By Katie Navarra September 15, 2022
Worker disengagement is not a new trend, but it is the latest viral challenge HR leaders are facing. The term “quiet quitters” has recently been coined to describe employees choosing not to go above and beyond at work.
As a Gallup poll reveals, “quiet quitters make up at least 50 percent of the U.S. workforce, probably more.” Detachment at work has been increasing since 2018, based on Gallup data collected since 2000.
Some managers are responding by using “quiet firing” practices. According to a Resumebuilder.com survey, 1 in 3 managers are using passive-aggressive tactics to make work uncomfortable for the employee, in hopes that the “quiet quitter” will just leave.
Quiet firing, like quiet quitting, is not new. A LinkedIn News poll found that 83 percent of respondents reported having faced it themselves or seen it used in the workplace. In a market where retention and staffing shortages reign, it is more critical than ever for leaders to acknowledge and avoid the behavior.
In new findings from the SHRM Research Institute, fewer than 36 percent of respondents to a survey from SHRM are reporting that quiet quitting is actively occurring within their organization. But of HR professionals who do report that their organization is experiencing quiet quitting, 3 in 5 (60 percent) say their organization’s culture leads to this behavior, with qualitative data revealing management issues (e.g., lack of engagement, communication issues, poor people management) and remote and hybrid work (e.g., poor supervisor support, lack of accountability) as common themes affecting workplace culture and encouraging quiet quitting.
“A quiet-firing environment will likely lead to the development of a quiet-quitting culture,” said Paul Lewis, chief customer officer at Adzuna, a job-search engine. “An employee who is quiet quitting shouldn’t trigger an employer to start quiet firing them.”
Instead, Lewis says, this is the time to have an open conversation about how the employee is feeling. Discussions should include asking about any support they may need and identifying steps to re-engage the individual.
“Quiet firing, like quiet quitting, is ultimately a transparency issue,” said Nick Goldberg, founder and CEO of London-based EZRA Coaching. “Organizations should be viewing this as a call to improve communication skills across teams. ‘Quiet’ really has no place in a healthy work environment.”
Recognizing Quiet Firing
According to Annie Rosencrans, director of people and culture at HiBob, an HR tech platform, there is no single symptom to diagnose a culture of quiet firing. She says it is a combination of actions that include:
• Passing over an employee for promotions or raises despite high productivity and a strong work ethic, without providing feedback as to why.
• Withholding feedback from workers (constructive or otherwise) on submitted projects.
• Assigning projects that are consistently beneath an employee’s skill set or job description while colleagues have opportunities to grow and learn.
• Regularly canceling one-on-one and progress meeting