The latest trend or buzzword is “Quiet Quitting.” Quiet quitting is doing what is defined in your job description, working the hours required, and nothing more. Compared to work/life balance, “Quiet Quitting” is the act of setting boundaries around work to allow balance in life. This term calls for boundaries that have been defined and redefined for years.
Quiet Quitting is the alternative to the Great Resignation. Those unwilling to walk away from their jobs are redefining how they will do their jobs. The bottom line is that both are founded on yet another new buzzword, The Great Burnout.
During the pandemic, employees who maintained employment were asked to do tasks beyond their job description. In most cases, employees found themselves doing multiple jobs to keep the business running. Employees were willing to take on the extra work and grateful to maintain employment. As the pandemic played out, those same employees would question who got the better “deal,” those furloughed or laid off or those still employed and now working more hours than ever thought possible.
Post-pandemic, employees are finding that the extended workload has become the expectation. Despite the employer’s need, employees are taking back their control to decide how their work will be defined in tasks and hours. The expectation is twofold in employers realizing that one employee can do more when pressed and still dependent on those high-producing employees to make up for an epic staffing shortage.
Many articles on “Quiet Quitting” suggest it threatens the advancement of employees who execute control around their job and time. However, the threat of missing out on future opportunities for the employee is not about work but life. They had already given all they could, working more hours than thought possible, in many cases making much less money during the pandemic’s peak when the employer cut back salaries. While salaries have been made whole, the employee has not. They are devoid of a quality of life that includes the passion for the original job they signed up for. This is now causing many employees to pivot their careers, sometimes entirely away from the industry they were in pre-pandemic.
The “Quiet Quitter” is far better than the “Great Resigner” to an employer. The threat is in the silent battle for control. To save these loyal employees, the ones willing to do more for less, the employer must initiate redefining the roles. It is fair to say that it is time to admit that things will never be as they were, and therefore as we are redefining the way we do business, we must redefine the employee’s role.
- Review job descriptions and titles. What has changed? What does the new role look like in a post-pandemic environment? Remote and hybrid work options are here to stay. Virtual meetings are efficient. Long gone are conference calls and travel for the sake of meeting in person.
- Review wages. It is time to reconsider the value proposition for the newly defined work options. What is the salary differential for those that commute to the office versus those that are remote? What is the value of the redefined job descriptions? The talent of your employees is valuable to your competitors, and they are coming for them. Get in front of this threat. Put the offers on the table now before you are forced to for the sake of the chase.
For the employee, call it what you may, but your work/life balance is yours to decide. You decide how much, how often, and what you are willing to do for the job you originally applied for. If that job has changed, and likely it has, you decide if you can pull back to the initially defined role or live with the position as it is newly defined. You decide if you resign or redefine. Ultimately YOU DECIDE. If you are in a position that is not serving you mentally, physically, or creating value in the 40+ hours you spend in that role, then you decide your next steps.
To both the employee and the employer, it is important to remember that;
- (For the employee) You applied for the job. You asked to be chosen for the role.
- (For the employer) You chose the candidate as the best option out of a pool of candidates.
“Quiet quitting” is as passive-aggressive as “Leaning In.” Employees, you have a seat at the table, now use it for more than a resting place; use your voice! Employers, you have a table full of talent, don’t risk it assuming that your employees are “locked in.” There are escape hatches everywhere! Let’s get back to a place where buzzwords of attrition are history, and careers can once again be rewarding. Let’s do this together.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.