Managing Quiet Quitters
The pandemic and rise in popularity of remote work has led to the coining of a new favorite buzzword in the world of business: quiet quitters. A common misconception about quiet quitters is that they are taking a passive aggressive approach to taking on work that is above and beyond their job description. A more appropriate way of looking at quiet quitters is that they are employees who work to live. It is important to understand that not everyone is built to be an overachiever, but it becomes a problem when these individuals’ quality of work is not completed in the company’s best interest. Management teams have begun utilizing surveillance tools to spot quiet quitters; in fact, 33% of medium to large sized corporations now use software like ActiveTrak to analyze employee productivity.
As one could imagine, some workers describe this as invasion of privacy, and it has contributed negatively to the gap that already often exists between management teams and quiet quitters. Instead of spying, employers must ask themselves what is causing these employees to work at the minimum and are the contributions they are making during their working hours helping the company in some way? It’s important to remember that not all employees will have loftier aspirations for their time with the company, some simply want to do the job they were hired to do and no more. That’s not necessarily an undesirable quality.
Today’s management teams are challenged with the task of creating an environment that enables the company to get the most out of a quiet quitter’s work while also having an avenue for those who are high achievers. Making corporate goals clear and rewarding those who meet those goals are good starting points for employers to determine who is an actively contributing and beneficial quiet quitter and who might need to be counseled into getting to that point. On the other hand, employers must remember to remain respectful of an employee’s desire to have a healthy work-life balance, which looks different for everyone.
This is a delicate situation to handle, whether you are a large corporation or a small business. Understanding your employees and their motivations play an integral part of in establishing a positive company culture and setting a tone for the company’s employer brand. Decision Associates culture assessment service provides an accurate pulse on how well your work environment is engaging employees for high performance. We work with you to survey employees with the end goal of creating a plan that has the potential to increase profits, reduce staff turnover, improve operational efficiencies, and enhance recruitment and retention procedures. With a 100% success rate, our staff at Decision Associates is dedicated to helping you improve your company culture and employee satisfaction.
References: https://www.inc.com/peter-cohan/dont-spy-on-quiet-quitters-do-this-instead.html