The quiet quitters: Why that disinterested colleague in the office could just be disillusioned with the job
- ‘Quiet quitters’ are those who do the bare minimum in the workplace
- Experts now say they are not lazy but disillusioned
- Just nine per cent of British employees are ‘engaged’ with their jobs
- Experts believe staff place a higher value on work-life balance after lockdowns
They have switched off from their jobs and now do the bare minimum in the workplace.
However, experts say employees who ‘quiet quit’ are not lazy but disillusioned.
The trend, which is thought to have started in China and has been encouraged on social media, sees workers contribute less and less.
The UK could be especially prone to it after research found just 9 per cent of British employees are ‘engaged’ with their jobs, ranking the country 33rd out 38 nations.
A total of 41 per cent suffer daily stress, with 15 per cent experiencing anger in the workplace and 20 per cent reporting sadness each day, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report.
The quiet quitting trend has coincided with mass resignations following the Covid pandemic which saw hundreds of thousands of people leave the workforce.
The UK could be especially prone to ‘quiet quitters’ after research found just 9 per cent of British employees are ‘engaged’ with their jobs. Picture: file image
Employment experts believe that staff now place a higher value on obtaining a good work-life balance after lockdowns.
James Barrett, of recruitment firm Michael Page, said quiet quitting has challenged the ‘hustle culture’ before the pandemic, where staff would work their way up the career ladder by staying late and taking on extra projects.
He added: ‘Pre-pandemic, getting a promotion or pay rise might have been the primary definition of success, but things look a little different in this new landscape.
‘The past two years have caused people to sit back and take stock of what really matters to them.
‘Businesses who aren’t one step ahead of what workers want in a post-pandemic world, amid a cost of living crisis, will be the first to lose these quiet quitters.’
Psychologist Dr Maria Kordowicz, of Nottingham University, said: ‘There was a sense of our own mortality during the pandemic – something quite existential around people thinking, “What should work mean for me?”
‘I think this has a link to the elements of quiet quitting that are perhaps more negative – mentally checking out from a job, being exhausted from the volume of work and lack of work-life balance that hit many of us during the pandemic.’
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