“Quiet quitting”:

Five things for employers

to think about
The unique combination of the coronavirus pandemic,
deteriorating economic conditions, rise in flexible working
(particularly hybrid/remote working) and increased awareness of the
importance of maintaining wellbeing/good mental health has seen the
concept of “quiet quitting” gaining traction. What steps - if any - should
employers take to tackle this phenomenon?

1. What is quiet quitting?

Despite the finality of the term, quiet quitting is not in fact a
worker giving up their job.
Instead, the term has been coined to mean an individual
doing the basics to fulfil the requirements of their role but
nothing more.
In other words, the worker:
• sticks to the functions described in their job description;
• avoids helping their employer out with additional
tasks outside their usual remit (which they might
previously have done for little or no additional reward or
recognition).
While the concept has recently been picking up steam on
social media and in the press, it is nothing new. For example,
“work to rule” is a well-recognised trade union tactic in the
context of industrial action short of a strike.

• works only their contractual working hours; and

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 “Quiet quitting”: Five things for employers to think about

2. What are the signs of quiet quitting?

There are a myriad of potential signs that a worker is quiet
quitting. Some of the more likely symptoms are:
It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just
• a reduction in productivity or a slowdown in the pace at
don’t care… Now if I work my ass off
which the worker meets objectives/targets;
and Initech ships a few extra units, I
• a reluctance, or repeated failure, to attend meetings
don’t see another dime, so where’s the
(particularly hybrid/remote meetings);
motivation?… My only real motivation
• disengagement from group activities (for example ideas is not to be hassled, that and the fear
sessions or team social events);
of losing my job. But you know, that
• a change in attitude or enthusiasm (for example an will only make someone work just hard
increase in negative comments about their employer);
enough not to get fired.
• a decrease in initiative-taking (for example waiting to be
given work in circumstances in which their workload does Peter Gibbons in “weirdly prescient” 90s
not fill their working hours); and workplace comedy Office Space

• becoming less available to colleagues or customers

(for example a noticeable reluctance to answer emails,
internal messages or phone calls).
It may be useful for the HR department (and/or other
relevant departments such as employee relations and
wellbeing specialists) to liaise with senior leaders and line
managers to ensure that they can identify any telltale signs
of a quiet quitter.

3. What are the potential reasons for quiet quitting?

There are a number of potential underlying causes of quiet
quitting, some of which are outside the employer’s control
but some of which the employer can identify
...the problem of ‘overwork’ or
and tackle. ‘burnout’ is a company, manager,
and individual issue. Each of these
Possible reasons for quiet quitting include:
stakeholders plays a role.
• workers recalibrating their work-life balance in the wake
of the pandemic; Josh Bersin in Why quiet quitting is a really bad
(dumb) idea
• the inexorable rise of hybrid/remote working;
• employee burnout after what everyone has been through
in the last few years;
• pressure on staff because of the squeezing of employers’
Key resources
budgets;
Employee engagement and the employee
• the rise in the cost of living leading to real terms pay cuts experience: XpertHR survey 2021
for workers;
Good practice guide on building a
• perceptions among the workforce of a lack of career
recognition culture
opportunities; and
• the preamble to an employee’s resignation (for example Line manager briefing on
if they are less invested in the organisation once they employee motivation
have decided to seek employment elsewhere).
How to increase employee motivation

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 “Quiet quitting”: Five things for employers to think about
4. Can quiet quitting actually be a good thing?
Given some of the terms being bandied about on social
media and in the press - for example “downing tools”,
“doing the bare minimum” and “mentally checking
out” - it is tempting for employers to target staff who are
displaying the telltale signs of the quiet quitter (see What
are the signs of quiet quitting?).
However, treating quiet quitting as a conduct or
performance issue is not the solution in the vast majority of
cases. After all, an individual who is still fulfilling the basic
functions of their role is not committing misconduct or
underperforming.
There may be legitimate reasons why a worker is rethinking
when and how they work. They may have had a health
scare or lost someone close to them during the pandemic.
Their stage of life may be dictating a change to their work-
life balance, for example if they are a new parent or are
approaching retirement.
This is where good line management comes into play. If a
line manager spots that a worker is becoming demotivated,
5. Retention issues can be linked to quiet quitting
As well as line managers tackling individual issues, senior
leaders and HR need to work together to tackle any retention
challenges, which may be linked to quiet quitting.
In our 2022 XpertHR survey on key recruitment metrics,
respondents highlighted these three methods as the most
effective in tackling retention issues:
• Increase to some salaries outside of annual salary
review The cost-of-living crisis is, by far, the most
common reason quoted by respondents for increasing
salaries outside of an annual salary review. Many feel
that, alongside the competitive market created as a result
of high employment rates and a tight labour market,
employees have the confidence to follow higher salaries.
Others referenced the need to increase salaries where
roles were difficult to fill and as such there was a strong
desire to retain those they have.
• Introduction of hybrid working options Respondents
told us that employees now expect to see some level
of flexibility on offer around their working patterns.
The pandemic, they tell us, has seen employees re-
assessing what matters, and work-life balance is now not
just attractive in a job role, it is expected. While hybrid
working may not be an option for some, there are other
types of flexibility that can be offered, such as amended
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Copyright © 2022 LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group.
they can have a discussion with the worker to get a better
understanding why they are feeling that way and what can
be done to rectify the issue.
Individual steps could be something as simple as reducing
an overloaded employee’s workload, allowing them to
change their working pattern, or tweaking their job role.
Health and wellbeing
XpertHR benefits and allowances survey
2022: Health and wellbeing benefits
Good practice guide on developing a
wellbeing programme
Line manager briefing on creating a
healthy working environment
How to create psychological safety at work
start and finish times, nine-day fortnights, and term-time
working. Offering employees more autonomy around
how they complete their work is a powerful way to build a
connection that will not be attractive to leave.
• Acting on findings from employee engagement
surveys One respondent told us that “People leave
people not companies, the more we can share in terms
of purpose, trust and empowerment the higher the
likelihood that our retention will improve,” and this
rings true especially in a challenging labour market.
Demonstrating that employee engagement surveys are
taken seriously and acted upon is an effective way of
building a strong connection with employees.
Recruitment metrics
Our report covers key findings from the
2022 XpertHR survey on key recruitment metrics.
XpertHR’s benchmarking service has the
full data for each question from this survey.
Benchmarking subscribers can access data
breakdowns by factors such as broad
industry sector and organisation size.
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