The Quiet Quitting Crisis: Why Employees Are Checking Out

"I just show up for my shift, do my job, and then clock out at the end of the day. I don't feel any real connection to the work itself or my coworkers," admits Michelle, a 27-year-old call center worker.

Michelle's experience is far from unique. Nearly 60% of employees worldwide can be considered "quiet quitters," according to Gallup research. When combined with actively disengaged workers, this quiet crisis of low engagement costs the global economy a staggering $8.8 trillion annually.

Behind these bleak statistics are very human stories of unmet needs and simmering discontent.

So, What is Quiet Quitting?

Quiet quitting refers to employees who have psychologically checked out from their jobs. They continue performing basic required duties without going above and beyond. However, they are disengaged and feel no passion or connection to their roles.

Essentially, they are doing just enough to not get fired while counting down the hours in their workday. This phenomenon has risen to prominence recently as more employees report feeling burnt out and unfulfilled in their jobs.

Organizations around the world are struggling with alarming rates of quiet quitting, which severely impacts productivity, innovation, and retention.

What's Causing the Quiet Quitting Epidemic?

Here are a few key reasons that are driving employees to quietly resign without actually quitting their jobs:

Record-High Stress Levels

The last few years have been incredibly stressful for many due to economic uncertainty, political polarization, climate anxiety, and the recent pandemic. This sustained stress has led to surging rates of burnout, with nearly 70% of the global workforce feeling burnt out on the job. Such high stress makes it difficult to maintain engagement and motivation.

Lack of Work-Life Balance

With remote and hybrid work arrangements blurring the boundaries between work and personal time, many employees feel constantly tethered to their jobs without enough opportunities to recharge. Expectations around being available 24/7 and monitoring emails after hours and on vacation leave people feeling exhausted without adequate downtime. This leads to resentment and quiet resignation.

Feeling Undervalued

When employees feel their hard work and loyalty are going unrecognized without appropriate rewards or appreciation, they begin to question why they're exhausting themselves for an organization that doesn't seem to value them. Lack of praise, minimal opportunities for career development, and no incentives lead people to scale back efforts to match what they receive in return.

So Why Aren't These Employees Just Resigning?

Typically, those who are quietly quitting are not ready or able to leave their jobs completely. They may still need the income and benefits, even if they are disengaged. Some also hope that conditions at work will improve eventually. So rather than quit outright, they pull back effort while staying in their job.

Additionally, the perceived risks of resigning during economic uncertainty or without another job lined up are simply too high for many. Those who "quiet quit" want to avoid having employment gaps on their resumes.

Some even quietly quit to avoid confrontations involved with explaining their reasons for leaving to managers. They may feel leadership will not be receptive to any criticism. Quietly resigning allows disengaged employees to retreat while avoiding difficult departing conversations.

Employees Know What They Would Change

As part of a global survey on the future of work, Gallup asked employees what one thing they would change about their workplace to make it better. 85% of responses centered around engagement/culture, pay/benefits, and well-being.

• 41% of suggestions related to engagement and workplace culture. Workers asked for more recognition, opportunities to learn and develop, fair treatment, clear goals, and better management.
• 28% of responses concerned pay and benefits as needing improvement.
• 16% highlighted well-being factors like work-life balance, health support, and flexibility.

The majority of employees are craving more recognition, opportunities to develop, fairness, clear goals, and quality management.

Overcoming Quiet Quitting

Engagement matters more than work location when it comes to preventing quiet quitting. As Gallup analysis has found, how people feel about their job has far more influence on stress and engagement than whether they work remotely, on-site, or in a hybrid model.

The key is strengthening employee relationships with managers and teams. Build trust through open communication without judgment about workload capacity or other challenges. Offer empathy and support rather than criticism to struggling employees.

Provide flexibility when possible to allow people more autonomy over when and where they work. Set reasonable expectations for response times and availability outside working hours.

And make sure hard work gets recognized. Praise contributions publicly, provide personalized feedback and developmental opportunities, and incentivize goals met.

When employees feel their voice is heard, their well-being cared about and their efforts valued, discretionary energy flows back into their work rather than quietly withdrawing from responsibilities. Organizations must focus on the human element first.

The Path Forward

The global quiet quitting crisis at work is a challenge for organizations and an opportunity for leaders who dare to listen and connect.

There are tangible steps managers can take, like recognizing excellent work, removing roadblocks to well-being, and having regular career conversations. But it starts with a willingness to understand what your people care about and need. Meet those basic human needs, says Gallup's chairman, and an organization will have the foundation to achieve exceptional performance.

The choice is ours - continue quieting our workforce or inspire them to find their voice.