Defining ‘Quiet Quitting’ and What Employers Need to Know
First there was the work-from-home revolution that turned into the Request for Time Off push back. Then the “Great Resignation” took off which is proving to be the Great Regret for many of those who jumped ship. Now, the newest viral “term” to take off in the world of employment is Quiet Quitting. While it becomes increasingly more relevant for employees, employers must be aware of how this will affect their workforce.
What is Quiet Quitting?
The pandemic truly revolutionized priorities on mental health and work-life boundaries. Employees are very cautious of being overworked and undervalued. This has become increasingly relevant with the rise of Quiet Quitting. Quiet Quitting does not actually have anything to do with quitting your job, contrary to the sound of the term. It is also not what some people believe the term means, where people do the bare minimum for their job. Quiet Quitting is where employees stop going above and beyond the work that they were hired to do. Going above and beyond tends to require extra work that the employee is not compensated for. The movement of Quiet Quitting is where employees only contribute the work that they were hired to do and are compensated for.
How to Prepare for Quiet Quitting as an Employer
As an employer, it is important to be aware of this latest movement, how it may affect your workforce, and what you can do to ensure that your employees are valued while completing the necessary work.
Work-Life Balance
The pandemic and switch to remote work has brought forth the importance of the work-life balance. Employees struggled to initially separate work from their personal life seeing they were working from the comfort of their own homes. Quickly the work-life balance movement took over as employees pushed to separate their 9-5 from their 5-9.
As some employees have continued to struggle with the work-life balance, Quiet Quitting is coming as a second wave of the work-life separation. To help your employees in the era of Quiet Quitting, encourage them to have a healthy work-life balance. You can do this as an employer by not trying to contact employees after 5 pm, ensuring that meetings do not run over-time, and supplying them with adequate time off when necessary.
Work Wellness Programs
Work Wellness Programs come with many benefits for your employees and your business. These programs are set in place by an employer to improve employee health in the work environment and their personal lives. Wellness Programs include events like fitness activities, mental health assistance programs, community service, and even providing your employees with snacks throughout the day.
These programs are known to improve employee morale, productivity, and employee retention. Wellness Programs also build camaraderie among coworkers. Creating an environment where employees feel valued and connected with their coworkers provides a healthy working environment.
Clear Job Descriptions and Expectations
The reason that Quiet Quitting is the phenomenon that it is, is because employees feel that they are taking on more work and projects than what they are being compensated for. When candidates apply for a job, their expectations for the role tend to be based on the job description that was posted. Once accepting the position, the last thing that a new hire is expecting is for their responsibilities to drastically increase.
As an employer, it is important to clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of the position that they are looking to fill in the job posting. This way, new hires will not be unpleasantly surprised as they start their new job. It is crucial to specify what you are expecting of a new employee in a new role so that everyone is on the same page.
As Quiet Quitting takes over the workforce (and water cooler) as the newest employee trend, employers must stay up-to-date on what is going on with their employees within their business. Being in touch with your employees and maintaining open communication is key to ensuring a happy, valued, and productive workplace.
While you monitor your culture for signs of Quiet Quitting and cultivate ways to minimize your employees feeling undervalued, leave the payroll to Abacus Payroll., Contact an Abacus Payroll advisor today!
