What is quiet quitting and what can employers do about it?

In the wake of the Great Resignation comes a new phenomenon that may be of concern to many employers: “quiet quitting.” Quiet quitting is when employees only perform the minimum that is required by their contract of employment and no more. Such employees will not answer calls or emails out of hours, take on additional tasks, or work beyond their contracted hours. Quiet quitting may mean different things to different employees. Some may still work hard, but limit their working hours in order to prioritise other areas of their life like family, friends, and mental health. Others may do the bare minimum as a sign of deep dissatisfaction with their current role. Remote working may also contribute to the phenomenon as it can make it more difficult for employers to foster an engaging and collaborative workplace.

Whatever the causes, quiet quitting is certain to impact productivity. Employers need to consider how to prevent quiet quitting at their business, and how to manage employees they suspect have checked out.

What can employers do?

For many employees, quiet quitting is a result of re-evaluating their priorities and how work impacts their mental heath. It is therefore important that you pay attention to your employees’ mental wellbeing. We have written previous articles on mental health in the workplace and provided suggestions on how employers can better support employees. Managers should be trained on how to recognise burnout, and signpost employees to any resources that are available to help them manage their wellbeing. Ensure that workloads are realistic and that employees are not being asked to do so much that their physical or mental health is put at risk.

Quiet quitting also reflects a lack of job satisfaction, so it is important to make sure your workforce feels engaged and invested in their work at your company. You may consider investing in team-building activities to help build a sense of comradery and collaboration that may have been lost with the increase in homeworking. Employees may also be more likely to go the extra mile when they know that there is opportunity for growth and progression. Have a clear path for career progression and consider investing in training opportunities for employees to learn new skills.

Finally, make sure you acknowledge and appreciate employees who do go the extra mile. While financial recognition is always appreciated, it is not the only way to let employees know they are valued. Regular communication and relationship building with your employees is also important. Providing positive feedback and holding one to one meetings with your employees shows them you recognise their contributions and also gives them an opportunity to raise any concerns they may have.

Managing employees who are “quietly quitting”

Some signs that an employee has quietly quit include:

• missing meetings;

• lack of enthusiasm;

• lack of contribution;

• decreased productivity; and

• decreased flexibility.

There are a couple approaches you may take towards employees you suspect are guilty of quiet quitting. If your contracts of employment state that employees may be required to work additional hours or take on additional tasks without additional remuneration, employees who refuse to do so may be in breach of their contract. However, before invoking formal disciplinary procedures, you may want to have an informal discussion with the employee first to try and understand their perspective. There may be valid reasons for an employee’s decreased performance such as new caring responsibilities or dealing with an illness. Having a discussion with the employee can help you get to the bottom of their underperformance and work with them to find ways to rectify it. Having discussions with the employee concerned may also help you identify larger trends in your workplace and areas where you can increase overall employee satisfaction.

If an employee’s underperformance persists, you may then decide to take disciplinary action. Remember that employees with over two years’ service will be protected from unfair dismissal and so a correct disciplinary procedure must be followed. You may wish to take advice before invoking your formal disciplinary procedure.

If you have concerns about employees in your workplace, or questions about taking employees through a disciplinary process, contact our Employment Team by emailing employment@warnergoodman.co.uk or calling 023 8071 7717.