“Quiet quitting” has become a trending topic on social media platforms. However, quiet quitting doesn’t mean leaving your current job, it means stopping putting effort into your job past the most basic requirements and expectations. According to Gallup, 50% or more employees in the U.S workforce are quiet quitters and the ratio of engaged employees to quiet quitters is 1.8:1.
However, there are ways you can prevent quiet quitting in your workplace.
Manager Engagement
The first step is to make sure that your managers are engaged. This is especially important because your employees are the ones who work under disengaged managers. Disengagement is contagious; if your employees don’t see their leaders engaged, they don’t have any incentive to do so either. The Harvard Business Review found that “the least effective managers have three to four times as many people who fall in the ‘quiet quitting’ category compared to the most effective leaders”.
Active Communication
Consistent communication between management and their employees will help all of your employees be more engaged. Have regular team or manager-to-employee sync meetings to keep up to date on what’s on everyone’s plate and to have a meaningful conversation. This promotes relationship development and helps you establish accountability and trust on both sides. Your managers will be able to better understand what it is that their employees need to be happy and productive. Building better relationships will encourage their employees to go above and beyond for their managers.
Accountability
Hold your employees accountable for their individual performance. This goes further than setting quotas or objectives and having your employees reach them. Discuss your employees' goals with them, both personally and professionally, and do what you can to help them achieve those goals. People are more likely to reach their goals if they share them with others; they will feel more motivated to get the work done.
Feedback & Incentives
Provide your employees with feedback. Incorporating a consistent feedback system, such as quarterly reviews, can help your employees stay on track. This ties together the Communication and Accountability sections discussed above. Give your employees praise and recognition for their good work and discuss areas they could use improvement. Remind them that you are there to help them succeed.
On the same note as helping them succeed, help them grow. Encourage your employees to expand their network, knowledge, and skills (by attending conferences or webinars for example). This can provide them with the incentive to go for a promotion they might have been eyeing, resulting in them putting in the work and being proactive rather than just productive.
Company Culture
Make the difference between disengaging DURING the work day and disengaging from work at the END of the day known. Encourage your employees to be present during the day, but when the work day is over, unplug, shut off email notifications, etc. Incorporate team activities or culture sessions to help your employees blow off steam. Make your employees feel valued, ensure their work-life balance is respected, and that you care about their wellbeing. Building those relationships between management and employee can help you better understand what they need.
Be consistent with communication, feedback, improving company culture, and everything in between. This will build trust between your managers and employees. Your employees won’t want to let their managers down. You want to nurture an environment where your employees want to succeed because their success is your success.