What is quiet quitting? It’s a bit of a misnomer, as it does not describe workers quitting their jobs. Instead, it is the banner for workers who have decided to stop going above and beyond at their jobs. They aren’t leaving. They are doing the work they’re paid to do during the exact hours outlined by their employment agreement and nothing more. Consider it a quiet rebellion against the assumption that employers can ask more of their workers than they signed on to do.

Did your construction job fall behind schedule due to delivery constraints? Are you asking your employees to stay later, work weekends, or skip breaks to make up time lost? Beware. Your workers may decide to control their work schedules by “quietly quitting.”

Managers push back against the idea. “If we all work hard, the company does better. That means it’s easier for me to give raises and award bonuses. If we fall behind, we lose business. I have to lay people off.” Quiet quitters sabotage the future success of the company where they work.

However, from the employees’ point of view, they’re tired of giving their mental energy and free time to a company that wouldn’t hesitate to fire them should the need arise. Understandably, they want to be paid for the extra work they do.

So how to combat this pervasive trend? How do you safeguard against the withdrawal of investment your workers make in their jobs?

5 Tips

  1. Ensure your pay scale is commensurate with equivalent jobs in the industry and keeps up with inflation. Guarantee the pay is fair across the board within the company. Nothing sours a workplace quicker than for one employee to discover they are being paid less for the same job. So, transparency and fairness with your salary packages are essential.
  2. Be as flexible as you can with workers setting their hours. Hybrid setups, compressed work weeks where the employees work the same hours in fewer days, or job-sharing are all possibilities that could work in your company.
  3. Assist your employees in setting work goals by helping them prioritize what is most important. Brief meetings where a worker chats with his/her manager about shortages, deadlines, changes, etc., reduce anxiety about workload demands.
  4. Find a meeting ground between perfectionism and “good enough.” Gen Z, in particular, stresses over negative criticism and tends toward perfectionism, causing work anxiety and decreasing effort. Avoid the “Why try so hard if you’re not going to get it right anyway?” attitude by helping employees establish realistic goals and set acceptable standards.
  5. Respect your employees’ off-time. Don’t pull people in on scheduled days off. Stop emailing or texting on weekends. Make it clear you respect the boundaries set by the workday agreed upon when they were hired and stick with them.

Of course, hiring right sets the pace for success against quiet quitting and a host of other issues. Gillmann Services is here to help you connect with top-notch employees. With a focus on commercial, industrial, and marine construction, we are experts at matching talent to opportunity. Our motto is, “We work for you!”  Call us today!