Quiet Quitters Know What Makes Work Better: Culture, Work-Life Balance

This week, Gallup released its State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, and among a few highlights were some sobering statistics about employee engagement. 

While the percentage of employees thriving at work reached a record high in 2022, the majority of the world's employees are "quiet quitting," or not engaged. These are the folks who show up to work, put in the minimum effort, and are psychologically disconnected from their employer. Nearly six in 10 employees fall into the category. (This number was 59% globally and 52% in the U.S. and Canada.)

Source: Gallup State of The Global Workforce: 2023 Report

Not engaged and actively disengaged employees cost the global economy $8.8 trillion dollars. That's 9% of the global GDP, and "enough to make the difference between success and a failure for humanity," said Jon Clifton, Gallup CEO. 

On a personal level, there's also a huge cost to the quiet quitters themselves. According Gallup, these people tend to be stressed, burnt out, lost and disconnected. 

This would then make sense why employee stress has remained at record-level high: 44% percent of employees said they experienced a lot of stress the previous day, repeating the record high in 2021 and continuing an upward trend. For the U.S. and Canada, the percentage of people who said they experience stress a lot of the day was 52%. East Asia, which includes China, tied the U.S. and Canada region for the highest levels of stress, despite the U.S. and Canada having record levels of employee engagement. Even still, that was only at 31%. It's worth noting too that the U.S. and Canada had the highest regional percentage of female employees who experience high, daily stress.

Source: Gallup State of The Global Workforce: 2023 Report

So with stress and disengagement at an all-time high, what can leaders and managers do about this continued problem of quiet quitting?

The answer is not shocking, and it comes directly from the quiet quitters: culture, pay and benefits, and wellbeing-work/life balance. 

Eighty-five percent of the responses from those considered to be quiet quitting fell in those three categories.

Engagement or Culture: 41% says that they would change these things about their workplace to make it better:

• more employee recognition

• approachable managers

• more autonomy

• the opportunity to learn more things

• more respect

• fair chance at promotions

• clearer goals and stronger guidance
  
  

Pay and Benefits: 28% says that they would change these things about their workplace to make it better:

• increased salary (pay is not enough for the work put in)

• pay employees on time

• salaries must be proportional to qualification and merit

• more financial perks like a monthly gas voucher or commuter benefits, fully subsidized child care, free (and good!) cafeteria available to all, and financial rewards for excellent results

Wellbeing: 16% says that they would change these things about their workplace to make it better:

• better communication around changing work schedules to better organize free time

• less overtime

• more work-from-home opportunities

• longer or more breaks

• a health clinic and taking workers' health seriously

• having a place to relax or get together with the team for a coffee break

The message is universal: people are demanding a better work-life balance and a focus on employee health — both physically and mentally.

Work-life balance is so tightly tied to culture, because when companies have a culture that puts employees first, wellness and balance is usually right up there with the top priorities. 

But wait, there's hope: Quiet Quitters, while the majority of the workforce, are also potential engaged employees. They've made clear what would make them more engaged, and with a few changes, they can get there. 

It's up to leaders and managers to create a positive culture that fosters growth and wellness to get those who are quiet quitting actively engaged again. It takes work, but it can be done. 

For more statistics and details, check out Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report.