How employers can prevent loud quitting by their employees
As "quiet quitting" made waves earlier this year, leaders must now be aware of the newest trend: loud quitting, or active disengagement at work. Gallup's 2023 State of the Global Workplace report revealed that nearly 20% of employees are involved in "loud quitting."
While the number of loud quitters is smaller when compared to disengaged quiet quitters, who constitute 59% of the workforce, their impact can still have long-term negative effects on culture and morale. Loud quitters exhibit behavior that directly undermines the business, leading to a breakdown of trust and communication and eventually culminating in direct opposition.
Loud quitters can deter the success of accomplishing key goals by posing a serious obstacle to an organization by reducing efficiency and the ability to recruit and hire new talent. Leaders should keep a few strategies in mind to prevent loud quitting from harming their business.
Embrace employee engagement
Employee engagement is the lifeline to self-motivation, productivity and a thriving workplace culture. However, amid the groups of loud quitters and quiet quitters, as many as seven in 10 employees may experience various degrees of disengagement in the workplace. Evading the pitfalls of loud quitting becomes feasible when organizations comprehensively understand and embrace the factors that drive employee motivation and productivity, leading to improved overall engagement.
To gauge the level of engagement, leaders must assess the consensus among their teams. Employing anonymous surveys periodically throughout the year proves to be a valuable tool for measuring engagement. While one-on-one conversations can foster an honest atmosphere, anonymous surveys often encourage more honest feedback.
Prioritize hiring for the culture fit
The most discontented employees within a company are often those who lack a sense of belonging among their team. This dissatisfaction does not necessarily reflect the employee's performance, but rather, a poor culture fit that can result in low engagement, interpersonal conflicts and ultimately, instances of loud quitting. While HR should prioritize aiding employees who struggle to integrate into corporate culture, the most effective approach to ensure a good fit is to emphasize company culture during the recruitment process.
There is no definitive guide to hiring the perfect fit, but organizations should establish a clear definition of their culture throughout the recruiting and interviewing stages. Once leaders have identified the unique aspects that define their corporate culture, recruitment materials should reflect the core mission and embedded values.
Train and develop managers
The most effective way to address loud quitting is to prevent employees from loud quitting in the first place. Addressing employee disengagement is only the initial step in understanding the underlying reasons of loud quitting. Leaders should recognize that the relationship with an employee often deteriorates over several months before there is deliberate undermining of leadership. Throughout this process, numerous opportunities arise to intervene and redirect the course.
Employers should prioritize comprehensive training and development for their managers on how to manage various personality types and navigate difficult conversations. When a manager detects signs of disengagement in an employee, they should proactively initiate a conversation to understand the reasons and explore ways to re-engage the employee. In cases where an employee exhibits signs of loud quitting, managers must urgently step in before any harm is caused to the organization. Timely intervention is crucial to mitigate the impact and address the issues at hand.
No organization desires the presence of a loud quitter, just as no employee aspires to be known as one. To effectively deter loud quitting, employers should understand and embrace employee engagement, prioritize hiring for the culture fit and train managers on identifying the early signs of discontent. In doing so, they can build a workforce of happy, productive employees.
• Bob McIntyre is a director of service operations with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources offering the most comprehensive suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace. For more information about Insperity, call (800) 465-3800 or visit www.insperity.com.