Quiet quitters

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress.
Working hard for something we love is called passion.”
Simon Sinek

The term “quiet quitting” may be trending as the post-pandemic job marketplace continues to adjust to workers’ shifting priorities, but burnout on the job is nothing new.

Quiet quitting refers to someone who stays on the job but puts no passion or energy into going beyond minimal expectations.

A recent Harvard Business Review article suggests the phenomenon is about bad bosses, not bad employees. Since 2020, they studied 2,801 leaders rated by more than 13,000 direct reports and discovered that a contributing factor to quiet quitting is a manager’s inability to build relationships and help employees feel valued.

Their data revealed that employees who ranked their leaders as effective in balancing results on the job with concern for others’ needs had far fewer quiet quitters in the ranks, only 3%, and many more passionate employees, with 62% willing to go the extra mile. Managers who were least effective at building relationships had 3-4 times as many quiet quitters, 14%, and only 20% willing to give extra effort.

Building good relationships in which employees feel valued and are willing to go above and beyond for you requires trust, which comes from communicating authentically and sharing your authentic self with others. Inauthentic bosses may appear aloof or uncaring. Many leaders, especially new managers, may be great at their jobs but struggle with how they present themselves.

Building authentic relationships is at the heart of The Authenticity Code, both an award-winning book and learning program newly available through Advantage from our thought leader partners at Inside-Out Learning. CEO, author and executive coach Dr. Sharon Lamm-Hartman will join us to give you a personal, behind-the-scenes look at her book and framework for becoming a more authentic communicator at our inaugural book club event on September 29.

And, as we mentioned here a few weeks ago in “When good bosses go bad,” Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, has great advice on how leaders can inspire and multiply the talents of their employees, and also how individual contributors can multiply up to bring out the best in their boss.

You can evaluate the Multipliers simulation virtually at our preview event on September 23. Contact us or talk to your Advantage partner for an invitation.

One great thing for 09.13.22 – Multiplying UP: How to bring out the best in your boss with defenses against the dark arts of diminishing managers – Liz Wiseman, Multipliers