Barry RosenCEO, Employee interactionleading provider of training and consulting services to build a collaborative leadership culture.
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“Quiet quitting” has taken the internet and human resources departments by storm.
The term, which was popular on TikTokrefers to people who reject explicit and implicit requests to proceed at work: no more working weeks of more than 40 hours, answering e-mails at the weekend or carrying out tasks outside of written and agreed assignments.
The silent quit trend has proponents, detractors and bystanders who are equally curious and concerned. For proponents, quitting quietly represents a conscious and healthy reordering of life’s priorities. For opponents, stop quietly means various social ills, such as the decline of personal initiative and ambition or the lack of employee involvement.
Whatever the commentators’ values and biases, stopping quietly challenges management norms and invites an informed response from concerned employers. Quietly stopping could even be a clarion call for a new social contract in the workplace – an agreement, both implicit and explicit, that governs the behavior of employees and managers.
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The root causes of stopping silently
I believe the ingredients for a wave of quiet quitting have been coexisting for a number of years now.
For decades, wage growth has stagnated or have been modest for many American workers. For many of those employees, I’ve seen that a rational calculation has been, “Why work harder without the guarantee of a meaningful increase in compensation?”
More recently, the pandemic caused significant disruptions and changes to the daily routines of most of the company’s employees. According to an Gartner A survey shows that 65% of employees agree or strongly agree that the pandemic has changed their attitudes about the value of life outside the workplace. Fifty percent said the pandemic has changed their expectations of their employers.
Remote work and hybrid work arrangements have enabled people to invest more time in hobbies, family time, local travel and other non-work related activities. But even with more free time, employees report higher levels of stress and burnout.
Combined with other concerns, I believe these factors mentioned above have led to a revolt against the “work harder and get ahead” philosophy. For silent quitters, putting in extra effort at work isn’t a smart way to realize potential, experience personal fulfillment, or meet other important needs.
But from my perspective, this conclusion does not necessarily apply to all employees. For many people, the highest percentage of their time is spent working at a job. People want and need to experience success during their waking hours – whether it’s through achievements, improving the way things are done, or having meaningful relationships.
The beliefs and experiences that advocate quitting quietly are also bad for business. Employee turnover is expensive, and actively decoupling employees, what a Gallup study reported to be 18% of the U.S. workforce erodes corporate culture, growth potential, and long-term sustainability.
A new social contract at work
How a leader responds to quiet retirement will have a significant impact on employee behavior and their organization’s ability to navigate market uncertainty.
Here’s a practical answer to a quiet uptick in quitting: Create a new or updated social contract with your employees. This contract consists of the agreements and understandings between you and your employees that lay the foundation for mutual success. Below are five key “contractual agreements” leaders should have with their team members:
1. We understand and agree on explicit and mutual performance expectations, including those related to work-life boundaries.
Make sure your employees know their measures of success and even agree on performance indicators and levels. This will help them do their job to the fullest without compromising their personal well-being.
2. We understand and agree on how we will support each other to meet those expectations.
Managers and direct reports can help each other succeed by asking, in general and per assignment, “What support do you need to be successful?” This approach helps both the manager and the employee think about what it takes to get the job done and meet each other’s expectations.
3. We agree to recognize each other for meeting our respective expectations.
People like to know that they are appreciated for doing a good job. It helps keep them on track. Positive recognition is good food for the heart and mind. Managers should ask direct reports if and how they are doing to support the employee in performing his job.
4. We understand and agree on a safe and effective way to give and receive constructive feedback when we fail to meet expectations.
Managers and direct reports, from senior leaders through the chain of authority, need to agree on the best times and ways to tell each other what they are doing well and how they can do their jobs even better.
5. We understand and agree on how to communicate regularly and stay connected.
Whether employees are working in a shared physical location, from their home or at a remote workplace, it works best to schedule regular calls with direct reports to check on their well-being, provide advice and ask, “What support do you want? ”
A better social contract to work together
The day-to-day of work remains in flux for most organizational employees as they learn how to behave in remote and hybrid environments. They struggle with the question: what role does work-for-hire play in their lives?
Could this be a good time for you as a business leader to introduce a new social contract for everyone in your organization?
By adapting the above guidelines to your own business circumstances, you can take a proactive approach to retirement and perhaps turn the idea of a better social contract into an aspirational and satisfying reality for all. It is a mission worthy of your time and attention.
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