Are you winning, working, wilting or waiting to leave?
No profession is perfect. You can be passionate about a particular skill or industry, enjoy your coworkers, find what you do a rewarding experience and still get frustrated by your job. That inevitable frustration can be born out of time spent away from family, a new boss or reporting structure, misaligned pay or a nosy co-worker. Whatever the case, you are bound to feel annoyed by work sometimes — but when is the frustration really something more?
The term “quiet quitting" has flooded the news recently and refers to the ratio of employees at any organization that are neither engaged nor disengaged at work. This group of workers exert the bare minimum of what is necessary to do and keep their job, but no more. According to Gallup, quiet quitters represent up to 50% of workers in the United States, and employers and employees likely agree that it is an issue.
Quiet quitting is an issue for organizations because quiet quitters are not living up to their potential. Economic edge, R&D and exceptional customer service — elements that are critical to business success — all have one thing in common: teams willing to go the extra mile. Quiet quitters aren’t doing that, meaning teams ability to function at progressive levels is negatively effected. Even where teams are able to push harder to exceed expectations, effort is disproportionately shared across individuals, leaving some carrying more of the burden. But quiet quitting is also an issue for employees. Worker dissatisfaction leads to unhappiness. Workers who are unhappy may see increased stress, less productivity and less creativity. Quiet quitting can also negatively affect professional growth, wear at relationships and allow for missed opportunities.
So, how do we tell if it just frustration at work, or if there is a problem?
Are you winning, working, wilting or waiting to leave?
The 4 “W”s refer to the four stages of worker engagement. As Gallup suggests, at the most basic level there are three types of workers: those that are engaged (“winning”), those that are completely disengaged (“waiting to leave”), and those that are quiet quitting. However, having spoken with quiet quitters in various industries, it seems that even among that somewhat disengaged group, there are two distinct levels of disengagement: quiet quitters that know exactly what the issue is (“working”) and those who’s issues are heavily compounded to the point that the worker is closer to completely disengaged than they are engaged (“wilting”). Let’s dig into each category a bit more.
Winning
32% of workers in the US report being engaged at work. What does that mean? It means they feel motivated to do their jobs well. Feeling engaged at work often comes from being given a sense of autonomy, a connection to the employer and/or job, emotional connections, adequate resources and support, and access to enriching or “stretch” opportunities. That is why this group is considered to be winning!
How do you know if you are in the “winning” category? Well, if you are engaged at work, you probably know it (and have already stopped reading this post).
Waiting to Leave
Completely disengaged employees are likely already looking for a way out, just waiting for the right event or job to come along. Gallup’s research shows that 18% of employees are completely disengaged, or “loud quitting”. Loud quitting can result in negative consequences within an organization (disrespectful behavior, absenteeism, attempts to “poison the well” or make others unhappy, etc.) and most often leads to voluntary or involuntary separation.
How do you know if you are completely disengaged or “loud quitting”? There is no perfect signal, but loud quitting occurs when the perceived positives are far overshadowed by the negatives. Once you start looking seriously for another job, that can be an indicator. Another could be if you would truly consider a job that pays significantly less over staying in your current role, you may just be waiting to leave.
Working or Wilting
Now for the rest of you — according to the research, up to half of you reading this post fall into the “working” or “wilting” groups — basically showing up when you are supposed to, doing what needs to get done, collecting your paycheck and then going home. Yet, in spite of “quitting” being a part of the term, the truth is “quiet quitting” does not mean there is no hope. In fact, the difference between “working” and “wilting” is what needs to be done to counteract the situation.
The working group are usually those employees that feel like their job is just off the mark. Generally something has happened to change the structure of their jobs or, on the other hand, too much time has passed with little change. This is disengagement that is unfortunate, but can likely be fixed.
The wilting group are those that are a little closer to the exit. Wilting rarely happens because one small thing is off but, rather, when things have been off for a while. More often than not, there are a number of things not working, or perhaps countermeasures were taken to avoid disengagement that were ultimately unsuccessful.
Ok. What now?
So, you’ve identified where you fit on the spectrum — now what?
If you are winning: Congratulations! You are truly in the lucky minority. Whatever you have done to stay connected and engaged at work, keep it up. You likely have exposure to enriched activities, autonomy, a sense of connection or belonging, and your organization likely provides you with resources to do your job well. Look for ways to continue amplifying these attributes and communicate with your organization and leadership if you see things slipping or start to feel disengaged.
If you are waiting to leave: As mentioned previously, complete disengagement is often present in a situation where many things are wrong and/or attempts to make things right have failed. Only the individual knows whether there is a way to make things right again. The question you should ask yourself is, “Is there anything that I or my organization could realistically do to right the ship?” If the answer is “yes”, than keep reading. If the answer is “no”, then you may have your answer.
If you are wilting: It is important to identify why you feel wilted. What it is about your work experience that is not fulfilling or causing the disengagement? Sometimes it can be easier to just keep doing your job than digging into what is wrong with your job. If that is the case, try this:
First, make a list of what is causing the issue (s). It could be several things. Just list them all.
Then, make a list of all the things that have kept you at your job. It can be anything: pay, friends at work, family connections or a sense of responsibility. Whatever it is, get it on the list and set the list aside.
Next, go back to the first list. Of the issues you have listed, think about what could realistically be changed to move an issue from list one (the ‘issues list’) to list two (the ‘makes me want to stay list’). Where realistic change is possible, write the possible solution down next to the ‘issue’ and highlight or circle it.
Setting aside the highlighted or circled issues, compare your ‘issues list’ to your ‘stay list’. What is more compelling? What has more pull?
Now, what if you took all the highlighted/circled issues where possible realistic solutions and moved them over to the “stay” list? Does that change anything?
What if you only moved, say, half of them over to the stay list? Does that change anything?
This exercise is great for getting a better sense of what can be done to get reengaged. If after analysis, you feel that staying and reengaging is a possibility, you are on your way to the “working” group!
Which brings us to the working group. If you are in the working group, likelihood is you know exactly what the issue is. The exercise here is similar to what was just discussed in the previous list exercise. However, this exercise is solely solutions oriented. Ask yourself:
What is the problem?
Is there a realistic solution that you are willing to attempt?
If there is a realistic solution and you are game to try it, it is time to make a plan. How you will execute? If there is no solution, then it is time to decide whether there is enough without a solution to the issue to get you more engaged.
At the End of the Day, Work is Work
Wherever you sit on the spectrum of engagement, work is work — but work also takes work. It can be helpful to better understand which of the 4 “W”s most closely align with your situation. However, if you don’t do anything, nothing will get done. Try to formulate solutions for work issues and communicate with your leaders when you are feeling disengaged. There may not always be an easy answer, or an answer at all, but at least you’ll know you tried to do more than wilt and wait to leave.
