Getting loud about quiet quitting and how to stop it in its tracks

With the Great Resignation wave still rolling along, accompanied by mass layoffs across various industries, 2023 is shaping up to be a time of reckoning for corporate culture. With leadership teams often scrambling to keep up amid economic uncertainty, mindsets like Quiet Quitting have gone viral as employees nationwide grapple with the constant sense that their professional value is diminishing while their bosses demand more productivity than ever. In this blog, we’re revisiting the concept of Quiet Quitting after its 15 minutes of fame to break down its impact and share an easy trick that stops it in its tracks. 

The Price of Productivity

Quiet quitting shot to popularity in the fall of 2022, with the phrase gaining viral traction on social media as people shared how they disengage from their jobs to cope with burnout and resentment toward work. According to Gallup, which has studied the phenomenon for months, at least 50% (likely more) of America’s workforce is quietly quitting. And understandably so: when productivity is a company’s only focus, there is often a disconnect between leadership’s motivation and employees' experience producing output.

Regardless of the trending slogan, the idea of disengaged workers is not only new but expensive. Gallup reported that employees who are not engaged or actively disengaged cost the world $7.8 trillion in lost productivity, or roughly 11% of global GDP. And yet, throughout corporate America, some employees choose to keep their heads down, do the work required of them, and return to their lives at 5 o’clock in all sectors.

If you’re concerned that your organization has quiet quitters, it is essential to first assess your internal culture. In the aftermath of offices adapting to remote/hybrid models following the pandemic and the subsequent burnout of working from home turned to working around the clock, employees start to understandably feel disconnected from the Employee Value Proposition, which is what a company offers to an employee in exchange for their labor, established when they sign onto the job. 

- When the promised culture veers from the actual day-to-day experience, employees do the bare minimum or quit entirely because it no longer reflects what they signed on to do. -

Instead of creating a brand promise filled with in-office amenities and “flexible” WFH hours that are, in reality, space wasted on a ping-pong table and on-call 24/7, it is more beneficial for leadership to acknowledge their organizational drawbacks so that employees have a realistic expectation of the workplace culture. 

From Quiet Quitting to Loud Appreciation

We’ve identified that the best way to start shaking up office culture and reenergizing employee spirits is to separate work from the person. Remember that your employees are people first. Inspirius reports how today’s employees want more than pay and traditional benefits; they want meaningful benefits that enhance their lifestyles and improve their well-being. Workplace trends show that people are now seeking jobs that provide more than stability; they want to feel their work truly makes a difference and aligns with their calling. For this impact to be felt, management and leadership teams must demonstrate appreciation, not just check a box with an empty greeting-card message or a generic year-end gift. 

At Cultivate, we itch to jump in and help organizations appreciate the people who make them successful. We’ve seen the emotional shift when people receive lackluster appreciation gifts from their workplaces and how it can negatively impact their relationship with their work. 

We began measuring an observable Return on Appreciation by reframing corporate gifting into a strategic approach. Studies have shown that companies with highly engaged employees are 21% more profitable, and 81% of employees surveyed said they would be more motivated to work harder when shown appreciation from leadership. When you prioritize the priorities of the people that make up your organization, you’re making a personal investment in their well-being. Partnering with Cultivate reinforces this commitment through a customized gifting program that gives each person choice, allowing them to select from premium options that suit their individual lifestyles. 

The best part? We take personalization to the next level and will pair you up with one of our experts who act as your teammate, helping to understand your business and the people who show up every day to make it succeed. With that level of empathy, you’ll have someone helping you navigate every step of gifting with a new intentionality that helps to prevent Quiet Quitting.

We cannot wait to celebrate the people in your organization, so click here to get loud about your appreciation with Cultivate!