Quiet Quitting Job

“Coaching skills must be taught to all leaders at all levels of organizations if we really want to tackle the rising quiet quitting crisis.” – Coach Atip Muangsuwan

A leader client showed up with his interesting topic for a discussion just before our usual coaching session began. His topic of discussion was… “What is quiet quitting job? And how does it affect the workplace of future?”

Our thought-provoking discussion went on like the following dialogue.

Client: I’ve recently heard the phrase, “quiet quitting job”. Have you heard about it as well? If you have, then what is it actually? Can you share some insights on it?

Coach Atip: Yes, I can. ‘Quiet quitting job’ doesn’t mean people are quitting their jobs. Instead, it means…people are not going above and beyond at work and just meeting their job descriptions. The trend towards ‘quiet quitting job’ has been spreading virally on social media on various platforms.

Client: I think this ‘quiet quitting job’ trend could potentially jeopardize organizations’ well-being, success and growth. This could be a big problem because most jobs today require some level of extra effort to collaborate with coworkers and meet customer needs.

Coach Atip: I couldn’t agree with you more! According to research done by Gallup,  “Quiet quitters” make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce and even probably more.

U.S. employee engagement took another step backward during the second quarter of 2022, with the proportion of engaged workers remaining at 32% but the proportion of actively disengaged increasing to 18%. The ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is now 1.8 to 1, the lowest in almost a decade.

The drop in engagement began in the second half of 2021 and was concurrent with the rise in job resignations. Managers, among others, experienced the greatest drop.

So, this rising problem could seriously affect the workplace of future for certain.

Client: Oh, this seems so scary!  So why is quiet quitting happening now?

Coach Atip: According to an organizational behavior expert saying in GQ magazine, “Quiet quitting” is a way of dealing with burnout.

Burnout is a big risk in the workplace, especially amongst younger Gen Z professionals aged in their 20s. A survey of 30,000 workers by Microsoft showed 54% of Gen Z workers are considering quitting their job.

In its 2021 Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum ranks “youth disillusionment” as eighth of 10 immediate risks. Findings include deteriorating mental health since the start of the pandemic, leaving 80% of young people worldwide vulnerable to depression, anxiety and disappointment.

In addition to burnout, another cause of quiet quitting job is… people want more variety in their lives. More people are quitting 9-to-5 jobs to start their own businesses or try non-traditional work like temporary, gig or part-time roles.

A survey result from McKinsey also shows that some people are quitting to take a break or care for family, as remote working has removed boundaries for working or living overseas.

Gen Z workers aged 18-24 years most value flexibility and meaningful work, while Millennials and Gen Xers aged between about 25 and 45 years are largely the ones trying self-employment and new types of work. Experts say the ‘passion economy’ – where people do more of what they love.

Another main cause of quiet quitting job is… the overall decline in employee engagement and job satisfaction which are directly related to clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, feeling cared about, and a connection to the organization’s mission or purpose — signaling a growing disconnect between employees and their employers.

Client: For the cause: employee engagement and job satisfaction, I think it must be the responsibility of the management and leadership to resolve them. 

Coach Atip: Exactly! I totally agree with you.

Client: How to solve this quiet quitting crisis then?

Coach Atip: It’s clear that quiet quitting is a symptom of poor management and leadership skills.

Organization leaders at all levels must learn how to establish conversations to help employees reduce disengagement, job dissatisfaction and burnout. Only leaders are in a position to know employees as individuals — their life situations, challenges, motivations, strengths and goals.

Gallup finds the best requirement and habit to develop for successful leaders is having one meaningful conversation per week with each team member around 15-30 minutes.

As a coach, I would love to strongly recommend that all leaders at all levels of organizations initiate coaching conversations with their subordinates or team members. Because coaching conversations are very powerful tools that can foster empathy in organizations. And leaders who possess and apply coaching skills in their organizations can potentially become transformational leaders. And only transformational leaders will be able to resolve this rising quiet quitting crisis!

Therefore, in my view, coaching skills must be taught to all leaders at all levels of organizations if we really want to tackle this rising quiet quitting crisis.  

Client: I absolutely agree with you! That’s why I’ve also been learning and modeling the coaching skills from you. And I strongly believe by learning the coaching skills from you, I’m going to become one of the transformational leaders soon!

Coach Atip: I’m so delighted to hear that. And I really look forward to welcoming and receiving one more transformational leader for our world very soon!

Client: Thank you so much for your encouragement and support.

Coach Atip: You’re very welcome.

After my client and I completed our “Quiet Quitting Job” discussion, we continued on with our coaching session as usual.  

PS: If you’re interested in discussing or being coached on any leadership topics or you want to learn the coaching skills to become one of the transformational leaders, we can get in touch via my homepage @ Home – The Best Coach International (thebest-coach-international.com)

Empower you to succeed and live a more fulfilled life,

Coach Atip
Advocate of ‘Coach-Facilitator-Mentor-Strategist-Diplomat’ skills and transformational leadership