Every
employee, every workday, makes a decision: Are they only willing to do
the minimum work necessary to keep their job? Or are they willing to put
more of their energy and effort into their work?
In
the last few weeks, many of those who choose the former have
self-identified as “quiet quitters.” They reject the idea that work
should be a central focus of their life. They resist the expectation of
giving their all or putting in extra hours. They say “no” to requests to
go beyond what they think should be expected of a person in their
position.
In
reality, quiet quitting is a new name for an old behavior. Our
researchers have been conducting 360-degree leadership assessments for
decades, and we’ve regularly asked people to rate whether their “work
environment is a place where people want to go the extra mile.” To
better understand the current phenomenon of quiet quitting, we looked at
our data to try to answer this question: What makes the difference for
those who view work as a day prison and others who feel that it gives
them meaning and purpose?
Our
data indicates 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 a relationship with their employees where
they are not counting the minutes until quitting time.
What the Data Shows
We
looked at data gathered since 2020 on 2,801 managers, who were rated by
13,048 direct reports. On average, each manager was rated by five
direct reports, and we compared two data points:
- Employees’ ratings of their manager’s ability to “Balance getting results with a concern for others’ needs”
- Employee’s ratings of the extent to which their “work environment is a place where people want to go the extra mile”
The
research term we give for those willing to give extra effort is
“discretionary effort.” Its effect on organizations can be profound: If
you have 10 direct reports and they each give 10% additional effort, the
net results of that additional effort are increased productivity.
The
graph below shows the results. We found that the least effective
managers have three to four times as many people who fall in the “quiet
quitting” category compared to the most effective leaders. These
managers had 14% of their direct reports quietly quitting, and only 20%
were willing to give extra effort. But those who were rated the highest
at balancing results with relationships saw 62% of their direct reports
willing to give extra effort, while only 3% were quietly quitting.
Many
people, at some point in their career, have worked for a manager that
moved them toward quiet quitting. This comes from feeling undervalued
and unappreciated. It’s possible that the managers were biased, or they
engaged in behavior that was inappropriate. Employees’ lack of
motivation was a reaction to the actions of the manager.
Most
mid-career employees have also worked for a leader for whom they had a
strong desire to do everything possible to accomplish goals and
objectives. Occasionally working late or starting early was not resented
because this manager inspired them.
What to Do If You Manage a “Quiet Quitter”
Suppose
you have multiple employees who you believe to be quietly quitting. In
that case, an excellent question to ask yourself is: Is this a problem
with my direct reports, or is this a problem with me and my leadership
abilities?
If
you’re confident in your leadership abilities and only one of your
direct reports is unmotivated, that may not be your fault. As the above
chart shows, 3% or 4% of the best managers had direct reports who were
quietly quitting.
Either
way, take a hard look at your approach toward getting results with your
team members. When asking your direct reports for increased
productivity, do you go out of your way to make sure that team members
feel valued? Open and honest dialogue with colleagues about the
expectations each party has of the other goes a long way.
The
most important factor is trust. When we analyzed data from more than
113,000 leaders to find the top behavior that helps effective leaders
balance results with their concern for team members, the number one
behavior that helped was trust. When direct reports trusted their
leader, they also assumed that the manager cared about them and was
concerned about their wellbeing.
Our
research has linked trust to three behaviors. First, having positive
relationships with all of your direct reports. This means you look
forward to connecting and enjoy talking to them. Common interests bind
you together, while differences are stimulating. Some team members make
it easy to have a positive relationship. Others are more challenging.
This is often a result of differences (age, gender, ethnicity, or
political orientation). Look for and discover common ground with these
team members to build mutual trust.
The
second element of trust is consistency. In addition to being totally
honest, leaders need to deliver on what they promise. Most leaders
believe they are more consistent than others perceive them.
The
third element that builds trust is expertise. Do you know your job
well? Are you out of date on any aspects of your work? Do others trust
your opinions and your advice? Experts can bring clarity, a path
forward, and clear insight to build trust.
By
building a trusting relationship with all of your direct reports, the
possibility of them quietly quitting dissipates significantly. The
approach leaders took to drive for results from employees in the past is
not the same approach we use today. We are building safer, more
inclusive, and positive workplaces, and we must continue to do better.
It’s
easy to place the blame for quiet quitting on lazy or unmotivated
workers, but instead, this research is telling us to look within and
recognize that individuals want to give their energy, creativity, time,
and enthusiasm to the organizations and leaders that deserve it.
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