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Signs of Quiet Quitting and How to Overcome Them

In recent years, the topic of quiet quitting has been getting a lot of attention. When an employee on a team slowly stops putting in the same effort or changes their working habits, it can be a sign that they are ready to leave. In this post, we will explore some of the symptoms of quiet quitting and what you can do to prevent it on your team.

What is quiet quitting? 

The sensation of quiet quitting began with a TikTok video from Zaid Khan explaining the term. Zaid explains that people aren’t putting in their two-week notices but are starting to work less and be less productive. Quiet quitting might look like this: 

  • Less interest in daily tasks and achieving goals
  • Projects taking longer, but not up to their usual standard of work
  • Being distant or even unfriendly toward coworkers
  • Actively looking for a new job but not telling anyone at your current job

How do you identify quiet quitting?

We are constantly stressing the importance of a strong human resources department, and this is yet another reason. You should be working with the HR department to evaluate and track employee performance.

It will be easier for HR to ask questions and get answers out of employees rather than have the person they report to address these issues. HR can act as a mediator between employees and management.

Before firing an employee, consider a few things:

  • Whether their recent poor performance is due to a temporary issue or if it is a permanent change.
  • Think about whether the employee was previously a high performer but has now lost interest in their work.
  • If there have been changes in their work situation (e.g. new team, new project), that could be affecting their performance.

Finally, have an open conversation with the employee to see if there is anything you can do to help.

Before giving up on an employee who seems to be quiet quitting, remember why you hired them. 

How can you stop quiet quitting? 

Once you understand why your employees are starting to act differently, then you can start to address those causes. This is a process that will take time, you should spend a couple of weeks working with employees to find causes. After identifying causes you need to keep working with HR to come up with solutions. 

You will need to re-evaluate employee performance after an allotted amount of time to ensure your plans are making improvements. The next session is about different strategies you can take to improve employee performance and retention. 

Work towards creating a better company culture

 We’ve discussed this in other blogs before, both on this site and on our LinkedIn. In short, you can:

  • Define company culture clearly in your human resources manual
  • Connect people to your core values
  • Create a sense of ownership for your company’s success
  • Work towards building strong working relationships among employees
  • Give employees the freedom to make choices and express themselves
  • Promote a healthy work/life balance
  • Encourage employee recognition
  • Lead by example

Company culture is one of the biggest reasons people join a company and for people to leave. Building a strong and attractive company culture should be your first step to fighting quiet quitting and retaining employees.

Support employee’s mental health

Promoting positive mental health practices in our workplace can go a long way in improving not just the working environment, but potentially the lives of your employees. It’s important to work with your HR team about your options and how to take steps to improve working conditions 

Hire and train strong leaders

Strong leaders will lead a healthy workforce. No matter how long they have been with the company, it’s important to remember that education is an ongoing process.

In an age of constant distractions, it can be hard to keep your office running smoothly. If you’re struggling to keep employees in your office, or retain them entirely, don’t worry – you’re not alone.

Our team can help you implement strategies to reduce absenteeism and promote employee productivity. With our help, you’ll be able to create a healthy workplace that retains top talent. Contact us today to learn more!

Cultural Impact LLC