Part of the great resignation, but what does this mean with a government lens?
In no way a new thing, quiet quitting has been brought to focus by recent social media and news articles. If you have not heard of it, let me explain. The term simply means that people who are quiet quitting are not quitting their jobs quietly but are no longer going above and beyond the set work hours or duties of their position. Apart from the social media aspects bringing it to light, what is making it stand out is the volume of people raising the unhealthy trend that the expectation of above and beyond and its effects on people, especially after the pandemic.
In Australia, the great resignation is more of a great reshuffle. Data has suggested that from February – July 2022 professional, technical, and scientific areas had increased mobility compared to the previous year. It is also starting to highlight the mental and physical impacts of burnout. People are seeing that administrative work can be done in a flexible way and are no longer having the need or want to be tied to the 9 – 5 office situations. While specific data is yet to catch up with the reasons quiet quitting is occurring, anecdotally people working within public service positions who are embracing this are no longer willing to work added hours without compensation or recognition, monetary or otherwise. Or go beyond their base job description. The term “all other duties as required” is being pushed back.
Laziness or a new approach
In 2021 the lying flat movement in China started to take off in a response to many being over worked and over stressed. Focusing on the culture of the hustle, ambition and the impossible task of balancing work and life. Many see the culture of relentless work as outdated. That it should not be seen as the only way to get ahead.
Have a look at the management and leadership around you, how did they come up in the workforce, what was their career trajectory. They may only know that you must go above and beyond to get where you want to in your career. Many have the view that the quiet quitting mentality is coasting or lazy and if you don’t work past your basic job description you are not showing you are eager.
The never-ending above and beyond expectations can sometimes be based on undertaking unnecessary processes, bureaucracy etc. that ends up being busy work rather than additions to efficiency in the workplace. Disengagement from this then starts to affect productivity with people choosing to stay under the radar. No longer seen as building good will with others.
Talk about it, don’t avoid it
There are simple things that can be done well before you or your staff start to feel the need to quietly quit. Conversations in your teams and organisations on how to make better use of people's time and productivity. What is your current culture telling you about the expectations of your organisation or senior leaders? How can you make it better for those that have begun or are disengaged.
What needs to occur is an end to the relentless work. “But I have so much work, I can’t only work in a set number of traditional hours.” That statement raises red flags. And I have been there. You are overloaded with work, you are unable to, whether by choice or capacity, delegate to others to assist you. When this occurs, it reflects your workplace culture. People need peaks and troughs to be able to build back resilience.
There are plenty of trivial things that can be done in an office setting to try to reduce work outside of set hours, meeting are a notable example of this. Do not set a meeting at 9am if your people do not start till 9am. Give them time to get into the office or get online. 15min can make all the difference.
Do not set the expectation that you are going to check your email after a set time or on your days off. Once you do this once or twice, you have set the expectation that you will be available.
Make sure that those who are doing extra hours or stretching themselves are compensated, this may be in the form of time off, flexible working hours, monetary recognition or education and training. There are many ways to recognise staff in a fair and consistent way.
If you are working in a high paced environment, make sure that you set review times at the end of each month, so staff are not continually over working without a reflection allocation of time to have a break.
Talk to your staff about what the root cause is of them quietly quitting, are there tangible things that you can change to bring back the good will? Are there things that show your culture is not supportive of the people you rely on most to produce outcomes?
Is quietly quitting sustainable?
In the current tight labour market, it is relatively easy to get alternative employment. The reset that has been forced on many in the form of a pandemic, has shown that there are flexible choices with a lot of mainstream public service professions. Organisational culture is key to staff retention.
People are focusing on the reduced productivity of employees, with an evolving workplace we should be asking, what are we doing within our organisation that is stopping our staff from going above and beyond? And let us not be naïve, the market will turn. If you are a quiet quitter, you may be the first to be let go when competition heats up.
For those that have made the decision to quietly quit, it is hard to turn it around in a culture that does not match your needs. You need to seriously consider is it time to find another opportunity in an organisation with a culture that is more suited to you?
Accountability must be on both sides; organisations need to be actively supporting staff to get the best productivity out of them and recognising employees that may only do a 9-5 are very efficient in those hours. Employees need to decide what they want from their organisation but understand that not all options of flexibility and recognition are practical. Remember the easy in which you can find alternate employment is privilege that many do not have.
Tell us, what are you seeing with the quiet quitting culture and what should employees do to support those that are trying to work life blend?
Do organisations need to change their mindset that to have a progressive career trajectory we need to tirelessly work in an above and beyond culture?