Quiet quitting
The phenomenon of "quiet quitting" (or "silent resignation") is much discussed this year. "Quiet quitting" does not mean that employees quit their jobs. It means workers, especially the younger generation, only do what their job description requires and no more — no overtime, no extra responsibilities, no non-mandatory meetings. Employees "quiet quit" because they put their personal lives and well-being ahead of their work. Quiet quitting is about setting personal boundaries while doing your job well.
The concept of happiness at work is fairly new. 30 years ago this concept did not exist at all. Workers were expected to excel. This meant arriving early, leaving late at night, showing commitment and not expecting overtime to be paid.
Today, Millennials and Gen Z are putting their personal lives ahead of their work. "Work is not your life," says Zaid Leppelin in his video about silent resignation, which has been viewed more than 3,4 million times on Tik Tok.
Quiet quitting follows the Great Resignation phenomenon that we discussed in the last blog post. The COVID pandemic has led to an increase in frustrated, underpaid and stressed workers. People voluntarily quit their jobs. This put even more pressure on those who stayed as the workload increased. This, combined with the difficulties faced by companies in filling vacancies, has led to the phenomenon of silent resignations.
What can managers do against silent resignations?
1. Don't let your employees work weekends.
Unless the circumstances are so urgent that you can't wait until Monday (which is rarely the case), don't assign your employees to work on weekends.
2. No emails on Sundays.
Work emails on Sundays only add extra stress and worry.
3. Do not plan a meeting where an e-mail is sufficient and reduce the duration of the meetings.
Before you schedule a meeting, ask yourself a question: "Do I really need to have a meeting on this matter, or will an email suffice?" Most of the time, an email turns out to be enough. If you do need to schedule a meeting, try to make it no longer than 30 minutes.
4. Don't micromanage your employees.
Set the goal and give employees a clear mandate. If the work is excellent and done on time, does it matter if an employee works remotely, has flexible hours, or is more efficient at night?
5. Show your appreciation.
Everyone wants to feel valued and respected. Appreciating your team is free but a very powerful tool.
6. Give your employees a raise.
The labor market has changed significantly. Adjusted financial rewards such as bonuses and raises make employees less likely to "quiet quit".
7. Fire silent quitters.
Sometimes it's better to go your separate ways when an employee is underperforming, not meeting job requirements, and spreading negative vibes in the team. "Quiet quitting" eventually also affects employees who still want to feel comfortable at work and perform at their best.
"Most of us spend too much time on urgency and too little time on what what is important."
Stephen R Covey
