Silent Quitting: A Growing Problem for Employers

Silent quitting is a term used to describe when an employee stops putting in effort or disengages from their job without formally resigning.

This is a major problem for employers because it can be difficult to identify and address the underlying issues that are causing the employee to disengage.

A 2022 Gallup poll found that 50% of the U.S. workforce is quiet quitting. This means that they are unhappy with their jobs, but they are not leaving their positions. Instead, they are simply going through the motions and not giving their all.

There can be a number of reasons for this problem. Some of the most common causes include:

• Unhappiness with their job: This could be due to a number of factors, such as feeling underpaid, being overworked, or unappreciated.
• Burnout: This is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that can be caused by excessive stress or workload.
• Dissatisfaction with their employer: This could be due to several factors, such as poor management, a lack of opportunities for advancement, or a toxic work environment.

The phenomenon can have a number of negative consequences for both employees and employers. For employees, it can lead to feelings of frustration, anxiety, and resentment. For employers, it can lead to decreased productivity, increased turnover, and a loss of morale.

A study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 36% of the HR professionals surveyed said silent quitting was "actively occurring in their workplaces". This is a shockingly high percentage and means that such disengagement is widespread resulting in a significant impact on businesses.

Another survey by Monster found that 61% of workers are quiet quitting for feeling "burned out" while 60% felt "being underpaid for what they are asked to do". Interestingly, this suggests that pay is not always the most common reasons for silent quitting (or regular quitting!).

So, this "silent" problem is ringing loud in the ears of business leaders. But there are a number of things that employers can do to turn things around, including:

• Creating a positive work environment: This includes providing employees with fair compensation, opportunities for advancement, new skills training, and a supportive work culture.
• Regularly communicating with employees: This helps to keep employees informed about the company's goals and progress, and it also gives employees a chance to voice their concerns through anonymous feedback.
• Addressing employee issues promptly: If an employee is unhappy or disengaged, it is important to address the issue promptly and not let it fester. This could involve providing the employee with more training, changing their job duties, or providing them with a mentor.

By implementing or improving just the three areas above will have a positive effect to help employees feel more connected to the business. To supplement this there are smart tools available to help employers identify and prevent silent quitting.

• Thymometrics uses artificial intelligence to analyse employee sentiment from anonymous feedback and highlights potential problems. Only by providing an anonymous feedback channel can employees provide really honest and open feedback while crucially exposing the reasons for quiet quitting in the process.
• Exit surveys are very useful guides for employers to understand why employees are leaving their jobs. Although it may be too late to save these people from leaving, the honest feedback from exit surveys can be invaluable ... after all, this is the realization of quiet quitting.

So, don't let silent quitting be a silent killer for your business. Take steps today to understand the reasons for silent quitting and take action to create a more positive and productive work environment for everyone.

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Learn about Thymometrics' range of anonymous feedback options to help identify and stop silent quitting - email us at hello@thymometrics.com or call +44 (0)1223 750 251. 

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels