Employment

How can You Battle Burnout without Quiet Quitting

While the business world is still shaking from the Great Resignation impact, quiet quitting emerged as a new trend grabbing attention across social media. Now, this new-coined term seems to puzzle business leaders trying to gain a better understanding of the entire phenomenon.

According to employees prone to quiet quitting, they decided to do nothing more than their job description requires, refusing to go above and beyond for their bosses. Many reasons, like overwhelming workloads, disrupted work-life balance, and the lack of appreciation may drive employees to start quitting quietly. For this reason, many would say that quiet quitting is just a new name for employee disengagement, the old issue that managers face frequently.

While the opponents of this trend believe that it’s an excuse for laziness and slacking, others according to a Gallup survey believe that poor management lies at the core of quiet quitting, stating that employees won’t make extra effort for poor and ineffective leadership.

Poor managers fail to recognize the alarming signs of burnout and the lack of open and honest communication in a workplace can prevent employees from speaking about the burning issues. So they decide to express their dissatisfaction by quitting quietly, trying to preserve a minimal work/life balance and their mental health.

But is quiet quitting the most effective way to battle burnout and show the management that they need to adapt to changed employees’ needs?

While sticking to the bare minimum and refusing to take more on their plate may be a short-term solution for keeping employees from slipping into burnout, this solution can’t work in the long run.

So instead of choosing to quit quietly, here are several things you can do to battle burnout and stay healthy and happy at work.

Become More Time Efficient

The truth is that remote work introduced improved work-life balance rarely seen in the workplaces before the Covid-19 pandemic. And employees want to maintain this much-needed balance in the post-Covid era. But instead of keeping your efforts minimal, try to be more efficient at work and accomplish more in less time.

Efficient tools like software for employee monitoring that tracks time and activities during work hours can be of great help. This app will collect data on employees’ daily activities, track time spent on various tasks and projects, and show you how their productivity flows throughout the day.

You can use this data to identify the most productive part of your day and dedicate this time to focused, creative work that leads to quality results. You can also identify distractions that prevent you from using your time efficiently and eliminate them from your workflow. By making the most of your work hours, you’ll feel less overwhelmed by your workload and more productive.

Identify the Reasons for Disengagement

Employees prone to quiet quitting will say that they are not satisfied with their jobs. But few of them will identify the reasons for their dissatisfaction.

Whether you’re overwhelmed with numberless tasks in your pipeline, or you think your previous efforts went unnoticed, you need to be clear about it and verbalize your issues.

Only by identifying the causes of employee disengagement can you make effective steps toward resolving this issue. This proactive attitude to solving work-related problems is better than sticking to quiet quitting long term.

Talk to Your Bosses Before You Turn to Social Media

Quiet Quitting came into the spotlight after a short Tik Tok video. Soon after this initial video, similar videos on the topic gained astonishing traction with over 354 million views.

The scariest part of this phenomenon is that this trend is silent. This shows that the majority of employees nowadays work in psychologically unsafe environments fearing to speak about the burning issues. So they just decide to stick to a bare minimum until they find a better job.

You may have justifiable reasons to stop making an extra effort at work like working over hours, or not getting sufficient recognition for your achievements or career development opportunities. But using social media to talk about poor management or working conditions won’t get you the wanted results nor it will improve your status at work.

The only way to start seeking solutions for these issues is to try and speak openly about them with your managers. Talking about problems is the first step toward solving them. So be specific about the things that bother you and feel free to suggest actionable solutions to these issues.

Employee Engagement is Leader’s Responsibility

Every business’s success depends on employee efficiency and productivity. This is why keeping employees happy, healthy, and satisfied should be managers’ top priority. Unfortunately, the booming quiet quitting trend shows that this is not the case in numerous workplaces worldwide.

If you’re facing a productivity decrease due to quiet quitting it may be a good idea to question your leadership style.

The fact is that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the workplace perspective and employees’ needs forever. And you need to acknowledge this and adapt quickly to these changes if you want your employees to stay productive and highly engaged in their work.

First, you need to listen carefully to their suggestions and make a genuine effort to meet their needs when it comes to increased work flexibility and autonomy. By embracing hybrid or remote work you’ll help your employees improve their work/life balance.

Also, you need to provide continuous training and learning opportunities and offer frequent feedback if you want your employees to grow professionally and give their best at work.

By fostering open communication and showing genuine interest in your employees beyond the workplace, you can build trustful relationships and better understand their reasons for quiet quitting. When your employees realize that you care about their feedback and are ready to make necessary changes, they may get back on track, becoming highly productive again.

If you have any questions, please ask below!