Quiet Quitting is Not a New Problem

It’s just the newest buzzword circulating in the business world.

With the Great Resignation alive and well, it’s not surprising to see, but quiet quitting is not a new phenomenon, it’s simply a new phrase to describe the effects of old problems, such as poor company culture or ineffective leadership. So how do leaders deal with it? The answer is simple, leaders must get back to basics.

Are you surprised to hear about “Quiet Quitting”? You shouldn’t be!

Regardless of industry, any organization that relies on people to achieve their goals must acknowledge their employees are human beings and they have some very basic needs. This is truly the first step to get back to basics.

Gone are the days where leaders can treat employees like having a job with their organization is a privilege.

With the rise in baby boomer retirements, and Gen Z’s entering the workforce in droves, leaders must not only acknowledge, but they must believe having their employees as a part of their team is the real privilege. This is a mindset shift that may be difficult for some, but it is necessary if you intend to retain high performers.

Once you believe it is your privilege to work with your team, there are a few key things you can do to get back-to-basics.

First, leaders must create a place where people feel safe. To do this, you must show your team you care about them as a person, not just an employee. To accomplish this, leaders should have regular, purposeful conversations with their team members. But…be careful not to confuse a meaningful conversation with a drive-by interaction.

The second basic need of employees is knowing what is expected of them and providing them with the training and tools necessary to effectively perform their job. There is nothing more frustrating than having to guess what your boss expects from you or a boss who is not consistent with their expectations. As a leader, you must be clear about expectations and train your team to do the job correctly, then let them do it. A really smart boss also keeps open lines of communications and empowers their team to offer new ideas. When leaders create a safe space, with the right training and resources, high performers will naturally bring synergy and creativity to the job.

Third, people need to feel valued and appreciated. When employees receive recognition for a job well done, they are much more likely to give discretionary effort. Discretionary effort defined, is simply doing more than what is expected of them. A word of caution, when providing recognition, leaders should make sure it is specific (what did I do that was good), timely (don’t wait a month to tell me I did a good job) and should be tied to behaviors. For example, let’s imagine you have a team member who is out of work unexpectedly and a peer steps up and takes on extra work to minimize the impact of the absence. To recognize this person for going above, you may say something like “Sally, I noticed you voluntarily jumped in and picked up Joe’s workload last week. Thank you for stepping up. Your actions not only prevented delays in delivering for our customers, it also helped Joe so he did not return to a mountain of undone work.”

Pro tip: You’d be surprised what a handwritten thank you, mailed to the employee’s home will do for a person’s mindset!

Finally, leaders must keep their team informed. In the absence of information, people make up their own so be transparent with communication. Share information appropriately and timely. Consider implementing a communication tool, such as a department stoplight report to consistently communicate, follow-up and share. When leaders keep their team informed, it cultivates trust, another important basic need of people. If you think you communicate well, but you still hear feedback that your team isn’t kept informed, you might consider asking your team how they prefer to receive communication. 

Creating an environment where your team feels safe and knows you care about them, where there are clear expectations and they have the resources needed to meet expectations, when people are recognized for doing a great job, and kept informed are a few key ways leaders can unwind this ‘Quiet Quitting’ buzz and start building a culture people want to be a part of. 

 
If you’d like to learn more, reach out to Ignite Leadership wendy@igniteleadershipcoach.com.