Although proclaimed a thing of the past in late 2022, “quiet quitting” – the latest moniker for employee disengagement – continues to impact workplaces today, regardless of the looming global recession. Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup, sheds light on this persistent issue in his compelling article titled, “Why the World Can’t Quit Quiet Quitting”, emphasising that a fundamental shift in the behaviours and mindsets of leaders and managers is needed to put an end to it.
The year 2022 witnessed a surge in workloads due to the inability to fill vacant positions. This contributed to employee burnout and emotional detachment from work with a 4% decline in employee engagement, increased absenteeism, and decreased productivity being reported. Consequently, “quiet quitting” emerged as a prominent topic on social media. However, the underlying causes may not be what one would initially assume.
According to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workforce Report, the most common response to the question, “What would you change about your workplace to make it better?” revolves around employees’ dissatisfaction with how they are treated by their direct managers and leadership. Meaning, that the loss of engagement was not necessarily down to the nature of the work or its volume.
Jon Clifton’s article proposes a solution to this quandary: the creation of thriving workplaces. One approach is for organisations to prioritise the hiring and development of better managers who will, over time, evolve into exemplary people leaders. Alternatively, a more ambitious path would see worldwide adoption of stakeholder capitalism over shareholder-centric models, much like the companies in the U.S. who achieved this in 2019.
Whichever avenue is chosen to address the issue, a substantial shift is required to eradicate “quiet quitting” and its effects on the workplace status quo. For further insights from Jon Clifton, we invite you to read the article linked below.
As change leaders, we possess a unique vantage point that allows us to offer guidance on how to facilitate programs that foster more thriving organisations. Simultaneously, we recognise the symptoms and repercussions of employee disengagement on mobilising individuals through workplace transformations.
- Have you personally witnessed this phenomenon in effect and can share anecdotal references or advice on how you successfully managed it?
- In addition to supporting managerial and leadership development activities, what other strategies is your organisation currently employing to cultivate a thriving workplace with an engaged workforce?
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To read the original article by Jon Clifton please click here