistically, those who are QQ are near the bottom of a passive engagement level.

Here's a simple engagement level model from Quantam Workplace, but you can find many similar engagement level models online:

What's Burnout?

"I am so sorry to those of you who felt like you couldn't be open about your burnout or who were called lazy or just told to "work harder". What you were/are experiencing is real!"        

The next thing to understand QQ is understanding burnout. Burnout may have historically been viewed as just stress or laziness; something people were ashamed of and in our prior hustle culture, it was something that was not socially acceptable to declare. However, in 2019, burnout finally got the attention and medical recognition it deserves. Burnout, according the the World Health Organization (WHO), is defined as (and yes, I am going to copy and paste the below directly from the WHO website):

A syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.

Burnout, caused by workplace stress, is seen as a gateway to depression and anxiety. A syndrome that leads to impacts in your work and home life. Y'all, burnout isn't just a concept, it's a real defined syndrome that the WHO recognizes. I am so sorry to those of you who felt like you couldn't be open about your burnout or who were called lazy or just told to "work harder". What you were/are experiencing is real! I've experienced burnout myself after months of working quadruple capacity in a job where I had no relief or help after begging for it, and it literally took months for me to recover from my burnout.

Putting It All Together

"What employees are facing is not just a trend; it's a culmination of years of pressure on a workplace system that isn't working..."        

So, all this said, what is QQ actually? It's really just passive employees and burnout accumulating into one. It's not that QQ isn't real, but it isn't new, and the issue with trend words is that it's just that - a trend. I want you to be empowered to understand that regardless of what it's called, QQ is not going away, and it's been present for years. What employees are facing is not just a trend; it's a culmination of years of pressure on a workplace system that isn't working (which we'll talk about in part 2).

My area of expertise (Employee Engagement), while not new, has exploded the last 3-5 years. Five years ago, the ideal of in house Employee Engagement Experts was a foreign concept. Many companies hired external 3rd party consultants and companies to run their entire employee engagement programming (which often was just a survey); it was seen as a once a year activity to run an employee engagement survey, present the results to The Board, and continue on as normal until the next survey without having ongoing strategies to listen to employees. This doesn't cut it anymore. Our employees are crying out for more! They need to be heard!

In summary, we're going to start calling Quiet Quitting passive employee engagement and burnout, because that's what it is. It's not new, it's not going away, and it's time we (as HR professionals, Business Leaders/Owners, and Companies) take ownership for getting our people this close to "quiet quitting" and expecting so much in the first place... And employees, you are not alone! Your feelings and what you're experiencing is valid, and you deserve better. So let's fix it. Join me in Part 2 and Part 3 (coming your way next week and the following week, respectively) for us to discuss why we got here, and how we can fix it!

Until next time,

LG

Part 2 is now live! Check out the 2nd part of We should talk about Quiet Quitting right now!