INTHEBLACK June/July 2024 - Magazine - Page 52
WORK SMART
Top-down
engagement
The phenomenon of “quiet quitting” reveals a crisis
of engagement in global workplaces – as well as a golden
opportunity for organisations to boost their productivity.
Words Nicola Heath
QUIET QUITTING GAINED MAINSTREAM
attention in 2022 when the hashtag went
viral on social media.
While there are various definitions of
quiet quitting, in the simplest terms, a quiet
quitter is an employee who is not engaged.
According to Gallup’s State of the Global
Workplace: 2023 Report, they “are filling
a seat and watching the clock” by investing
just enough effort into work to maintain
their employment – but no more.
The report also shows that 59 per cent
of employees across the globe are quiet
quitting, while in Australia and New Zealand,
that figure is higher, at 67 per cent.
52 INTHEBLACK June/July 2024
WHY QUIET QUITTING?
The World Economic Forum has argued
that quiet quitting is evidence of the
changing employee–employer power dynamic,
a trend hastened by the upheaval of the
pandemic. Suddenly, employees began to
prioritise wellbeing over work.
“People are reassessing their work–life
integration,” says Dr Amanda Ferguson,
organisational psychologist and host
of the Psych for Life podcast.
Talent management firm Randstad says
the phenomenon signals a worrying increase
in disengagement, particularly among
younger employees.
