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READ Part 1 HERE

Years ago, it was easier for employers and organizations to manage their employees. Workers were expected to do a specific job during specific hours (or a particular number of hours) for a specified pay rate. The relationship between employees and the company they worked for was transactional.  Employees put in the appointed hours and received a paycheck.  If they were fortunate enough to be employed by the same company for decades, they received a cake and a pension upon retirement.

Today it’s a different story. There is a multi-generational workforce with different needs and wants. Employees whose needs aren’t met can quickly become disengaged. Workers not only expect feedback, monetary and personal, they demand it. It’s difficult for organizations to terminate an employee doing a job that meets (but doesn’t exceed) their job description. Organizations may need to dig deeper than looking at just one or two employees to uncover the factors leading to disengagement in their workforce.

The concept of worker disengagement is not new. It’s been around for decades, if not longer. Whether workers quietly quitting is a trend or not, there is no question that disengaged employees are the greatest nemesis of productive and effective organizations.

How can organizations minimize quiet quitting? Consider factors:

WORKLOADS & STAFFING

  • Are workloads distributed in a manner that makes logical sense based on experience, knowledge, years on the job, training, complexity of tasks/projects, etc.?
  • Are employees fatigued due to staff shortages, workloads, or large projects? How can fatigue be offset to allow for employee well-being?
  • Do some employees need additional training or retraining so workloads can be more evenly distributed, handle work that is more complex or outside of a comfort zone but falls within job duties, or take on additional responsibilities?
  • Do certain workers need to learn to delegate, trust and let others know?

ACCOUNTABILITY & INTERACTION

  • What kind of accountability can be implemented for each employee concerning individual performance?
  • Are there peer accountability measures in place?
  • Does leadership meet one-on-one with employees at regular intervals, such as monthly, to get regular feedback, and check in?
  • Have some employees been mediocre performers for extended periods? If so, is it time to recalibrate job duties and expectations? Are there goals or objectives that need to be changed to increase efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, productivity, etc.?

LEADERSHIP

  • How effective are the management and other leaders? How is this quantified or measured?
  • Are leaders held accountable for their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, including benchmarking turnover rates, disengaged workers, etc.?
  • Are leaders regularly evaluated by subordinates and constructive feedback evaluated for improvement paths to ensure quality management, effective leadership, and healthy workplace culture?
  • What observations should managers be making? What conversations should managers be having that identify employee burnout or unhappy workers?
  • Do tough conversations need to be had with prickly employees who won’t take on extra responsibilities or venture outside of their comfort zones?

MOTIVATION

  • What is driving employees to complete the work that they do on an individual basis?
  • Does each employee feel the work they do matters and has value? How is this quantified?
  • Are there motivators that can improve employee sentiment for the organization, leadership, and the work they do every day?

What can leaders do to be better bosses and prevent quiet quitting?

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF
Take a candid inventory of your leadership abilities, including getting feedback from your co-workers and employees. What are you doing well? What could you do better? How is each employee performing? How does your team compare to other departments? Do you have more quiet quitters? In what ways can you minimize quiet quitting? How can you build better rapport with each employee in your department? Read more about candid leadership here. (1)

MAKE TRUST THE CORNERSTONE
Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, etc., people will embrace a leader they can trust. Show employees that you care. Have empathy. Admit when you’ve made a mistake, or you’re wrong. Do what you say and follow through on your promises. Be open and authentic. Learn more about developing workplace trust here. (2)

EVALUATE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT
Both you and your employees have psychological contracts with the same organization. (3)  Make sure you evaluate yours often, so you know what your employees expect from you and the organization. Listen to feedback such as complaints coming from employees about needing additional staff, tools, equipment, or training. Be open to inventory analysis about your performance as a manager and take steps to improve when and where necessary. Watch for behavior patterns that signify burnout, such as increased errors/mistakes, more sick days, less willingness to take on additional tasks, lack of preparation for meetings, etc. These are symptoms that employees feel that the organization may be violating the psychological contract. As a leader, you can intervene and take steps to minimize issues, prevent problems, or circumvent quiet quitting altogether.

RECOGNIZE THE EVOLUTION OF EACH EMPLOYEE
Employees change as they learn, grow, gain insights, and hear differing opinions. Outside forces also influence you, the organization, or third-party sources/factors. Who they once were is likely not who they are today. Their goals may have changed. They may have shifted priorities. They may have new interests, or the work/organization may not be as inspiring as it once was. Identifying how to engage each employee where they are is critical to rebuilding attitudes and behaviors that result in satisfied, committed workers.

CONSTANTLY REFINE AND ENSURE EXPERTISE
A great leader is constantly learning and continuously trying to improve their knowledge about their profession, industry, and how to be a better person and more effective leader. They are open to other opinions and fresh ideas. They learn from past experiences, whether these were successes or failures. When a leader has a level of expertise, they bring clarity or a new perspective. This can result in trusted advice, a way forward, encouragement when necessary, and mentorship when skills are lacking.

BUILD AND ADHERE TO A HEALTHY WORKPLACE CULTURE
Respect boundaries. Encourage transparency. Hold everyone accountable, including yourself. Strengthen communication between departments, in writing, and during conflicts. Support knowledge sharing and collaboration. Model the behavior you want and expect from others.
Read more here. (4)

HELP EMPLOYEES THRIVE
Give employees opportunities to grow. Offer learning and training, cross-department experiences, mentorship opportunities, and the link. Understand that mistakes can and will happen. Build employee stamina. Learn how to embrace failure to build future success here. (5)

Employees are more likely to engage when they feel both appreciated and respected. Workers need to feel valued and trusted. Healthy corporate cultures are essential to thriving workplaces and necessary to minimize quiet quitting.

Group travel incentives are a powerful way to improve morale and keep teams engaged in company objectives. Contact Gavel International to learn more.

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SOURCE:

  1. https://www.gavelintl.com/leading-without-fear/
  2. https://www.gavelintl.com/harmony-vs-balance-part-two/
  3. https://doi.org/10.2307/259230
  4. https://www.gavelintl.com/leadership-strategies-to-create-a-thriving-company-culture/
  5. https://www.gavelintl.com/building-worker-stamina-and-encouraging-success-by-embracing-failure/
Eloisa Mendez
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