Marketing spin or a genuine issue?
‘Quiet quitting*’ has been searched on Google more than 40,000 times in Australia last month alone. That’s a 40,000% increase in search volume since June 2022 when the phrase didn’t even exist!
It’s undeniable that ‘quiet quitting’ is trending. Business owners, marketers, media outlets, and social media platforms are all weighing-in.
But is it really something employers should be worried about or has it always been present in some form or other, just without the dramatic marketing spin attached to it?!
Here’s our humble view at WiredCo.
Photo By GQ UK magazine
There are two important components to look at when reviewing what all the fuss is about. One is around ‘organisational accountability’. A fancy sounding phrase but basically puts the onus on the company to ensure they create the right environment to foster job satisfaction and engagement.
The other is around [post-covid] work-life balance actualisation. Again, another fancy sounding phrase but simply relates to people achieving ‘genuine’ work-life balance. Something we reckon is to be celebrated, not shamed. More on that below…
Organisational accountability
We continue to see (and believe) people have a strong fundamental desire (and need) to feel a sense of accomplishment, to be challenged, to be motivated in their careers, to grow and to find joy in their work.
There seems to be a lot of finger-pointing towards the individual for ‘quiet quitting’. But we see it a bit differently. Rather than judge the person for ‘emotionally checking-out’ and doing the ‘bare minimum’, we’d look first at what we’re doing as a company, and investigate whether the root cause of the disengagement could lie in the company’s culture.
If we identify someone who’s ‘checked-out’ or not engaging in their work, we’d take positive action straight-away, such as:
- Meet with the individual and encourage open and honest feedback about how they’re feeling
- We’d leave all judgment at the door and provide a safe place for them to talk
- We’d identify the key issues, root causes, and work with the individual to come to a solution, facilitating change where possible
- Meanwhile we’d make sure the individual feels supported enough and has full access to our wellness program which includes unlimited mental health support and mentoring
If things don’t change after we accommodate over a period of time, then it might be time for the person to move on. And we’d have an adult conversation with them about it at that point.
Then there’s another side of this discussion.
Quiet quitting vs work-life balance
There’s an emerging and very unhelpful coupling of quiet-quitting and work-life balance. These are very different and not to be confused as the same thing.
Good work-life balance has long been a pipe-dream for most, but one thing that has certainly shifted post-covid, is how seriously people now take work-life balance. People are making incredibly positive changes to make sure they put quality of life first. And we couldn’t be more excited about this. ‘Clocking off’ and enjoying as much personal time as possible, is something to be celebrated, not shamed.
There’s no doubt ‘quiet quitting’ is having a moment. But as marketers, we see through the BS and recognise it as something that’s always been around. And if employers want to take it seriously, the first step is to look at their organisation/themselves and take responsibility for the part they play in their team members disengaging.
