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You may have recently heard the phrase ‘quiet quitting’ across your social media and professional networks. The term has sparked enormous debate online, with some leaders viewing it negatively and others relating to what it means.

But the name itself is misleading - it is not about quitting at all. It is simply a way for employees to indicate their desire to achieve a healthy work-life balance. If companies can assist with this, it’s a win all round, as a happy employee is much more likely to contribute to company success than an unhappy one.

What follows is a brief look at what quiet quitting means and ways you can spot it amongst your team, alongside some strategies for addressing it and improving employee engagement.

What is Quiet Quitting?

First coined in 2009 by economist Mark Boldger, the phrase ‘quiet quitting’ has experienced a recent resurgence due to a short viral TikTok video by @zaidleppelin. He explains it as “… not outright quitting your job but …quitting the idea of going above and beyond.”

There is some difficulty in spotting quiet quitting signs, especially in the tech industry where remote and hybrid working means you have limited in-person contact with your employees. However, there are signs they might indicate low engagement in staff who have decided to ‘quiet quit’.

Some examples include:

• A sustained lack of motivation
• A reluctance (or cessation) of asking questions
• Declining taking on new tasks, responsibilities or projects
• Acting noticeably withdrawn
• Taking more sick leave
• Voicing a persistent frustration with tasks, colleagues or other stakeholders

The key is frequency. While many of these things might occur as once-offs due to a variety of reasons, if they persist over prolonged period, you may have a quiet quitter on your team.

Another key indicator is if you have a marked increase in employee resignations, a situation made increasingly difficult with the current market shortage of top IT talent.

The Reasons Behind Quiet Quitting

To address quiet quitting it is important to source the core reason/s for employee disengagement. When it comes to tech jobs, many employees work far beyond standard hours to meet team project deadlines, often on tasks well outside their job description.

At the same time, they are very aware of their market value (not to mention the rising costs of living) and if their remuneration package isn’t keeping pace - thus rewarding them fairly - this could be a reason to mentally ‘check out.’ It’s a common occurrence - according to the HackerRank 2020 Developer Skills report 39% of Developers believe they’re being paid unfairly compared to peers.

Other key reasons for quiet quitting in the tech industry include:

• Feeling overwhelmed
• Discomfort in establishing boundaries
• A reluctance to speak to managers about their feelings
• A misalignment between company and personal values
• A lack of understanding in how their work contributes to the greater company purpose

The following strategies will not only help you uncover the ‘why’ behind any potential quiet quitters but assist you in improving employee engagement and happiness within your team.  It will have natural positive flow on effects on productivity, company culture and company brand, which are all vital for employee retention and new talent attraction.

Ways to Address Quiet Quitting

Here are some options you can consider in order to manage quiet quitting in your workplace.

• Uncover Your Employees' "Why"

If you notice a team member who might be disengaging the first step to take is to arrange a one-on-one to discuss how they're feeling. Hopefully, they will feel comfortable enough to explain what’s going on.

Once you have this information, you can start to work together on a plan to address the issues. For instance, you may find your team member is keen to progress from being a Developer to a Technical Lead but they feel so burned out that they've declined taking on tasks that would help get them there. Should this be the case, consider whether a team reshuffle or bringing in new resources may help.

• Foster An Open Feedback Culture

It's difficult to address an issue when you don't know about it. That is why honest employee feedback is so important. Some may feel reluctant to share this directly, so an anonymous mechanism is a good idea, utilising software such as CultureAmp or OfficeVibe.

In conjunction with this, consider consulting with upper management (including your CEO) to discuss the possibility of a regular open forum feedback session focused on employee experience.

For both instance the action after the feedback is the most vital (and employee-valued) part of the process.

• Embed Breaks into Your Working Culture

A fully productive employee requires regular rest and replenishment, and breaks are an ideal way to achieve this.

While you might encourage your employees to take both breaks and all offered annual leave, consider whether current team conditions are conducive. Do employees feel like they can't take time off as they don't have adequate cover? Do they worry about letting the team down?

If you suspect this is the case, think about what supports you can put in place to achieve this, whether it's reaching out to a trusted technology and digital recruitment agency for temporary staff or extra permanent resources.

Another way to encourage employees to take their breaks is to shift the focus from hours work to impact made. If employees understand they're not required to push through and work excessive hours just to get ahead but merely work as productively as they can, this can go a long way towards avoiding cases of burnout and quiet quitting.

• Review Employee Workloads and Your Workplace Practices

You may receive feedback about employee workloads and inefficient workplace practices. With workloads, critically evaluate what is currently in your team's pipeline and consider where you can make improvements.

Brainstorm what you could do to enhance your team's work processes, particularly around guidelines about how meetings should run, and what should constitute a meeting (i.e. would an email suffice?).

• Set Work-Life Boundaries

Setting boundaries around work contact hours releases employees from the pressure to respond. Options can include a strict finish time for all staff, a company-wide lunch hour where no one holds meetings or responds to emails, and a 'no-contact' policy for those on leave.

Employees may still choose to work outside these hours but that is their choice. It is not an obligation, perceived or otherwise.

Remote working gives employees the benefit of attending to personal matters during the workday, but some staff may feel like it is not an option they can take, even though it could help them with their work-life balance (i.e. doing the school run, attending medical appointments, volunteering at school etc.).

If you don't already, explicitly offer your staff this flexibility with the trust they will make up for the missed work hours. It could be a real game-changer for them.

• Help Staff to See Their Purpose

Quiet quitting might be a sign that your team members no longer know what they're really working for. Most employees need to feel a sense of purpose in their role, knowing their contribution is making a difference.

Think about ways you can help your team members see the value of their work and most importantly, the impact it makes. You may need to engage other stakeholders in this quest, including those in upper management.

Further Support

Much of the advice suggested here about avoiding quiet quitting centres on giving your team members autonomy - the ability to choose how and their work is done depending on their professional and personal circumstances. In doing this, you will help them right their work-life balance scales and re-engage with their job.

If you need further assistance in this area, or are looking to add some extra resources to your team, please connect with  one of our Sydney Technology and Digital recruitment specialists. We'd be happy to assist.