If we were to go back to 2018, we would see a workforce that was committed to working sixty to seventy hours a week. Since the pandemic, there has been a shift in that ideology. Employees now understand working extended hours every day has no benefit. They understand there are set times to work extra hours, like during a special project or to meet a deadline; however, it should not be the norm. What has been challenging is some leaders believe employees should go back to working those long hours. In an article by CNBC, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy recently sparked controversy on social media when he said young Indians should work 70 hours a week to boost the country's economy. It was stated that Industry leaders who spoke to CNBC agreed that this is necessary for the developing nation to compete on a global stage. Furthermore, the concept of having a work-life balance is “very Western,” Xeno’s Ayushmaan Kapoor said. “If we want to achieve greatness those are the number of hours and the kind of sacrifices, we must make.” (CNBC). This type of methodology can create a culture of quiet quitting. Quiet quitting is when employees are no longer going above and beyond in their work. They have started to do the minimum that is required. You may ask why does this happen? This happens when employees are burnt out or do not feel appreciated. Did you know that 1 in 5 employees are silently quitting, according to CNBC news? Well, let’s talk about how we can fix this.
Organizations are working tirelessly to find ways to keep employees engaged and to remain competitors in the market. Meet with employees regularly, not just once or twice a year. Management needs to check on their employees to ensure that they are engaged. Have those conversations with employees to find out if they need something, how you can support them, and if they are feeling overwhelmed at work. Employees who are feeling overwhelmed usually show signs of disengagement and fatigue. They withdraw from the work that used to bring them joy. It is not uncommon for deadlines to be missed and they start to call out frequently. These are all signs that leadership should pay close attention to and look for ways to remedy. Ways to address disengagement is to balance employee workload. Ensure that projects and tasks are evenly distributed among employees. Prioritizing which employee receives particular tasks. Making sure that employees are assigned projects based on workload and skill set can assist in minimizing disengagement.
Conduct stay interviews. Stay interviews are conducted to help managers understand why employees stay and what might cause them to leave. It is a way to engage an employee and to check their pulse about the company. Warning signs indicate when an employee needs more support or direction. Stay interviews could find ways that would reaffirm employees' commitment and engagement, which would have a minimum cost to the organization.
Check your company’s culture. A bad culture can be a problem. When asked why quiet quitting was happening, 60 percent of respondents whose organizations were experiencing it pointed to the post-pandemic culture. Two hypotheses were shared by these HR professionals regarding the cause of their cultural problems: diminished people management capabilities and an inability to maintain culture in a virtual environment, according to Society Human Resource Management. Employees who have to endure a bad culture start to way their options on if they want to continue to be employed with the organization. Some will stay; however, they will not give you 100% effort. They will disengage and do the bare minimum.
Reward employees for work being performed. It is not uncommon for employees to say, I do not need praise for work that is required of me; however, everyone wants to be told way to go and job well done. Create WOW Opportunities for employees. When leadership recognizes employees in front of their peers it says to everyone that we appreciate all the hard work you are doing for the organization.
Check on employee’s mental health. No one employee deals with the stress of work and even home life the same way. Provide opportunities for employees to participate in flexible work schedules and work-from-home opportunities. Some employees have home obligations that distract them, and if they have to manage that and being in the office every day from eight to nine hours it can be overwhelming. The question the leadership has to ask is whether it is worth losing a valuable employee and spending the money it will cost to replace that employee.
Employers remember while quiet quitting is a real thing, it does not mean that employees should not be held accountable for work performance. There is a delicate balance between meeting the goals of the company and ensuring that employees feel valued and not overworked and stressed while performing their work tasks. Having those conversations with employees from the beginning opens the lines of communication and can assist in setting realistic expectations for employees and employers.
Comments