People's perspective toward careers has changed over the last three years. The lesson pandemic taught every business was transformational. Here, I am not pointing at the sufferings or gains businesses made during this time but how they improvised every operational process to sustain & thrive.
Many had to decide on the right size, go remote or innovate their offering to sustain initially and adopt to new normal circumstances. Employee conscience has been renovated too.
It all triggered when Gallup published a survey in America saying, "50%+ of American workers can be termed as Quiet Quitters. "
A phenomenon is creating waves after great resignation! Before we talk about this, it is essential to understand the meaning of 'Quiet Quitting.'
It is not about leaving the job but setting boundaries and being passive. This is most detrimental for an organization where each contribution counts.
"Our Workforce Confidence Index shows that 30% of those surveyed are willing to take a pay cut for better work-life balance - a sentiment prevalent among Gen Z professionals," says Susan Mathew, director of HR, LinkedIn India.
Gen Z's have been putting their heads together using this term on Instagram, Twitter, and several other social media portals. Labelling this word as laziness will be very limited while understanding it.
These people are unwilling to accept the concept of 'work is life' culture and shine out at their respective positions.
They follow the job description, and after returning home, they completely switch off from work and prefer pursuing their passion or a side hustle.
This may have an innate purpose of bringing back work-life balance or restricting burnout. Great objective but organizations find this culture disruptive and damaging to businesses.
Employees get exasperated at a certain point, and emotional pressure builds up, leading to resignation. The outcome of Quiet Quitting is separation, many times without notice.
During the peak time of Great Resignation, many people explored new opportunities as the job's suffocation seemed unbearable for two reasons: an uncertain future & Unusual work life.
During this time, employees, especially the working class, started looking at their careers from the parameters of how much they should earn, how they are treated on the job, and how safe they are at the workplace.
Now, as we are settling in with new norms of business and finding those meaningful, how do you prevent people from sulking into quiet quitting?
Encourage a more inclusive work culture
#1 Encourage a more inclusive work culture
Inclusivity means building a culture where employees are respected, that Company & Leadership believe in respecting employees, value them, and nurture them.
What I will share next will help you implement the inclusive work culture quickly and effectively.
Action One, create idea forums allowing employees to share their idea, innovations, and creative talents; you never know.
Some unrelated talent may be proved worthy even of improving business processes or employee retention.
Action two, Segment works as projects, those get finished quickly. Involve teams to ideate, plan, and deliver. Such initiatives increase team bonding, inspire talents, and engage people more than ever.
Action three, Use IJPs & referrals more often. This will create a clear growth path for employees to explore careers in other functions or a more significant role. When people refer others, they only do that when they feel proud of the family.
Communicate transparent policies, processes, and actions.
#2 Communicate transparent policies, processes, and actions.
So here, the more transparent your become, the more trust you generate. People get desperate to quit when they do not see the scope to flourish and find company policies fishy.
Most people take PMS as a farse, as a few companies use automation in the true sense, track performance tangibly in both subjective and objective manner, and allow consistent growth to the performers.
Transparency never gets established by reasoning or communicating how employee-friendly you are; it is more fundamental and comes from your value system.
#3 Establish a robust feedback mechanism.
I have seen most leaders jump on this subject to prove how good & open they are in seeking employee feedback.
Feedback is not about listening but reverting to conclusive solutions. I am speaking more from a frustrated employee on the verge of quitting the job. The person remains relatively quiet before quitting but sends signals as EWS – Early warning signs. How many of us attach importance to or decipher the meaning of those signals or messages?
Consider an employee helpdesk through AI-enabled BOT that is efficient & trainable alongside a human ear to interpret facts to address the problem.
These three solutions to this emerging problem of Quiet Quitting are a few that addresses the core rather than scratching on the surface that most people do. Leaders should dive deep into the cultural elements to see how these improvisations can be inculcated instead of trying to imbibe a new culture.
I write this article to ring the bell in your mind before it gets too late.
LinkedIn Trends report of 2022 states that "people are taking up the social media portals to promote their discontent relating to several things in general and even express their perspectives." We all browse social media, but such strong messages remain beyond our focus.
It is the generation building the wave; if we stand defensive may spoil the whole work culture immensely.
The idea of Quiet Quitting is making a journey with hustle culture that is gaining ground faster. The emergence of multiple portals offering remote, part-time jobs with weekly payments motivates this generation.
The concept of Moonlighting is passe; the hustle is trending.
Employees started depending on such projects that they were passionate about and gave a fillip on their hope to be an entrepreneur. The dependence on jobs is diminishing with time.
Quiet Quitting still needs to be added to the circuit of discussions in India, but it affects employee psychology very much. I have worked in people-driven industries and found this issue familiar; it might be in some other shape and size.
We have addressed attrition extensively and garnered significant results over time.
In case you feel this article is relevant and you want me to address any of your pain in people's function, do revert on chat.
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