We can change... even when we're in charge
Part 2 of the "quiet quitting" conversation
This October 2022 series is an attempt to capture the conversation that isn’t currently happening about the shift now underway in our relationship to work.
Going into Week 2 of our exploration of the “quiet quitting” conversation, we are up to 44 respondents to our little survey. Notably, we’ve had an uptick in executives from last week’s 33.3%, just in time for this week’s focus on frustrated employers.
For purposes of mapping two sides of this non-conversation, last week I divided respondents into two categories—disengaged employees and frustrated employers—but it’s certainly not black-and-white. Even in our small sample, we have wide swaths of gray, for example executives who are dialing back their responsibilities and team members who are frustrated with their colleagues’ reduced availability.
One thing that has become clear to me already is that this is not a simple Us vs. Them conflict. (It may be more accurate to describe it as Us vs. Us x System.) So, as you read into the perspectives of our frustrated employers, you may find it sounds similar to what we heard last week from our disengaged employees.
It makes sense, after all we’ve experienced so many of the same challenges—Mental/Emotional, Relational and Transformational. On our conversation map, I’ve added another layer for the frustrated employers side, who are also the stewards of Operational systems that have shown themselves to be inadequate—short-term and linear as they are—for the complex and long-term implications of the shifts at hand.
tl;dr Check out a map of these responses (+ more!) on Miro
click image to view
Today let’s hear from those who (at least generally) represent some aspect of the “I need people to work more or care more about our work” perspective.
Us vs. Them
Us vs. Us x System
If your team is “quiet quitting,” what does it look like?
Right out of the gate, here’s that reminder that you don’t have to be a boss to see the downside of what our disengaged employees preferred to call “coasting.”
A Team Member: They don’t pay much efforts, doing minimal, and sometimes less (in terms of quality of work).
Beyond the peer level, executives are seeing it as well:
An Executive: Not engaged, not involved, no follow-through on ideas and actions, passive behavior
An Executive: Not proactively thinking about or sharing ideas for how to improve our business
An Executive: Idling vs. working
I’ve been especially interested in the manager perspective, as it seems to me that mid-level managers are carrying the most complexity of any group. They are directly accountable for team performance without having much if any control or influence over the forces that affect it (systems, pressure, vision, etc.). I sense some of that ambivalence here:
A Manager: Not raising hand or volunteering for extra work, not showing up at office (hybrid environment) even for major meetings, not engaged in culture, not showing inclination to grow.
A Manager: This is hard for me to define. It looks sort of like not being open, curious and supportive of other team members. It also looks like saying something will take longer than it actually does so no other work will be assigned. It's a collection of characteristics, and it's subjective. Admittedly, even writing this down makes me feel like "Quiet Quitting" isn't as much of an act as it is a collective judgment exacerbated by groupthink.
Which brings us to another contingent of executives, who see the current shift in terms of boundaries:
An Executive: Stopping working so hard, setting boundaries, being less available, less interested in taking in more work.
An Executive: I think we're seeing more boundaries or pulling back on the throttle when resources are scarce.
An Executive: Every team has low engagement employees who are just doing the minimum and trying not to get fired. "Quiet quitters" have always been a part of corporate teams - they show up to the bare minimum to not get fired and collect a paycheck—that isn't new. Eventually, they get PIP'd or they leave on their own. What is new is the notion that hard working employees are finally believing in work-life balance and setting healthy boundaries—I reject the notion that they should be called "quiet quitters" yet that is exactly what is happening. What I see is an awakening of employees that no longer want to give their all to their employers and not being valued in return, and they are the new scapegoats.
This is a critical distinction, and one we’ll see made a few other ways by folks on this side of the conversation: there is a difference between setting healthy boundaries and doing the bare minimum.
"Hardworking employees are finally believing in work-life balance and setting healthy boundaries—I reject the notion that they should be called ‘quiet quitters’ yet that is what is happening. They are the new scapegoats.”
Why do you think they are doing what you describe?
Many of the responses to this question mirror the disengaged employees’ themes of burnout amid tremendous change:
A Manager: Burnout, seeking more guidance/investment from employer, seeing a very specific type of investment they aren't getting.
A Manager: Collective anxiety, negative reinforcement and the desperate need to take back control of something in an uncertain time.
An Executive: Burnout. Not fulfilled. No passion for the work.
An Executive: I think people are overwhelmed by everything that has happened in the world over the past years and how this (still) affects themselves and their families. Some people are simply exhausted and demotivated, but are not ready to take a next step.
But here we also see more emphasis on the pressure that current systems (or lack thereof) exert on the humans within them:
A Manager: Maybe because people are pushing back on the consistent “ask” of work and maybe they don’t know how to maintain proper boundaries.
An Executive: To much pressure, doing more with less so support systems lacking.
An Executive: The continued pressure and lack of understanding of changing markets and resources and internal competitiveness among leaders. No vision, poor leadership from the top amidst a lot of lip service.
That right there is the only direct mention of the role of poor leadership from this group, a theme that was central to the disengaged employee perspectives. Those who are frustrated by this disengagement may be less likely to see the role they are playing in it.
Finally, one leader points to incentives:
An Executive: Because they aren't incentivized to do so.
Motivation—and what drives it—is a theme we’ll revisit in the weeks ahead in exploring what happens when we see our work and working relationships as transactional.
And you?
You’ll remember that people from all over the org chart are dialing back their “above and beyond” ways of working. But not everyone feels it’s possible for them.
An Executive: I'm totally burnt but the work is too important and we're on to something big. It's not in my nature to quit, but I am setting better boundaries.
An Executive: I'm continuously overwhelmed too, and sometimes struggling, but I still feel responsible for the team and our agency, so I'm sort of fighting that feeling. The quiet quitting of (some) colleagues though increases the burden that I feel and to be honest, I sometimes blame them for that.
An Executive: I wish I had the courage to do it. I'm an executive, yet I am not valued or supported by my employer. I counsel mentees to only be as dedicated and loyal to your company as they would be to you. Yet, I care too much about my personal reputation to do anything short of above and beyond. So I've stayed, and I've given too much of myself at great personal cost.
Listen to the tension we find here:
“I’m totally burnt” “I’m continuously overwhelmed”
“I am not valued or supported”
BUT
“I feel responsible” “the work is too important”
“it’s not in my nature to quit” “I care too much about my reputation”
SO
“I’m fighting that feeling” “I sometimes blame them”
“I’ve stayed and given too much of myself at great personal cost”
I don’t know if it’s ever been easy to be a leader, but I’m certain it’s never been harder.
What do you wish people understood about “quiet quitting”?
Many of our executives agree with last week’s team members, insisting it’s not new.
An Executive: It's been going on since the beginning of time. Some work is boring and unfulfilling.
An Executive: That it's not new and it's not necessarily anything to do with quitting. Careers have peaks and plateaus and troughs. It's a cycle.
An Executive: That it is primarily click bait but a reminder to get to know your employees’ concerns and motivations.
Others want their colleagues to find a balance between setting boundaries and “phoning it in,” for everyone’s sake:
A Team Member: That it’s okay to be “quiet quitting” as long as it doesn’t impact others significantly and you’re still responsibly delivering work.
A Manager: That there is a difference between setting boundaries and simply phoning it in and still expecting to be rewarded and recognized/elevated.
Along those lines, one executive suggests that phoning it in is holding people back:
An Executive: Quiet quitting will not solve anything and is holding you back from either personal or professional growth. It's seems like a very long 'freeze' response to danger. I understand that in today's times of uncertainty it is difficult to take a decision that will get you moving again, in any direction, either loudly quitting or embracing your current job again.
And they may be right about that! But a few other voices want to remind us that this isn’t an individual issue, but a systemic one that individuals are responding to en masse:
A Manager: The work world is NOT what it was pre-pandemic. A lot has changed and while quiet quitting isn’t a new concept, hybrid work may have exacerbated or amplified its presence. Team members can hide behind screens and in their home offices if employers aren’t doing enough to address the trend and figure out how to inspire and cultivate hybrid work cultures.
An Executive: It's a cry for something else. It's not in our human nature to phone it in.
Massive gratitude to everyone who shared their experiences and perspectives with us. You’ve helped us understand the complexity of the shifts we’re all experiencing and responding to in our own way.
Over the next two weeks we’ll step back and look at:
What’s Happening: The vicious cycle that naturally results from flattening this conversation and weaponizing these terms against one another.
What’s Possible: The new world of work we can build together if we can get clear about our needs and get creative about how to better meet them.
I’d love to know what’s resonating with you here. What are you seeing more clearly? What insights are emerging for you? Let me know in the comments.
And one more time, if you haven’t already done so, take the survey.
Know someone (or a team of someones) who will find this interesting? Share it on!