Spare a thought for your quiet quitters.
Liz Baalham
Who remembers the quiet quitters? According to our well-placed sources (okay, a recent Guardian think piece) this group of disengaged, disinterested and demotivated salary-slackers have caught wind of the economic downturn, and are retuning their strategy to guard against the risk of downsizing. They’ve now turned up the volume to become ‘loud labourers.’ This new approach involves talking about how much work they’re doing at the expense of, well, doing the actual work.
Of course, joking aside, employee motivation is a lot more complex than the click-bait headlines we’ve seen over the last few months. Demotivated employees avoiding work is not a new concept, even if the fad terminology is. So what is really going on behind the headlines and hashtags? Are our people coping with the pressures of work? And what can we do to help them thrive? Let’s take a look.
A global downturn in engagement.
According to this year’s Gallup Global Workplace Report, employee engagement and wellbeing are palpably stagnant. It’s a global issue, true, but the UK is faring worse than most of our neighbours. In fact, Gallup’s findings rank us down in 33rd place out of 38 European countries, with only 9% of UK workers stating they were engaged in their work.
Overall, Gallup also found that employee wellbeing levels had dropped 5% since the pandemic.
Aside from the mental health burden for those people who are struggling to engage with their jobs, wellbeing is a growing expense for their employers too. A study by Deloitte estimated that poor wellbeing costs UK firms up to £45 billion a year.
Whether you want to point the finger at people quietly quitting, loudly labouring, or whatever else the media decides to call it, the reality is that wellbeing, disengagement and exhaustion are biting hard for many people in our organisations.
It’s a problem that needs a serious solution. After all, we’re going to need our people to be at their best if they’re going to guide us through the emerging economic downturn.
How can you prioritise wellbeing and engagement?
Develop leadership skills that enable a positive working culture. Equipping your leadership with the kind of soft skills required to inspire their teams is critical to building a healthy, and engaging, working environment. Our award-winning Critical Thinking Programme focusses on developing leaders who can be effective coaches, with the ability to make every member of their team feel valued, supported and heard. These skills have never been more crucial.
Build resilience. It’s no surprise that ‘Permacrisis’ has been voted Collins’ word of the year for 2022. And it’s rather apt, unfortunately. The truth is, people have weathered crisis after crisis in the last few years, and will likely have to face a few more yet. We can’t change that, but through courses like our Health and Wellbeing Programme, we can give your people vital tools and insights that will help them deal with stress more effectively, build their confidence, and become more resilient to challenging circumstances.
Now is not the time to quietly quit your investment in your people’s wellbeing. Contact us, and let’s discuss how we can support your people to thrive during these challenging times.
