A recent Gallup survey found that at least half of the U.S. workforce is “quiet quitting”. For members of leadership, this is an intimidating realization to come to and might force you to revisit your organization’s way of operating. But the bigger question is, how do you tell? How can you know what is going on behind closed doors and how your employees are really feeling about the work they are doing for your company? We spoke to Monica Dominic, PSI Chief Client Officer, about how the leadership team approaches this new workforce trend.
Set the Appropriate Boundaries
“Employers need to first focus on their own work-life-balance,” Monica said. “Once that is in proper form, employers are able to more clearly see the engagement of their employees. Work-life-balance is important. Encouraging employees to take their time off, take mental days, enjoy vacations/weekends/evenings will clearly show the employees the support of the company and understand how to set reasonable boundaries.”
Monica explained that the employees who have these healthy boundaries are able to focus their attention on the expected work. They are able to show up, be present, meet their deliverables, and stay engaged. Unfortunately, there are also employees who are trying to skirt by without performing or hanging on by the coat tails of other team members, though. Monica explained this is easy to spot, when you have the doers. The slackers will be unengaged, will miss deliverable time frames, and will try to find excuses to not perform. This lack of performance will inadvertently cause for an extended timeline and result in complaining.
Set Reasonable Goals
Monica explained that setting reasonable KPI’s are important and having regular discussions on the status of deliverables and open conversations about how team members are feeling and help to encourage others to rise up and help.
“While output is very important, and being done on time and doing work correctly is awesome…culture and team is just as important at PSI,” she said.
How Does PSI Stay Engaged?
Now that companies are returning to offices or instituting hybrid schedules, some workers feel disconnected from those decisions and may not feel their employers care about them. For PSI, Monica explained that it is most important to simply have open conversations and allow for voices to be heard. This also level sets expectations about what the company also needs. In the best case scenario, both parties will give a little. The companies will be flexible on the hybrid schedule, and the employees will do the same. Both parties need to be flexible to find what works for both.
“We try to keep our contractors engaged as part of the team as well,” she said. “We reach out often, have various happy hours and celebration events, and we get updates on their performance to celebrate them.”
PSI makes it a point to work hard and play hard. Monica and the team encourages outside engagement and supports one another’s endeavors.
How Do You Save Your Job If You’re Worried About Quiet Firing?
“The best thing to do is speak up,” Monica said. “Open communication and being accountable for what you perhaps didn’t do, addressing that you are aware of the situation, and a way to make it better helps. Ask what you can do to step up and be the best employee.”