Quiet quitting became notorious in August 2022, after a 24 year old New York engineer posted a video online that went viral with millions of views.¹ Although there is no consensus on the precise meaning of quiet quitting, it is about doing the minimum amount of work required for a job. According to researchers in organizational behavior, “quiet quitting refers to opting out of tasks beyond one’s assigned duties and/or becoming less psychologically invested in work.”² Behaviors include not showing up early, not attending optional meetings, not staying late, not answering emails outside of working hours, and doing the bare minimum to keep a job.

How Big is the Problem?

Quiet quitting is not a new phenomenon. But it is a huge and growing problem. A global survey on the state of the workplace completed by Gallup in Mach 2023 concludes that 59% of employees are quiet quitting (disengaged from work), and 18% are loud quitting (actively disengaged from work). Only 23% of employees are said to be thriving (engaged at work), meaning that they are motivated and feel connected to their colleagues and organization.³ Gallup defines each mindset as follows:⁴

• Thriving employees – These employees find their work meaningful, and feel connected to their team and organization. They are proud of the work they do, take ownership and accountability for their performance, and are willing to go the extra mile to help teammates and customers.

• Quiet quitting employees – These employees are filling a seat and watching the clock. They put in the minimum effort required, and are psychologically disengaged from work. Although they are minimally productive, they are more likely to be stressed and burnt out than engaged workers, because they feel lost and disconnected from their employer and workplace.

• Loud quitting employees – These employees take actions that directly harm the organization, undercutting its goals and opposing its leaders. The trust between the employee and employer is severely broken, or the employee is woefully mismatched to their role, which lead to crises.

The Gallup survey reveals fairly significant differences across regions. For instance, employees thriving at work represent 31% of the workforce in North America (United States, Canada), while this number drops to 13% in Europe and 17% in East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea). Levels of loud quitting (the most troublesome employee behavior) are highest in East Asia and South Asia. Figure 1 summarize the Gallup survey findings across the most significant economic regions.

What are the Consequences?

Quiet quitting may not seem like a big problem if employees are only refusing to go the extra mile. Some commentators suggest that quiet quitting is simply an extension of the trend toward better work-life balance.⁵ But critics argue that “for many companies, a workforce that is willing to go beyond the call of duty is a critical competitive advantage.”⁶ Managers report that quiet quitters place an additional burden on their colleagues. Those thriving at work may become upset and leave if they continuously have to offset the lower performance of quiet quitters. Quiet quitting also places a significant burden on managers. A study by Robert Walters Canada indicates that 40% of managers in Toronto are “putting in extra time and effort because staff under the age of 30 are doing less.”⁷ Some managers retaliate by “quiet firing” the quiet quitters, namely by avoiding one-on-one conversations, not providing feed-back, neglecting to share information needed to do a job, passing them over for promotion, or subjecting them to stingy raises or no raise at all.⁸

From a macro perspective, the economic consequences of disengaged employees are staggering. Gallup estimates that low employee engagement costs the global economy US$8.8 trillion annually in lost productivity, which represents 9% of the global economy.⁹ The low performance of employees quiet quitting and loud quitting increases production costs and reduces the supply of goods and services simultaneously. Both of these factors contribute to higher inflation.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics measures U.S. labor productivity with an index that compares growth in the output of goods and services relative to hours worked (Figure 2). Since January 2022, the Bureau estimates that U.S. labor productivity dropped by a quarterly average of 2.1%, which equates to 1 week or 5 days of lost productivity per worker per year. Put another way, the impact on business is equivalent to a full week without production and sales, while labor and overhead costs remain unchanged. Given that the total size of the U.S. economy was approximately $25 trillion in 2022, the decrease in labor productivity during 2022 cost an estimated $525 billion.

What are the Causes?

Research from Zenger Folkman, a leadership development consulting firm located in the United States, suggests that “quiet quitting is usually less about an employee’s willingness to work harder and more creatively, and more about a manager’s ability to build relationships with their employees where they are not counting the minutes until quitting time.”¹⁰ As part of a detailed study of 360^o feed-back leadership assessments involving 2,800 managers and more than 13,000 employees reporting to them, “managers who were rated the highest [1st or top percentile] on balancing relationships with results had 62% of their employees willing to give extra effort.”¹¹ By comparison, managers rated the lowest (10th or lowest percentile) only had 20% of their employees willing to go the extra mile. The research reveals a definitive correlation between managerial abilities to balance employee relationships with results, and levels of employee engagement (Figure 3).

The researchers observe that most people have worked for a manager that moved them toward quiet quitting at some point in their career. As employees, they may have felt somewhat abused, undervalued or unappreciated, which resulted in a loss of motivation. By contrast, many people also have worked for a leader that inspired them, and for whom they had a strong desire to go the extra mile, building a positive relationship. In this context, working extra hours was not resented. Evidently, many factors can cause employees to adopt quiet quitting behaviors, and more research is needed in this area. The same factors that cause employee departures may also trigger quiet quitting. According to McKinsey & Company, the top reasons for employee departures include uncaring leaders, unsustainable expectations, lack of career development and advancement, lack of meaningful work, and lack of support for employee health and well-being (Figure 4).

Are There Solutions?

According to Gallup, quiet quitting employees are the low-hanging fruit for productivity gains, because “they are ready to be inspired and motivated – if they are coached in the right way.”¹² Holistically considering all of the factors that cause employees to leave may be a better approach, which nonetheless places a lot of emphasis on managing employees better. When looking at the top reasons why employees leave (or presumably quiet quit their job if they do not leave), there appears to be six major improvement areas to help prevent resignations and quiet quitting (Table 1).

The research from Zenger Folkman suggests that the most important factor in dealing with quiet quitters is to establish trust with employees. When direct reports trust their leader, they implicitly assume that the leader cares about them and is concerned with their wellbeing. With this state of mind, employees are a lot more inclined to go the extra mile. Three elements are particularly effective at creating trust according to the research:¹³

• Positive relationships – Managers create positive relationships by talking with their direct reports and getting to know them better. Casual conversations about things of common interest are helpful at building trust. Differences of views shared positively are also stimulating.

• Honesty and follow-through – In addition to being totally honest, managers also have to follow-through with whatever they say or promise. Most leaders have a tendency to believe that they are more consistent about putting words into actions than others perceive them.

• Competence – Managers with relevant credentials, experience and expertise gain the respect and trust of direct reports. If managers are perceived to be out of date with technical expertise, or out of touch with managerial practices, they will not be respected and trusted.

Loud quitting employees are a significant risk, given that they are willing to harm the organization, undercut its goals, and oppose its leaders. Managers must take immediate action when signs of loud quitting are detected to prevent turmoil in the workplace. The mains options for addressing loud quitting behaviors include discipline, counselling, mentoring, mediation and termination.

Conclusion

Quiet quitting is a sad state of affairs with major consequences for employers, employees and society at large. It is critical for leaders and managers to understand why employees resign or transition to quiet-quitting. Dealing with human resources management issues, and trying to improve how employees are managed, are significant challenges during the best of times. Making progress on these challenges is nonetheless crucial, especially in times of skilled labor shortages such as those experienced now and anticipated in the future. The ability to curb resignations and motivate employees away from quiet quitting are key drivers of organizational success.

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¹ Angie Basiouny, Why Managers Aren’t Worried About Quiet Quitting, (Knowledge at Wharton, September 13, 2022).
² Anthony C. Klotz and Mark C. Bolino, When Quiet Quitting Is Worse Than the Real Thing, (HBR, September 15, 2022).
³ Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, (www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx), p.4.
⁴ Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, (…), p.4.
⁵ Howard Levitt and Peter Carey, Quiet Quitters Set Themselves Up to Fail, (National Post, September 3, 2022).
⁶ Anthony C. Klotz and Mark C. Bolino, When Quiet Quitting Is Worse Than the Real Thing, (HBR, September 15, 2022).
⁷ Victoria Wells, Going Quietly, The Rise of Quiet Firing, (Ottawa Citizen, November 7, 2022).
⁸ Victoria Wells, Going Quietly, The Rise of Quiet Firing, (Ottawa Citizen, November 7, 2022).
⁹ Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, (…), p.1.
¹⁰ Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Quiet Quitting is About Bad Bosses, Not Bad Employees, (HBR, August 31, 2022).
¹¹ Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Quiet Quitting is About Bad Bosses, Not Bad Employees, (…).
¹² Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, (…), p.10.
¹³ Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Quiet Quitting is About Bad Bosses, Not Bad Employees, (…).