IMPRESSIONS || November 2022

IIM ROHTAK

HUMANE-R PRESENTS

Strategies to identify and combat silent quitters in organizations

Do you ever remember the school days, where people used to ask what is your favorite subject? And the one thing that you had a confirmed answer for is the one you hated the most. That very subject, you used to procrastinate studying. Opened the book, and zoned out. No extra efforts, no extra questions to be solved. Just pass to avoid a backlog. And then you grew up and landed up a job. A job that you may or may not like. But what remained constant over the years is the phenomenon of being 'Emotionally Withdrawn' from something that you don't really desire for. You did the job, but not to its fullest. You did it for the sake of it, for the money, just sticking up till it fell apart- Quietly Quitting. The world of work is on the cusp of a “Great Resignation”. The only thing that is standing in the way are overstretched employees being cautious about the rocky job market. Would they get another one, if they leave NOW? And if no, how do they really get away without really getting away?

When work as we knew it changed almostovernight in March 2020,zoom, google teams, slack becamethe first port of call for work. Everyone was struck by the work from home policy and nobody reallyknew how to deal with it, truly.

A lot of talks have been around the burnout at work induced by WFH culture and pandemic in itself, wherein, employees worked round the clock with anxieties, struggling to communicate and be productive from home. And now, with WFO being back, a good number of them have become slightly or willingly complacent. The question is, is quiet quitting a recent episode or has it been around for a while. Or is it just that company can see it morebecause of the recent upheaval?

Quiet Quitting-Laying off from work instead of getting laid off from work.

Quiet quitting,for sure is not a recent phenomenon. Remember the term 9-5 job, AND NO! it really doesn't work real time EVER. But then there were people who used to leave sharp at 5. And, the canteentalks, 'How has he not been absent this month,YET?'

All of us have subtly been a part of such conversations. Rationalizing your conduct by saying that everyone is doing it and it is not a big deal is the biggest escapeto exit.

But today, such tête-à-têtes are not privateanymore, essentially because quiet quitters are no more an exception. Companieshave started looking for the causes of such behavior.

During the pandemic, a few things that were noticeably visible were employees being silent observers at work meetings,no additional participation in planning, saying no to extra work hours or to work in weekends, calling in sick for work and the worst, isolation and disconnect with team members.

Look at the job security, today. One 'Layoff Season' article a day is enough to demotivate you. Rapid takeovers, leveraged buyouts, seasonallay offs- companies have begun to disregard traditional policies on job security. They have sought to be 'lean and mean', eliminating entire levels of management, replacing permanent employees with temporaries. These changes have resulted in a sharp decline in employee loyalty. Employees perceive that their employers are less committed to them and as a result respond by being less committed to their companies. This internal 'Lack of trust' loosens up company's image and competitiveness to retain productive employees. Micromanagement, lack of flexibility, and feeling like you’re not empowered

to do your work would lead many to quietly quit. Everyone deserves some air to breathe and most importantly, innovate. Also, at times one needs to check if employees are overloaded with immense work, because of which they are not able to handle the work, leading to Inconsistency and hence completely losing hope. One really needs to understand people have different traits, some are introverted, some extroverted, some are talkative and some camera conscious. Look at a scenario, wherein one would have to change their traits to be recognized. It's nearly impossible! How can one become conversational in front of a bunch of people all of a sudden when they are men of few words. This somewhat creates a gap between the work they do and the recognition they seek. It leads to 'Lack of feeling Valued'. Employees tend to prefer jobs that give them opportunities to use their skills and abilities and offer a variety of tasks, freedom and feedback on how well they are doing. Saturation and monotony at work leads to dissatisfaction. Satisfaction is correlated to commitment. And if your commitment has to survive, you need to be emotionally attached. Without it- fidelity with work. You cheat. One not only needs to be good at what they are doing but to an extent love what they do, otherwise it leads to 'Lack of sense of belongingness' .

There's also this culture in few places where it is ingrained to just listen to superiors and not give a direct feedback. It is a thin line of threshold that is created in the working ecosystem from the very beginning. Could be because of age, could be because other team members adhere to it and you just have to follow the herd. Over the time, one does become complacent because of this 'Lack of Communication'.

Productivity is what that makes employees more satisfied. If you do a good job, you immediately feel good about it. Thus, voluntary motivation is important and this is where HR Managers need to tap in.

Earlier, motivation was restricted to external factors, mainly the pay and the perks. Today, employees want to work and be valuable, create something important and become the master of his craft. Today's motivation is manifested in the things that are genuinely important for a person, without external control and financial incentives.

Hire people who have common goals with you, to interpret where the real motivation lies. Lets put it this way, why do marriages break? Because values of the person might have changed overtime and one doesn't connect with it anymore.

There are multiple tried and tested personality tests that organizations depend upon- The Big-Five Model, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Holland's Typology of Personality which help in understanding the personality traits of an employee, what are their goals, priorities and what is their motivation for work. Apart from understanding these traits, a strong form of continuous communication strategy is needed. For communication, traditional forms will not work anymore. Create that environment wherein people would be willing to talk. It could be a coffee-table room in the office or simply a monthly breakfast away from the office set-up with the manager preferably one on one.

Many employers host chat-events with industry experts. And this does not necessarily need to be a stage and audience event. It should be candid, wherein one can network and share and gain true experiences with one another. Understanding what has driven a person to work on a project and the learning

out of it. 'Escalation of Commitment' should be avoided. Back in the day, HRs thought it would work in their favor, now it has reverse implications. Employees who don't move on, saying that, 'I have invested a lot in the company's, is the most toxic relationship ever. No progress or value addition, just delay in outbreak. A lot of times, giving autonomy at work does lead to more productivity, because unlike the cliched thought process of everyone should work in teams, some of them do like working independently and are good at it. HRs need to be mindful here and place such people depending according to their traits.

Let the employees know about their work. Be it good or bad. Honest and regular conversations, keeping the employees in loop and being candid, breaks the wall of formality and leads to openness for the right reasons.

Don't let your employee become comfortable at work. Don't let it get monotonous. That's why time to time job rotation becomes essential. Moving them in different departments not only gives them a holistic view of the company but also keeps them on their foot with newprojects, teams and at the end grow their leadership skills.

Process Consultation- Seeking consultation from an external body, basically outsourcing some of the HR activities to other formalized institutions. Sometimes an external's point of view can do wonders. In fact, employees would be more open to talk to an external body due to lack of judgement or professional biases. This outsourced consultant works with the companyin diagnosing what processes need to be improved. The consultant's expertise lies in diagnosis and developing a helping relationship. It could be as simple as assistingin framing sabbatical policies for the company.

In the past, managers could treat change as an occasional disturbance in their otherwise peaceful and predictable world. Such a world no longer exists for most managers. Be agile in this chaotic change. In this world, managers must continuously act as 'adaptive agents', or else 'they' know how to get away without really getting away.

Sayoni Mondal SIIB Pune

This essay investigates some aspects of employee retention strategies ,why there is a fore coming tsunami in companies where employees are not living in the company for longer course of time ,plus why they all are always planning on quitting the job which is pre decided and are looking for jobs from outside resources .It shows the reasons for problems of employees quitting the job and managing their retention.

HR trends are a dynamic process and so are our employees who tends to quit their jobs .Because they need some type of balancing point or a system which can make them stop in an organisation and their comes this structure on which the employee’s life can be ordered which is called as Negotiation skills.

You can understand about negotiation from the below given Infographics. We need to contend the employees with patience to increase the retention rate, it is very important for a HR to maintain the company’s turnover rate while going though the randomness of the environment, be collaborative with the employees and show them and introduce them with your clarity about your every next focused approaches and steps. Half of the employers wants to hunt their jobs.i am not giving any statistical data to tell about the situation but a serious question is that everyone is focused on hiring rather than on employees retention. Some ways we can stop organisation quitters are like we can conduct 1 on 1 meeting. We can get follow up updates for more effectiveness and for increasing the productivity of the

Company by just pondering over the facts and questions raised by each employees and providing them with much left answers and assigning the task according to their skills. Start appreciating people, criticism should not be a pose. Remember everyone has a desire to be praised and feel important, it reduces resentment, as a person will work more efficiently and effectively under the feeling of importance rather than under the influence of pressure Providing them with the right tools is most important. Providing flexibility to them is one way to increase their accountability and therefore increasing the profitability of a company, give them flexible timings, flexible business tools, flexible management styles pertaining to their field. Build a company culture and make them have a good understanding of it. Share them the internal data, provide them with the company’s success stories,in order to have them an idea of how to elevate their role,how to generate more of them and get their desired instances of successes. Have a company’s own newsletter It shows ownership, it shows that the company has its own standards and it shows it own precious pride. Share all the steps taken by the already well performing individuals and how do they contended the situation rather than taking the inaction and asking for much time which shows their effectiveness about and towards their work. Ask for their feedback. This is a most immportant step which can be taken by any company, circulate a feedback form in your company, and then make a questionnaire which can really inferred what others are trying to say and what changes they want and in thus, in this process you can check their mindsets towards their work ,their attentivity by the degree by which they are concerned towards their company and work and how willingly or voluntarily wants to come to play with these company functions who all are showing determination and who all are can be turned into a valuable asset for the company As per my research and the data that I obtained from there,it is being recognised to retain talent in every sector it requires:

We human are designed to leave the situation if it doesn’t benefits us, so we can give them medical incentives and others, to show why our organisation is different than others. It should be properly mentioned in the job description for every employee their jobs responsibilities and therefore, being communicated by the human resource manager during their onboarding process about the nature of their job and the environment in which they have to work.The message we project through or during our onboarding process is the basis for like for like advantage.

What drives employees to leave:

Some top performers will not like the idea that their skills are being underdetermined or should I say I underestimated by keeping them under same head or table under someone whose work is not upto the mark. Top performers will not like the idea that their skills are being undetermined or should I say underestimated, these type of workers are those who are not worshippers of mediocrity, and another way of saying that they are the superiors, and they don’t like their talent to not get recognitions it deserves People should have fun at their workplace,when there is not an ongoing serious circumstances then there is need of positive vibrations needed by everyone to attract happy vibrations, which eventually helps in generating more work and more lead in the company. Praise employees regularly for their work, the increased tendency of the amount of appraisal you provide to the employees, there is an equal chances in increasing the profitability of your career.

And, there comes the most important red flag which needs to be detected by every manger is Micro managing, what does this term means?

How to keep your employees from leaving

Be future driven, don’t lie solely on employees progress and growth but think about the upcoming growth of the company, use proper and well established managemental techniques to implement and decide future clear goals and objects , be clear in giving out information to your employees, give them the proper information that they don’t have to ponder over a particular situation for a long time,this doesn’t leads to effectiveness, be in search of seeking inputs, always open to ideas from others and by putting some initial good inputs can lead to promised success, Be attentive to employee engagement, there is a correlation between employee feedback and satisfaction, make sure the actions have been done immediately and in a correct manner. Be ensure of credibility, be the type of manager everyone trust like the people have faith in the major leaders of a particular country,the same level of trust must be inbuilt in them. So, what will you do now?

Here comes my conclusion,communicate properly and openly in a enough state of way, the communication plays an important role in building strong teams,the very example is Covid -19,employees really questioned their existence in a particular company while living and surrounding themselves with their own people, at workspace, people may feel peopled out which leads to indifference for the work they do, provide them with opportunities of hybrid mode,and give them proper trainings to work accordingly, the first step towards combating this would be to provide proper skill training, take time to look into employee well being,the another reason during the pandemic to grow weary and get fatigue during working hourse was the stress and anxiety provided by the health crisis during that course

course of time, people were suffering from a lot of things at a single instance of time which leads to this and were unfortunately escalated towards it, provide them with on demand learning resources to show that your company is a purpose built company. Some final extractions from my observations would be mentioned here below:

·Provide the employees with lateral moves, give them the opportunities to gain more of themselves.

·Give honest but no cruel feedbacks, workers or employers can’t tolerate criticism, but not also flattery, there is a thin line between appreciation and flattery,recognise that and do implement it accordingly.

·Don’t misunderstand and undermine anyone’s situation,always be open to talk,believe in open rooms methodology, and the result is you can see some positive changes at your workspace.

·Be aware of all the Human resource managers strategies and methodologies, which changes and generates or evolves into a new policy in every few times on and on. I guess if we implement all the methodologies which are being mentioned above we can surely retain employees at work. A bad management can be cured but a mismanagement is something if once gets indulged in a company then it becomes so difficult to reduce the futility of its outcomes, retention is important because with every new manager, there comes a whole new set of management styles which takes a longer time for the whole company to get used to, our existing inventory which are the persons who are good in a particular kind are the backbone of any management system and are a crucial need, and they really knows what the company wants what does it expects from them, we need to retain and maintain and develop each unit of our company ,so we are done and dusted here.

Amity University

Swasti Tyagi

The newest buzzword in the workplace is quiet quitting. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, during the so-called Great Resignation, which lasted from April 2021 to April 2022, 71.6 million people departed their jobs or 3.98 million people on average per month. The wide variety of men and women quitting reached 4.2 million in June 2022. People desire to reduce their workloads in addition to quitting their jobs. Here comes quiet quitting, the new term for performing the bare minimum of a job.

What Exactly is Silent Quitting?

In order to avoid working long hours, an employee may choose to quietly resign rather than leave their position. They may restrict their labor to only that which is required by their job description. To enhance work-life balance, they want to perform the very bare minimum to get the job done and establish clear boundaries. However, a silent resignation may indicate that a worker is burnt out or dissatisfied with their job. Employees who are burned out may choose to quietly leave their jobs to reduce their stress.

Why Do Employees Quit Silently?

Although the term "silent quitting" may be well-known, the technique itself is not. Whether it was due to low pay, an unreasonable workload, burnout, or a lack of career advancement prospects, employees have been discreetly leaving their positions for years in search of something new.

In the past year, seven out of ten workers reported having a burnout, according to Asana's 2022 Anatomy of Work report.

As the epidemic turned workplace culture on its head, it brought silent resignation to the forefront. According to LinkedIn's Global Talent Trends 2022 research, more people had time to reflect on, question, and seek greater work-life balance. People are now using social media to spread their dissatisfaction. Work does not have to be life, according to a TikTok video, and individuals should start re-evaluating their desires for a work-life balance.

Only 36% of respondents to a Gallup study conducted in 2021 said they were engaged at work. According to a LinkedIn survey, some workers remain in their current positions while searching for others that provide a better salary, health insurance, or other advantages. Because employees and supervisors are connecting in various ways through online meetings on platforms like Zoom or Teams, working from home has also altered the nature of the office. Because these conversations must be arranged rather than being spontaneous, they may feel more formal than workplace chat sessions. People might not wish to devote all of their energy to their work for a variety of reasons, including wage growth. In July 2022, the average raise was 3.4%, and the inflation rate was 8–9%. People ask why they should work so hard when they are actually earning less money.

Certain Signs of Quitting Work Silently

The following are some indications of silent quitting:

not showing up to meetings showing up late, or leaving early a decline in productivity a diminished contribution to team initiatives a lack of involvement in planning or meeting discussions and a lack of excitement or passion

Ways To Combat Silent Quitting

Keep workload increases temporary

Employee workloads would be consistent and predictable in an ideal world. However, because of the chaos in the economic world, overtime is occasionally required. There is a distinction between working extra hours during a busy period or while you're waiting for a new employee to start and ongoing overwork. Working continuously at or beyond your maximum capacity is not tenable over the

long term. Employees require time off to recharge, psychologically detach, and spend quality time with their families. The majority of workers have nothing against working overtime once in a while, but issues occur when this willingness is misused and a favour becomes the standard. Be aware that you are altering the operating agreement if you ask staff to take on new tasks. The increase needs to be temporary and preferably elective. If the employee must take on these new responsibilities indefinitely, the increased workload should be recognized as a promotion or come with additional benefits. A different arrangement from the one they agreed to when they started their jobs would be forced upon them, taking away their autonomy.

Make sure to pay your team fairly

One of the main reasons people quietly leave their jobs is pay disparities. Employees may not be unwilling to put in extra effort, but rather they may believe the rewards will not be worth it. The worst-case scenario is when managers refuse to acknowledge the additional work or discuss pay, telling employees to "deal with it" or "be a team player" instead. Lack of respect is the main cause of issues, not lack of money. The message that companies primarily value productivity and disregard employee wellness is sent when they continue to add tasks despite employees' comfort levels, present workloads, or protests. It may feel like a violation of the work agreement and the commitment the team member made to complete the job when more responsibilities are added without their approval. Employees frequently feel cheated and may believe that the business is attempting to get them to do as much unpaid work as possible Maintaining employer trust requires an equal exchange of labor and compensation. The employee will probably feel undervalued if they aren't given the proper rewards for going above and beyond.

Maintaining remuneration that is in line with market rates and current living standards is crucial. Compensation should also be increased in response to exceptionally hard work or successful outcomes. Remember that pay can also be non-financial and come in the form of praise, bonuses, advantages, and flexibility. Making a case for auxiliary compensation will be less persuasive if you are significantly underpaying your personnel, though.

Pay attention to your staff

Quitting peacefully doesn't begin silently. Employees frequently raise issues that management acknowledges but either fails to address or downright disregards.

Team members may act inactive if they believe their bosses are ignoring their issues. Even worse, these workers start to doubt their managers.

Team members might be kept from leaving the team by listening to them and validating their emotions and experiences.

A key weapon in the struggle against quiet quitting is empathy. This strategy works best when it involves regular meetings and conversations with employees, and active listening exercises will help it work even better.

Cultivate relationships and rapport

There is a divide between employees and employers, which leads to silent resignation. One method to close this gap is by developing rapport and relationships with staff members. Employees tend to feel more committed to their jobs when they perceive their managers as human individuals rather than just as faceless authorities. Since these workers are more inclined to voice their dissatisfaction, managers can address the problem before it results in a quiet resignation. Strong social links between staff members and their managers and fellow employees can foster a sense of responsibility and the desire to avoid disappointing teammates.

Track alterations in behaviour and mood

Silent quitters are typically disillusioned high performers rather than chronic underperformers. Take heed if your superstars start to retreat. A sudden decline in output or zeal may be a sign that problems are developing. Investigate the situation to determine the cause of outspoken workers suddenly stopping speaking up in meetings and important contributors vanishing without a trace. This conduct might not be a sign of a silent resignation; instead, the worker might just need some time to regroup or be going through a difficult time personally. In any case, it's critical to keep an eye out for team members acting out of character and to be aware of how your employees are feeling.

Encourage rest and enduring growth

Employees require breaks and the opportunity to recover because work fluctuates. There's no reason to worry if production somewhat declines. Problems don't start until complacency becomes the norm. There is a happy medium between the relentless hustle and silent resignation. Similar to how there is a happy balance between burnout and rockstar status. Encourage breaks and sustainable growth to deter staff from thinking about quietly leaving. You may enable your workers to take breaks and regroup rather than give up by setting fair goals that are challenging but not overly demanding on them.

Conclusion

Because some warning indications, such as absenteeism, bad mood and morale, and changes in work performance, may be unintentional or indicators of other issues, it can be difficult to identify silent quitting. However, it is usually a good idea to address changes in mood or performance as well as troubling employee behaviours, regardless of the cause.

Some employees promote silent resignation as a proactive move toward a productive professional life. Work-life balance and silent quitting is not the same thing, and the latter is not the best course of action. A disconnect between the employer and employee results in a quiet resignation, which makes the employee unhappy and demotivated.

Scaling back obligations and regaining time and autonomy may at first be relieving, but failing to accept fresh challenges can stunt an employee's development and harm their career in the long run. Setting up barriers is different from establishing limits. Not to mention that this mentality could make workers unhappy. Although the employee may believe that this action is healthy and necessary, quitting quietly is bad for both the employer and the employee.

Employees want fair working conditions and demands, positive workplace cultures, the opportunity to be passionate about their careers, to learn and grow, and to yet have a life outside of the office. Leadership must foster these conditions and address workplace issues so that workers can maintain a good work-life balance without burning out.

Devi Hota Doon Business School