Quiet quitting is an employee's way of saying "no" to the hustle culture by doing only what is necessary as a part of their job role. It might be a sign that employees are experiencing burnout as employers are demanding additional effort without any added benefits.

People's priorities and purpose have shifted during the pandemic and when work goes unrecognized or overlooked, employees feel that going the extra mile is not worth it. Quiet quitting might be even worse than an employee quitting as you will be paying someone who is completely disengaged at work, draining the team's overall creativity.

Quiet quitting happens not only because employees are burnt out, but also because employers failed to recognize the working conditions they created. A lot of this can be prevented by improving communication between employees and higher management.

Here is how HR can help neutralize the situation 

Give them purpose

Be clear about the job role, its expectations, and how it can expand in the future. Map out a clear trajectory of their career path and help your employees reach their goal with adequate opportunities to upskill and actionable tasks they can take. Help them understand what their work means to the company and how it contributes to the organization's bigger purpose.

Make it easy for employees to speak up

Quiet quitting is going to be detrimental to both the employee and employer as it ruins their reputation and kills the company's time. Encourage employees to be open and honest about their discontent so the right steps can be taken to improve their work experience. Make feedback and communication a priority and a regular exercise.

Recognize good work

Reward employees for their good work either by paying overtime, offering the right rewards, or even extending deserving promotions. Not only does this create a ripple effect within the company as employees will want to contribute to reap the same benefits, it also adds to an employee's career in the long run.

Hire the right fit

People who connect with work and become better friends with colleagues are more likely to enjoy coming to work. Hire like-minded people by assessing their culture fit, social skills, and attitude and help them build tight-knit communities around the workplace.

Be more flexible

Giving employees the space to figure out their own time to work and get the job done can help them achieve maximum productivity and work-life balance.

Help them know their worth

It is important to be transparent about pay policies and what their job role pays in the market so employees know they are being paid fairly.

Plan your workforce adequately

Ensuring that employees are not overburdened and are rightly challenged is key in keeping them happy. Having competent people in managerial roles and hiring enough people to share the workload can have a huge impact on reducing employee burnout.

Looking at both sides of the story 

While quiet quitting might have serious implications on the organization's growth, it is important to understand that employees setting healthy boundaries does not mean that they are disengaging. It is also crucial to recognize that ambition is optional. Some people are happy with their jobs and prefer to stay where they are without any ambition to step up the ladder. In which case, the best you can do is give more work and responsibility to the people who really want to advance instead of expecting every employee to fight to lead.