Quiet Quitting-Who Are You Kidding?

What a very strange world we live in, particularly when it comes to the employment marketplace which is full of contradictions whether they be on the employer or (the “apparently”) job seeker side. 

On the one hand we have never seen before levels of employment, but hirers are not prepared to acknowledge the need to increase salary levels on offer, indeed, it seems with no recognition of the growth in inflation or market conditions.

No wonder that today we observe existing employers rejoicing when they manage, through counteroffer to retain a supposedly key employee, one they haven’t recognized in the recent past. Seriously, it is only a matter of time until that employee and likely others leave the business because nothing has changed, and they are back to the same job that they wanted to leave in the first place. 

So often, a counteroffer is like taking an aspirin for serious pain, it is at best a short-term solution.

There have been a number of new employment market syndromes that have emerged post COVID, and it is important to recognize them and address the underlying causes as to why they are occurring, to avoid commercial and cultural damage in the very near future.

The Great Resignation for example, was first identified in the US about the beginning of 2021 and has had a major impact in an economy that is also “enjoying” very low unemployment. In the US workers are leaving their employment without a job to go to and taking a break whilst determining what they will do next, expecting a better job and higher pay. Experts here in Australia have announced Great Resignation is not happening, but it is, just taking a little longer. Workers firmly believe that there are plenty of jobs with better conditions available and they are seeking more balance of life as well.

They are either leaving or Quiet Quitting whilst they review opportunities. 

Quiet Quitting explains a state where employees operate somewhere between actively engaged and actively disengaged, when closer to the latter they are dissatisfied with their workplace, which can lead to a drop in productivity or a resignation.

Another activity which causes negativity in the workplace is Job washing which although not always intentional, does lead to real dissatisfaction by the workforce both existing and new. This is the not uncommon scenario where prospective employers do not accurately represent a job to potential new employees. Overselling then under delivering is a very dangerous practice, which should never be used in the human resources space.

It is very important to develop a strategy to safeguard against any of these new challenges negatively affecting attraction and retention initiatives within your business.

Please call Peter Gleeson, Ian Stacy or Peter Tanner (03) 9190 8904 to discuss your approach.