[#5-Insight] - The rise and the fall of the "QUIET" era at work 🤫
What's up in the workplace? 👀
In recent years, the workplace has been defined by a growing wave of “quiet” trends - quiet quitting, quiet firing, stealth layoffs, and more 🤯. Employees are disengaged and dissatisfied, yet not voicing their concerns. Tensions are building beneath the surface as problems go unspoken. This hush-hush culture is not sustainable for the future of work. Don’t we all agree that companies must finally transition into a new era of openness and transparency?
The emergence of the "QUIET" era 👀
The so-called “quiet quitting” phenomenon means that employees are doing the bare minimum, without passion or initiative. This stems from pandemic-induced burnout and a demand for greater work-life balance. With job security precarious, workers are quietly rebelling by setting boundaries. People stopped wanting to do more and more at work… without any recognition.
On the other end, managers have been subtly phasing out roles through “quiet firing” - providing little training or support to indirectly push people out. It has become impossible to “just” do what one was hired for. On top of that, cost-cutting layoffs have been pretty opaque in a lot of companies, leaving survivors worried and demotivated.
Both employees and managers are growing dissatisfied, yet muted. Shhhhh! Voicing issues seems pointless when everybody already have one foot out the door 🫢
Why people are (still) staying quiet
Although everybody is different, there are a few key factors driving this reticence:
Job insecurity: with hiring freezes and layoffs, speaking up feels unsafe. Working in a toxic environment somehow sounds better than missing mortgage payments.
Lack of psychological safety: many feel unheard or devalued, silencing them further. Again, what’s the point?
Protection mode: burnt out workers are conserving energy, not advocating for change. What’s the saying? Better a devil you know than a devil you don’t 😈 👿
Disempowerment: it’s a logical result of poor leadership and lack of trust. Who’s going to have an open mind AND the mental space to listen and do something about your situation?
Digital overload: remote work is, in this case, the worst thing that can happen to a company. It isolates employees and managers even more and emphasise all issues. I root for remote work but in this case, not the best idea 🙄
Without open communication, resentment ripens and engagement slowly disappears. The worst part? Leaders underestimate the costs of this quiet culture.
The high costs of silence 💸
The quiet culture is not only money consuming for employers - high turnover is the worst enemy of productivity, employee retention and profit - it is also distroying the company at its core: the company’s culture. Allowing problems to go unspoken has consequences. This behavior nurtures a highly toxic culture that can take years to mend. Employee lose interest in the company and don’t have any sort of sense of pride anymore. On top of lowering employee retention, letting loose the best talents first, the quiet culture brings recruitment challenges. Oops! Employees are leaving and none are hired. That can’t be good 🥸. People are the most valuable resource in a company. No employers should ignore that without their teams, the company dies (ain’t it dark) 💀
Gen Z disrupts the status quo 💁♀️
Wait a second. Is Gen Z going to come and save the day?! Well, the new generation is starting to disrupt this malaise by speaking up. As digital natives, they expect transparency and are more likely to call out issues directly (unlike us millenials 🤐). They craves stability and purpose. And you know what? In 2024, the amount of Gen Z employees = the amount of Baby Boomer employees in the U.S. Just saying.
And where does this start? Management. Leaders must tune in to understand and meet rising expectations. Companies that allow dysfunction will struggle to attract and retain Gen Z talent. They expect more. Be better ☝️
Transitioning to the “speak out” era 🗣
The path forward is shifting to a "speak out" culture of candor, transparency, and accountability (and rainbows and butterflies 🌈 🦋). But, where to start? Well…
Make transparency a cultural pillar. It’s best to default to overcommunication rather than undercommunication.
Hold regular check-ins and listening sessions. Actively seek candid feedback and never take anything for granted.
Build psychological safety so people feel secure being vulnerable. Especially in a remote or hybrid model.
Share a little bit of context about decisions so they are understood. Even though employees are paid to do a job, helping them understand decisions that impact them directly will make a big difference.
Reward those who speak up respectfully and encourage debate and problem-solving vs silence.
Keep doors open and make yourself approachable. I’m going to say it. The 👏 Workplace 👏 Cannot 👏 Be 👏 A 👏 Place 👏 Run 👏 By 👏 Ego 👏
Let’s face it. The “quiet” era happened for understandable reasons. But silence breeds toxicity. The healthiest cultures move from hush to honest dialogue.
Speak up 🗣
Nermine Kay - NK Consulting 🇫🇷 / NKay Consulting LLC 🇺🇸
I'm Nermine Kay, a communication consultant specialized in the future of work!
Hit reply if you want to work with me on your communication strategy, LinkedIn branding and / or content creation!
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