Quiet quitting refers to employees who “are not going above and beyond at work and just meeting their job description.” (1) According to a Gallup poll, 50% of the workforce are in the quiet quitting category while only 32% are actively engaged.
This decline in engagement is especially strong among younger employees (Gen Z). Gallup suggests that the solution is to “reskill” management so that they can improve their communication with employees and create accountability for individual performance. (1)
Peter Cappelli, professor at The Wharton School, suggests that the right solution for quiet quitting falls somewhere between “Theory X (people are lazy and have to be watched or they will goof off) [and] Theory Y (people want to do a good job if we just give them the context in which to do it).” His recommended solution is similar to Gallup. He says, “Going forward, we have to get better at managing performance, which includes engaging and supporting employees but also holding them accountable for it. And that comes back to supervisors.” (2)
Colleen Francis, sales consultant from Engage Selling, has a different opinion on Quiet Quitting. Colleen says there is no such thing as Quiet Quitting in sales. There is only achieving your results or not achieving your results. The job of the sales manager is to ensure that 100% of the team is accomplishing 100% of the result. Results matter, not effort. (3)
All three opinions suggest that the solution is with management.
One final point. The employee who quietly quits is not doing himself or herself a favor. On the contrary, employees who quietly quitting are hurting themself. It behooves employees to always do their best work and learn as much as they can from their job. If the job is untenable, move on. But meanwhile, always do your best.
(1) https://www.gallup.com/workplace/398306/quiet-quitting-real.aspx
(2) https://hrexecutive.com/quiet-quitting-why-its-exactly-what-should-be-happening-today/
(3) https://www.engageselling.com/blog/there-is-no-such-thing-as-quiet-quitting-in-sales/