Although the media buzz around “quiet quitting” may be relatively new, the concept of unhappy employees barely meeting minimum expectations certainly isn’t. In this new context, quiet quitting means workers only performing the main functions of their jobs, without going above and beyond—and it’s often the result of feeling burned out or underappreciated at work.
A manager who notices an employee seeming less than motivated can take steps to get them reengaged and more motivated to succeed in their role. Below, 15 Forbes Coaches Council members explain how to facilitate the setting of healthy work-life boundaries while still encouraging high performance.
Forbes Coaches Council members share ways to help 'quiet quitters' set healthy boundaries and exceed expectations.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Build Trust By Caring About Your Team
Care is an element of trust, and without it, people won’t engage or go the extra mile. If you support your people by caring about who they are, how they feel and where they want to develop, that will not only build the trust for them to share when they’re struggling and need tighter boundaries but also engage them to go the extra mile. - Susan Hobson, Elite High Performance
2. Create A Healthy Work Environment
Managers should treat quiet quitters as individuals who are trying their best and who deserve some respect for that effort. Instead of punishing them (or even pressuring them), managers should focus on creating an environment where employees feel safe enough to set boundaries around their work and personal lives without worrying about being judged or punished by their boss. - Willena Long, Career Boss Academy
3. Assign Tasks Based On Individual Strengths
Quiet quitters are disengaged and feeling hopeless, losing confidence in both themselves and the company. These employees are doing what is expected because they still care about doing their job, yet they don’t feel valued. Take time to assess their individual strengths and competencies, with the intention of assigning tasks that drive performance while acknowledging and reinforcing their value to the company. - Sherre DeMao, BizGrowth Inc
4. Provide Specific Direction And Show Interest In Their Lives
People are quiet quitting because, in many instances, their managers don’t show that they themselves are engaged. They don’t provide specific direction about the employees’ potential growth track, take an interest in their team members’ personal lives or make it clear how the employee contributes to the overall mission. Focusing on these issues can increase retention and reduce burnout. - Marcia Narine Weldon, Illuminating Wisdom
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5. Value Employee Feedback And Follow Through On Input
Through safe and bidirectional conversation, ask about norms that worked in the past but no longer support the team: “What norms do we need in a post-pandemic world to provide work-life balance as well as excellence?” Valuing feedback from employees and following through on their input creates engagement and a greater likelihood of retention and higher performance. - Carrie-Ann Barrow, Scaling Strategies
6. Respect The Needs Of Your Employees
Quiet quitting is a symptom of employees feeling exploited and disregarded. It’s an employee’s way of saying, “I’m tired of this one-sided relationship, and you’re going to get no more than what you give!” To manage this, managers can seek to honor and manage the employer-employee relationship as one in which both have important needs to be acknowledged, regarded and negotiated. - Angela Dash, The Pace Institute, LLC
7. Give Your Team Meaningful Work
Quiet quitting is the flip side of an individual’s source of “discretionary energy”—that extra bit an employee will give above and beyond that which is expected of them. Giving people meaningful work, protecting their time to dedicate to it, trusting their creative abilities and engaging with them will not only reverse the quiet quitting, but your employees will also give you their discretionary energy. - Mimi Moore, Pourquoi Pas Coaching International
8. Talk Openly About Quiet Quitting
Quiet quitting has been around since there have been workplaces. It’s a very deliberate form of disengagement. Leaders can start diluting its impact by calling it out and talking openly about it. Don’t hide it within an engagement survey, but rather have discussions around what it is and how the organization’s culture, the leadership and the rewards system contribute to it, or not. That’s a good start. - Paul N Larsen, The Find Your VOICE Coaching Institute
9. Learn More About Your Employees
Learn about employees’ personal and professional lives. Express authentic interest in their well-being and job satisfaction. Be aware of their job needs and pain points. Be responsive to them and communicate your awareness of them and how you addressed them. Be willing to make adjustments to the work environment that help them to deliver their best work in an environment that is conducive to that. - Ron Young, Trove, Inc.
10. Define High-Performance Metrics
Leaders can specifically define high-performance metrics, rather than just setting an expectation of going “over and above.” If going “above and beyond” is the expectation, then that becomes the norm. In order to continue to be considered a high performer, the employee has to keep going to the next level of “over and above.” This constant raising of the bar promotes burnout, not excellence. - Rachel Bellack, The Improv Advantage
11. Value Energy And Productivity Over Hours Spent
Leaders can drive home the concept that they value their team’s energy and productivity, not hours spent. Encourage recovery as a necessary part of sustainable high performance. When team members see boundaries and recovery valued within the culture, they can hold themselves and others accountable for good work and recovery, rather than worrying about others’ perception of their efforts. - Andrew Deutscher, Regenerate
12. Have Regular Alignment And Feedback Conversations
Clearly communicating performance expectations and having regular alignment and feedback conversations with your team will establish the foundation for increased engagement. The key is the congruence between organizational priorities and performance expectations. The engagement of your team members will be dictated by your actions, accessibility and acknowledgment of expected performance. - Dennis Volpe, LRI
13. Set Realistic, Attainable Expectations
Leaders need to reset their expectations and make them realistic and attainable. During the pandemic, many employers asked employees to go “above and beyond” to navigate the crisis. This continued level of expectation is leading to extreme burnout. I’d suggest setting reasonable expectations for your team and checking in with them weekly to reinforce and support. - Kimberly Svoboda, Aspiration Catalyst®
14. Right-Size Effort And Contributions
I prefer to reframe quiet quitting as a need to right-size effort and contributions. When we lead with an emphasis on the outcomes sought and create well-aligned expectations around the level of work required, it becomes about performance and processes designed to reach a shared set of goals. It’s much more motivating to push yourself to achieve when it’s clear how success will be measured. - Joanne Heyman, Heyman Partners
15. Recognize Employees As Human Beings First
Not long ago, the concept of “quiet quitting” was called “meets expectations” or even “work-life balance” on a performance review. Leaders and managers must become more self-aware and develop emotional intelligence to recognize employees as human beings first. Acknowledgement by management that life happens before and after work could yield more loyalty and commitment beyond “quitting” time. - Tinna Jackson, Jackson Consulting Group, LLC
