The hashtag #QuietQuitting has recently exploded on social media. Emerging from workplace disenchantment, boredom, and burnout, the term describes a trend where employees do the bare minimum required to get by.
Does quiet quitting reflect a broader generational shift, with many people from younger generations de-centering works in their lives? In a recent statistic published by Deloitte only 61% of Gen-Z in the workforce felt that work was a major part of their identity, compared with 86% of their older bosses.
While swifting generational approaches to work may play a factor, there are many reasons people disengage from work. Lack of engagement and motivation are significantly affecting employee wellbeing and having a profound impact on our economy. According to Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workforce report, a staggering 62% of employees globally are not engaged at work. This is costing the global economy an estimated $8.9 trillion a year, equivalent to about 9% of the global GDP.
In Britain, the average person will work approximately 3,507 days in their lifetime. That’s a lot of time! Maintaining a healthy work life balance is crucial, and many would argue that we should only do what we’re being paid to do, rather than going above and beyond, but if people don’t spend enough of their work time feeling inspired, motivated, and interested in what they’re doing it can have a big impact on their wellbeing.
Why are people quiet quitting?
Burnout: Many people have experienced burnout due to excessive workloads, prolonged stress and feeling overwhelmed.
Lack of support: Employees who feel unsupported are more likely to disengage. This includes a lack of recognition, inadequate resources, and insufficient opportunities for professional growth.
Feeling undervalued: When employees feel under appreciated, or that their work environment doesn’t align with their personal values, they may pull back and only do the bare minimum tasks.
Inadequate development: Without a formal plan that recognises and rewards employees and provides opportunities for growth, people are not incentivised to do anything beyond the minimum their role requires.
What can employers do to re-engage their people?
1. Creating a culture of psychological safety
According to the 2017 Gallup report, ‘The State of the American Workplace,’ which surveyed nearly 200,000 employees, millions of people feel much happier and more effective at work when they have high psychological safety – a staggering 74% in fact.
Psychological safety leads to improved employee engagement, productivity, service quality and innovation. Psychologically safe workplaces are those where people can express themselves, be themselves, and feel safe to speak up without fear. In these workplaces, people are more likely to contribute ideas and take initiative, and numerous studies suggest that psychological safety leads to higher levels of engagement and team performance. At NKD, we advocate for building a supportive work environment where employees can be their authentic selves. You can read more about why psychological safety is vital here.
2. Strengthen your core
Middle managers are often the unsung heroes of organisations. Their teams of frontline workers, often the driving force for many businesses, should feel as engaged in their work as leadership teams. Research shows us that businesses who recognise the often disproportionate importance of middle managers and their teams often outperform businesses those who don’t invest in them.
Effective managers can inspire and motivate their teams, fostering a culture of growth and development. In our work with DHL, the delivery company recognised that the daily decisions of their 8,000-strong supervisor team had a significant impact on the company’s reputation and bottom line.
Recognising their powerful contribution, we developed the DHL Certified International Manager programme to ‘professionalise’ supervisory roles, providing them with learning and career development training. This investment showed supervisors how valued they were by DHL. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. One supervisor noted, “I feel so valued and thankful for this huge investment in me, and I will be eternally grateful.” Even better, their direct reports saw the benefits: “My supervisor is like a different person; I feel motivated to come to work now.”
You can read more about the DHL Certified International Manager programme here.
3. Feedback, recognition and development
94% of the most engaged employees would stay longer if their company invested in their career development. Employees need to be incentivised and invested in to feel engaged at work.
As discussed in Fortune, Content Creator @newsforthought said in a video about quiet quitting, “you don’t really have to go extra above and beyond because the companies really show you no love for doing that, and that’s the problem.”
When employers implement a system for structured and regular feedback, clear pathways to recognition, and opportunities for development, employees will feel more motivated to succeed.
4. Embracing DEIB
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are essential for a thriving workplace. When people feel unwelcome, excluded or marginalised their engagement at work plummets. As Forbes notes “by having an inclusive and diverse environment, this allows more wider perspectives to be integrated when brainstorming, problem-solving, and developing new ideas in business.” If you want to kick-start your DEIB journey, we have many Ready to Go products that can help you get started.
Quiet quitting may be a social media trend, but declining employee engagement is a real issue with significant impacts on wellbeing and company performance. At NKD, our mission is to make the world of work better, starting with your people. Invest in your employees to combat unhappiness and dissatisfaction and work, and you’ll see positive changes happen.
If you’re looking for ways to improve employee engagement in your organisation then click here to get in touch with a member of the NKD team today.