Quiet quitting is about sticking to the job requirements that are explicitly outlined in the job description. Any requirements that are not communicated explicitly will not be worked on (i.e., read discretionary effort is withheld). People do their job in exchange for the agreed salary and benefits, which means that additional work requires something else to be provided in exchange.
As Hamza Khan explains in his Stop Managing, Start Leading TED Talk, most of the current workforce are built for tomorrow’s workplace, not today’s. They don’t want to work like in a factory, which assumes people are lazy and don’t want to do the work. Rather we need to assume employees like to do their work, are trustworthy and committed, and want to work. In short, factory management leads to factory clock punching which is essentially quiet quitting.
Quiet quitting has been labeled as a bad boss versus a bad employee problem. That may be true, but bad bosses are often the result of cultures that don’t develop good leaders. In a solid culture, a leader that is not treating their employees with the right support and respect will be called out soon enough. There are always plenty of warning signs when employees are just putting in the hours, but here are a few easy ones to look for.
4 sure ways to drop discretionary effort to zero:
- Nothing offered in exchange for discretionary effort: growth opportunities, a chance for promotion, challenging work, autonomy.
- Exclusion & Not Being Heard: Invite others to the conversation so they don’t feel excluded. A leader’s job is to bring the best out of everyone, sometimes its as simple as asking the person who has not spoken yet to share their thoughts.
- Job Creep: Continual piling on of more duties and responsibilities with no recognition or removal of existing duties. Outdated job descriptions are a dis-service to everyone.
- Challenging Questions: Not able to engage in constructive conflict or even challenging questions across hierarchical boundaries. Does your culture encourage debate and a level playing field?
Although it’s easy to put a label of Quiet Quitting on the symptom of dissatisfied employees, there is no simple fix for a culture that creates this gap in expectations between the company and the employee. Developing a relational leadership model that employs coaching as a leadership style will create an open and communicative culture that bridges gaps and breaks down silos. Talk to us about Coaching as a Leadership Style and Respect in the Workplace training for your Team.
Sources:
MIT Sloan – Boost Employee Confidence and Inclusion By Creating Voice
HBR – Quitting is About Bad Bosses not Bad Employees
MIT Sloan – Five Ways Managers can help prevent quiet quitting
MIT Sloan – Saving Management from our Obsession with Leadership
Hamza Khan – Stomp Managing, Start Leading
