Leadership Positions on ‘Quiet Quitting’: Is it That bad?

By  //  November 30, 2022

Every employee has designated tasks to do. And for that, an employee is designed to work their fingers to the bone. However, what happens if there comes a time that the employee is mentally and physically exhausted because of the overwhelming tasks? Do they have the right to be lazy?

Do they have the right to exert minimal effort instead of their job? If they did so, is it bad?

Although the term “quiet quitting” has the word “quitting” on it, it really doesn’t mean you are quitting, not unless you consider clocking out on time, balanced your work and personal life as quitting.

But no, you continue to still bend over backwards, it’s just that you identify what tasks are you opt out to do which is also the reason that you are paid. 

In this article, we are going to tackle the “quiet quitting” of employees as a whole, which will answer the question: Is it that bad? And how leaders of the company aided this workplace trend. 

WHAT IS “quiet quitting”?

“Quiet quitting” is a term that describes employees that are doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.

“Quiet quitter” employees still accomplish their job but are not devoted to the saying “work is life”, instead they just knuckle down and complete the tasks that they are paid for. 

Infintech Design CEO and owner, Brian Hong said, “Quiet quitting begins with an employee saying no to safeguard their job satisfaction and avoid burnout, often known as “acting your wage” or performing only what you’re required to do.”

Why is it happening?

There are a lot of reasons why quitting is happening. This may be a new term but it’s been happening even ten years back.

In order to understand why quiet quitting happens, let’s first understand why employees quit their jobs. Why? It’s because it is exactly the same reason why an employee “quite quit”. 

Unsatisfied with the salary

This dissatisfaction is felt when the employee is poorly paid yet there is a lot on their plate every day. As we age our needs increase as well. That requires money to keep on providing what we need to live physically. 

If the pay is still the same but the workload does not do not agree with the pay, quitting can eventually cross your mind. The same reason why an employee is quitting. They might not literally quit but they can channel their frustration by just exerting minimal effort in their job. As long as they are paid, it doesn’t matter if they did their job well or not.

■ Lacking of Inspiration

The job opportunities that made you excited from the beginning you signed up for the job may turn into the feeling of being uninspired. That is why it is very important that upon applying for the job, the future growth of opportunities should also be discussed. 

Imran Ali the Co-founder of Glasseshut stated that being open about job growth during the interview process is one approach to avoid workers feeling like you threw a hook on them with flowery words as bait in the long run.

He added an example and said, “You may state that the role gradually extends to incorporate more responsibilities. Acknowledging this possibility early on helps you to control expectations and discover a candidate who is willing to develop with you.”

■ The want of being valued

An employee should constantly feel that she does great in his/her job and have a feeling of security that she can do the job as required. With this, the employee will feel like their hard work is being valued. If this is not delivered to the employee, this will eventually lead to quiet quitting, and later on, will resort to quitting. 

Admit it or not— who wanted to be unvalued at work? No one! Because we do our jobs, we do the assigned task without saying a word or two. And if that hard work is not appreciated, we would greatly be disheartened. Disheartenment will make us probably just do what is necessary instead of moving mountains to satisfy everyone at work including ourselves. 

How will the leaders of the company make their employees feel valued?

According to the Founder of Accessibility Checker, Danny Trichter, leaders should listen to the employees’ concerns. He also stated, “After all, you would want a positive return not just monetarily, but also through your employees’ faith. Quiet quitting would only rot if you allow it. We, leaders, aren’t just here for display.”

What is mentioned above as the reasons why quiet quitting is happening is just one of the many reasons. Reasons that are the common triggers of this popular workplace term. 

How should a leader of the company respond to  quiet quitting? 

Here are some ways on how should a leader of the company respond to quiet quitting:

1. Communicate with your employees. A leader should establish a connection with their employee by communicating with them. In order to do so, a leader should provide clear instructions on how to do the job to deliver the expected outcomes of the tasks. In this setting, a proper expectation will be created and this will prevent the employee from continuing to continue quiet quitting.

Another crucial part of communication is that a leader should always be a listener. Always willing to give ears and provide an encouraging environment.

According to Loran Marmes, owner of Wisconsin Medicare Supplements Plans, “Getting your supervisor on your side might help you gain a valuable ally in your quest for a happy work life to prevent quiet quitting. To proceed with this phase, you must already have a manager who is eager to listen and interact. For me, quiet quitting isn’t that bad, but more leaders, in my opinion, should adopt an empathetic ruling.”

2. Regard time-off as important than anything else. When your employees are tired because they had to work during their day off, then it will affect the employee’s performance towards work and will eventually affect the company as a whole. No one produces good work when tired. A leader should always make sure that workloads are manageable. Most importantly, respect the time of the employee.

3. Leadership Development. When someone becomes a leader, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to work anymore. As the famous line from Superman says, “With great power comes great responsibility”— this is really true. A leader should continue to learn more ways how to handle the people under him, not by letting the employees serve the leader but by guiding the employees. A leader is the face of the front-line employees. And with that, a leader should always make ways to develop in leadership.

 Is quiet quitting good? 

To answer the main question of this article, let’s have it reversed instead. Is quiet quitting good?

When people are prioritizing work more than their personal life, that’s the time that quiet quitting can help bring back the balance between career and personal life. 

People should instill in their hearts and minds that “work is not life”. Here’s one of the things “quiet quitting” can do:

1. No longer pressured to still work even though you’re sick.

2. You can give more time to yourself and spend more time with your family.

3. Peace of mind, in the sense that you don’t have to worry about work if it is not your working hours. 

4. You decide not to take additional tasks that are not part of your scope.

5. You will not work like a cannonball anymore—– just doing what YOU can do;

6. Lastly, you can take care of yourself.

As Deepanshu Bedi, the Marketing Director of Holista Pet, “Establishing limits, keeping changes in workload brief, and appropriately rewarding staff are examples of measures to prevent quiet quitting. It’s not that bad, after all; you just need to empathize with your employees.”

Given the benefits of quiet quitting mentioned, it means this is really not bad. It is very important that employees should be given credit for everything they do for the company.

Quiet quitting doesn’t just revolve around salary and money, but it talks more about the well-being of a person. A leader should always execute empathy for the employees. 

Final Thoughts!

Overall, quiet quitting cannot really be fully decided if it’s that bad or not. There are pros and cons to each side. Quiet quitting is good because it makes you feel more like a person, not a robot working.

On the other hand, it is bad because an employee ought to work because you need to. Instead of “quiet quitting” why not face your struggles by dealing with them in a professional way or talk to your manager and/or leaders about your concerns. 

In conclusion, the effort to establish a healthy work environment should come from the employees and the management. Both parties will benefit from it. Everyone will achieve a happy and fulfilling work life.