'Quiet quitting' or burnout by another name?
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Recent news headlines on 'quiet quitting' have been garnering the attention of HR and people leaders alike. But there's an inherent risk in using this new term, as it deflects the blame for burnout symptoms onto employees while often ignoring the role employers play in driving an employee to 'quietly quit'.
No one will argue that the last few years have been easy for employees, but very few people are talking about the collective trauma that the world's workforce has gone through because of COVID-19. Whether it was adjusting to changing working patterns and locations or being more directly and heavily affected by illness or grief, the pandemic has taken a toll on most people.
If an employee has gotten to the point where they are just holding onto their role but no longer have the energy to perform at their best, displaying classic presenteeism, and finding it hard to muster enthusiasm and energy for their position, companies may find it more productive to label this as 'burnout' rather than quiet quitting.
Diagnosing burnout leads to helpful remediations that employers can put in place to aid their employee/s to get back on their feet. Quiet quitting carries with it completely different connotations — from a lack of loyalty to work through to laziness and passive aggressive behaviour.
If you suspect that one or many of your employees isn't performing at their best and has essentially 'checked out' of work, now is a good time to have a compassionate conversation with them to check in on how they're going.
With the blurring of work and home lives, employees may be struggling to find balance. Or people may be dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19: managing symptoms of long COVID, worrying about leaving the house and contracting COVID-19, grieving people they've lost to the virus, or finding it hard to get back to a sense of 'normal' life. The virus has elicited many different responses in people and very few people have been through comparable situations to know how to deal with its fallout.
To have constructive conversations with your employees to help them reengage with work, language choice and empathy are critical. Talking to your people about quiet quitting and making them feel like they've chosen to 'opt-out' of being an engaged worker isn't likely to have a very positive result. But showing concern and empathy for employees who may be experiencing burnout is a far more constructive way forward for all involved.
For more on burnout, read: Burnout on the rise for Australian workers
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Employees experience burnout when their physical or emotional reserves are depleted. Usually, persistent tension or dissatisfaction causes this to happen. The workplace atmosphere might occasionally be the reason. Workplace stress, a lack of resources and support, and aggressive deadlines can all cause burnout.
Shandel McAuliffe
Shandel has recently returned to Australia after working in the UK for eight years. Shandel's experience in the UK included over three years at the CIPD in their marketing, marcomms and events teams, followed by two plus years with The Adecco Group UK&I in marketing, PR, internal comms and project management. Cementing Shandel's experience in the HR industry, she was the head of content for Cezanne HR, a full-lifecycle HR software solution, for the two years prior to her return to Australia.
Shandel has previous experience as a copy writer, proofreader and copy editor, and a keen interest in HR, leadership and psychology. She's excited to be at the helm of HR Leader as its editor, bringing new and innovative ideas to the publication's audience, drawing on her time overseas and learning from experts closer to home in Australia.