7, October 2022

Quiet Quitting: A Workplace Trend That May Not Mean What You Think

Written by PeakPharma

Quiet quitting is a workplace trend, and it’s happening more often than you think. But what does “quiet quitting” mean? It means employees are withdrawing from their roles without formally resigning. It can be harmful to businesses, and can lead to a loss of institutional knowledge and decreased productivity. However, it can also be an opportunity for businesses to adjust to a new paradigm in the workplace, evolve your company culture and improve motivation.

What happens in a quiet quitting workplace environment?

Quiet quitting is not just about employees looking for a better work/life balance, although this is one element of it. 

With quiet quitting, employees may withdraw from their roles to a degree without formally resigning. Quiet quitting can also manifest itself in more serious ways, such as decreased productivity, significant disengagement, and it can lead to a loss of institutional knowledge or even company departures entirely without notice. 

So why is it happening? There are a few key reasons:

  • Employees feel undervalued or unheard.
  • They’re not happy with recent organizational changes (e.g., pandemic-related changes).
  • The work is stressful, and their company isn’t noticing.
  • They’re not being asked what they need to best succeed.

When employees don’t feel valued or heard, they’re much more likely to withdraw from their roles – and that’s when quiet quitting happens.

What Can Companies Do?

If your company is struggling with employee motivation and morale, there are a few things you can do to positively impact change:

  • Listen to your employees and give them a chance to be heard.
  • Make sure they understand the company’s vision and how their role contributes to it.
  • Empower them to make decisions and take ownership of their work.
  • Ask them what they need to best succeed, and then provide the support they need.

Your Sales Force Requires Full Engagement

Quiet quitting is particularly problematic for sales forces. A salesperson who is disengaged is much less likely to sell, which will have a direct impact on company revenue. If you’re struggling with employee motivation in your sales force, it’s even more important to take the steps expressed above.

Instilling Motivation, Engagement, and a Balanced Work Life

At the end of the day, your team needs to feel motivated in order to contribute their best work. When they don’t feel motivated, it can lead to disengagement and eventually, quiet quitting. By taking the time to listen to your employees and give them what they need, you can create a more engaged and balanced workforce.

Companies should start by assessing whether employees in their organization are already quiet quitting by looking at productivity levels and employee satisfaction and engagement survey scores. If employees are already disengaged, it’s important to take action to rectify the situation. Listening to employees, understanding their needs, and giving them what they need to best succeed is a good place to start.

PEAK

COMMENTARY

In most cases, quiet quitting isn’t about quitting at all, and most employees don’t intentionally deliver sub-par efforts but instead it’s in fact a healthy reality check on the job creep boundaries that have been pushed beyond their limits. We as employers should question the ask, where are the boundaries, before the pandemic, during and after. It’s time to level-set on what your employees need, and ultimately what your organization needs for optimal effectiveness for the long term.

Many leaders are feeling the pressure, post-pandemic, to do more with less but typically that comes at the expense of some of your best employees and intuitively leaders know it’s not sustainable. Many hope their best people will simply continue to put more and more hours in. However, the pandemic shifted priorities and motivation, and employers need to shift with these changes…in fact, they should attempt to get ahead of them. Be the start of something new, something that works for all involved.

It’s time to rethink the work day, the roles we hold, and what we expect of one another. The most problematic outcome is when unspoken expectations flourish. Instead, consider rethinking the entire model. We all know that motivated employees give you the best of their abilities, which in turn results in a positive impact for the culture of your business, and ultimately its performance. It may take some time to get it right, but it’s worth investing the time now, for positive results later.

LISTEN, ACKNOWLEDGE, CREATE, SUCCEED, REWARD…REPEAT!

– Jennifer Meldrum, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, PEAK Pharma Solutions Inc

The Peak Pharma Solutions culture embraces a work/life balanced environment 

If you or your organization are struggling with the effects of diminished employee motivation and quiet quitting, Peak Pharma Solutions can help.  Contact us today to learn more about our pharmaceutical sales services and more.

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