Quiet Quitting – 5 Questions that Confront Quiet Quitting
Quiet quitting is a disaster. I’m not thinking about organizations. It’s a disaster for everyone. Doing the minimum at work is circling a black hole.
Quiet quitting is disengagement. Disengagement is boring. Imagine waiting for the day to end – day after day after day.
Engagement is necessary to flourish according to Martin Seligman. Engagement is getting lost in enjoyable challenges that mean something to you. (Read Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, “Flow,” to get a grip on engagement.)
5 questions that confront quiet quitting:
Quiet quitting is a leadership opportunity.
#1. How can you define ‘bigger’?
Feeling part of something bigger than yourself is part of belonging. Being part of a high functioning team enhances meaning at work.
#2. How are you letting people know their contribution matters?
If someone’s work doesn’t matter, why are you paying for it? Everyone’s contribution matters. If it doesn’t, eliminate their job.
#3. How can you encourage people to support each other?
Soldiers don’t simply fight to win battles; they fight for each other. Feeling supported feels like belonging.
Don’t shoot your wounded.
#4. How can you be loyal to team members?
Expendable people feel devalued. Why should people give their best when all that matters is the bottom line?
If you want people to be loyal to you, be loyal to them.
#5. How can you teach people that hard is meaningful and easy is boring?
Olympic medals are meaningful because people sweat to earn them. Sweat gives value. Trophies for showing up insult our potential. Only children brag about trophies for showing up.
Meaning energizes hard work. Belonging feels like meaning.
If you want people to engage, ask, “How can I create opportunities for people to feel like they belong?”
What is true when you feel like you belong?
How can leaders make a sense of belonging more likely?
Still curious:
3 Creative Ways to Cultivate Meaningful Connection
How to Find Fulfillment When Work is Frustrating
Quiet Quitting Is A Sign Of A Deeper Problem
Image source: Hubble Sees Possible Runaway Black Hole Creating a Trail of Stars | NASA
I think you are using “quiet quitting” and “disengagement” as synonymous and that may not be how everyone sees it. I tell my hourly staff that they are paid for 40 hours and their time beyond that is theirs – don’t answer emails, don’t fret about work (it will be here), you have a life outside your work and it is yours. I tell them I encourage “quiet quitting” (defined as doing the job they are paid for) and not 24/7 even though they are working at home or hybrid so that the boundaries aren’t blurred. By giving them that permission, when they are “at work” they are 100% working! They still have initiative, they are engaged, that’s part of their job description. But when they are “off the clock”, they get to really be off the clock.
I have so much respect for that, Mary-Ellen! Great leadership definitely looks like encouraging healthy boundaries so that folks can show up as their best at and outside of work.