The term quiet quitting became a trending phrase in 2022 and describes the situation where job dissatisfaction and burnout leads an individual to switch off and do the bare minimum at work.
After being in the workplace for just over 30 years and 12 of those years working as a HR professional, unfortunately this is nothing new. From my observations and personal experience quiet quitting is the behaviour that results from an employee feeling they:
are not able to cope with the demands of their job
are unable to control the way they do their work
don't receive enough information and support
are having trouble with relationships at work, or are being bullied
don't fully understand their role and responsibilities
are not engaged when a business is undergoing change
Essentially, they feel undervalued as despite raising concerns over a sustained period of time, there is little/no remedial action being taken, so bit by bit they disengage. The apathy sinks in; "what's the point in raising an issue if no one is listening?" and it's a downward spiral as each workday passes without a sense of meaningful contribution, as they lose their passion for what they do.
This is when *burnout occurs, as it's the cumulative effect of trying to keep up with the demands of a role in a toxic environment over a period of time. It just becomes too much, and inevitably a disengaged employees unhappiness spills over into their private life, so they get to a point where they are so depleted that they move into survival mode, which is just going through the motions, doing the bare minimum to get through each day.
Gallup defines a disengaged employee as "psychologically unattached to their work and company, because their engagement needs are not being fully met, they’re putting time — but not energy or passion — into their work".
*Burnout is defined by the WHO as a result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
Work related stress and workplace wellbeing
What the trend for quiet quitting helps to highlight is the impact of work-related stress, as the six areas listed above also happen to be the six main areas identified by the HSE that contribute to work-related stress if they are not managed properly.
The Gallup 2022 The State of the Global Workplace Report backs this up, and they headlined the results in their report by stating that: "there is much room for leaders to ask: How am I creating a thriving workplace for my employees today?".
A thriving employee is an engaged employee, they experience a sense of fulfilment in their life day to day lives in general, have good health and are highly involved and enthusiastic about the work they do. They "psychologically own" their work from a place of intrinsic motivation, as they feel valued and can express their natural talents, leading to a sense of belonging and meaning at work. This drives their performance to contribute effectively and enables more innovative ideas to co-create a thriving organisation.
So, it's imperative that employers reflect on the question posed above with honesty and engage with their employees to understand their needs in creating a thriving workplace.
81,396 hours - the importance of valuing our time
That’s how many hours an average person will spend working.
In fact, it's the second biggest use of our time after sleeping, and with the average life expectancy for a male in the UK being 82.3 years old and for a female 85.8 years old, if you started work at the age of 18 and retire at the UK average age of 65 that means we spend approximately 47 years, over half our lives, at work.
As far as we know this is our one crack at life here on earth, so it is a crying shame that Gallup finds 60% of employees are emotionally detached at work, 19% are miserable and 57% are not engaged or thriving.
In the CIPD Good Work Index 2022 which shares the insights of 6000 UK workers of which 41% of respondents stated a job is a way of earning money and no more.
The latest annual HSE report on work related stress, anxiety or depression statistics for Great Britain published in Nov 2022 showed the total number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2020/21 was 914,000 (up from 822,000 in 2021), with 1.8 million people suffering from work related stress. It’s important to note this figure was already rising steadily year on year prior to the pandemic.
Workplace wellbeing that focuses on the whole person
On the back of the pandemic a number of employers have introduced workplace wellbeing initiatives, such as access to Employee Assisted Programmes (EAP), gym memberships, staff discount schemes, Mental Health Days etc. and trained employees to be Mental Health First Aiders. However, these do not get to the root cause of why so many employees become disengaged and burnout and they are not preventative measures.
Having a strategy that focuses on the six areas listed above however would go a long way to help reengage employees, rebuild trust and create a workplace were employees can feel increased fulfilment which ultimately contributes to the organisation's success.
Every employee is a unique individual with different values, talents and abilities that motivate them and give them a sense of purpose and identity. They are also a human being with core needs to be psychologically and physically safe and healthy, and to feel loved and cared for within their social networks which gives them a sense of belonging.
We need to move away from the outdated view that we must be worker robots and compartmentalise what happens in the workplace from our private lives or vice versa, as to do so means we are not being true to our human nature and ourselves. We each have many roles in our lives such as a parent, sibling, carer, volunteer etc. as well our role at work. It's the unique combination of these roles, our individual talents, aspirations and passions, that all contribute to who we are as a whole person.
It's only when managers get to really know each employee as a whole person, that we can transition to improved work life integration. Instead of trying of trying to balance how people live the different aspects of their lives in an either or, making sacrifices approach, which often leads to mental turmoil as employees try to do their best to fulfil all their roles in life with competing priorities and values.
There is an overall duty of care that needs to be demonstrated by employers as a whole to cultivate psychologically safe work environments with just the same vigour as physical health and safety. Plus, we need to look at the language we use in the workplace when referring to employees, as some outdated terms such as workers, talent, resources and temps are dehumanising.
This is how business can be a force for good, as by enabling employees to contribute to meaningful work in an environment where they feel valued, we will see a reduction in the rate of people suffering from mental ill health, as when an employee thrives at work they thrive at home and in their communities.
Practical solutions
When Gallup did one of the largest studies of burnout, they found that the biggest source of burnout was unfair treatment at work, followed by a lack of manager support, unmanageable workload, unreasonable time pressure and unclear communication from managers.
"People leave managers not companies"
This quote from Marcus Buckingham, who worked at Gallup for over 17 years, highlights the level of impact managers have on employee engagement. However, many managers have never had training to teach them how they can prevent work related stress by cultivating a team culture where individuals can thrive.
So, investment in management training is key and my first recommended step as part of a strategy to improve employee wellbeing.
1 - People management training
The provision of training for anyone who manages people in the following areas will help cultivate a psychologically safe culture:
Team planning
Learning how evaluate what skills, knowledge and behaviours which are needed within a team to meet organisational objectives and how to approach getting to know each individual in their team, so that managers can find a work context which enables team members to express themselves fully, rather than making them fit into a role that isn't a good match for who they are.
This is key to unleashing each team members full potential and makes the most of the diverse talents, knowledge and abilities of the team, so they bring out the best in each other. The process also supports decision making around recruitment.
Coaching for personal and professional development
We need to move towards more transformational leadership which empowers people and supports learning and growth. This involves learning how to coach employees to enable them to take ownership of their development through increased self-awareness.
Such training should begin with managers first developing their own self-awareness so they can understand how they contribute to the current culture in their area, and how they can facilitate a learning culture where their team feels psychologically safe to highlight issues and suggest solutions.
Communication skills
The spoken word is just one small part of how we communicate. There are a number of other aspects such as listening, body language, tone of voice, intention and vocabulary.
It's also important to understand how our minds really work and how we each have our own world view, as through this understanding we can begin to depersonalise conflict within the workplace and communicate with improved understanding and compassion.
2 - Mental Wellbeing training and support
It’s essential that every employee understands how their minds work, how they can take ownership of their mental health, and understand the signs when their mental health is struggling, and where to to seek help if needed.
Due to the high demand for mental health services through the NHS many people are not getting access to the support they need, and there are many non-therapeutic approaches that can help prevent mental ill health in the early stages.
Mental Wellbeing Awareness training and support is more than a one-off session, as that’s a tick box approach to wellbeing. Instead consider it like building a muscles, whereby employees develop their awareness and use this knowledge to form new habits that support them mental wellbeing. This needs to take place over a sustained period of time, so regular training sessions is a better solution to really support employees.
3 - Employee Wellbeing Coaching
A proactive and preventative approach to employee wellbeing is to provide individuals with safe, confidential and protected space to talk through what maybe affecting their mental wellbeing. I would recommended this as soon as someone notices signs they’re beginning to struggle with their mental health, as recovery to restore mental wellbeing is much quicker.
It's important to note that this is not therapy or counselling and if someone is suffering from severe mental ill health or indicates that they may harm themselves or others, then other professional intervention will be discussed, and support offered to source and make contact.
Also, if an employee is already working with a GP, therapist or counsellor we can form a co-ordinated approach as part of a wellbeing plan.
In these sessions we create a personalised Wellbeing Action Plan where the employee will identify ways for them to take responsibility for their wellbeing. In follow up sessions this plan will be the framework for discussions, as this helps to keep individuals focused on how they can support their wellbeing and when to ask for additional help.
Just having this unbiased and non-judgemental support in place to help refocus a person back to what's important to them and taking time to recognise their progress to maintain their wellbeing, is extremely effective at preventing the escalation of issues.
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