Quiet Quitting
“Quiet Quitting” has come up in conversation with friends several times in the last few weeks. According to the recent Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) What it Means to Be a Quiet Quitter, and the Gallup data cited, “at least half the workforce is engaging in quiet quitting”.
As a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, I follow their research closely. Gallup has led data around employee engagement for many years prior to Covid and the “great resignation”. Individuals that are “actively disengaged” tend to have the loudest voices and many have a great deal of influence. Gallup has long used the metaphor of a row boat when it comes to employee engagement. They have indicated that employees that are actively disengaged are figuratively drilling holes in the boat, while disengaged employees are scarcely rowing. The engaged employees need to row harder to keep the boat moving forward. Check out Gallup’s recent article Is Quiet Quitting Real?
Many of us, myself included, felt a shift in “purpose and meaning” when the unpredictability of Covid hit. Some felt that our once steady ground was shifting and that the future was less certain. We may have found a need to stretch and pivot (a popular word during the move to remote work) to reinvent ourselves even in our familiar personal and work lives.
In our household, our world turned upside down during Covid, when our son sustained a spinal cord injury in January of 2021. In a matter of days, we picked up our household and relocated to Colorado for his recovery. In the midst of the tragedy and the journey through loss and grief that we are traveling together, I began to wonder “what if”... What if I could do more of what I love? What if I stepped into my true purpose and meaning as I believe I was meant to in this life? My Strengths of Connectedness, Strategic, and Positivity led the way for my own personal transformation and my newest theme Maximizer kicked in and I began to make purposeful changes and to make room for what serves me. I invite you to do the same!
In my previous blog Being Seen and Heard in the Workplace, I spoke of the great resignation and how some managers or administrators may not know where to begin to increase engagement in the workplace. Moving the needle on employee engagement can be challenging and does not happen overnight. Yet we know that creating a strengths-based culture makes a difference.
Gallup’s data indicates that 70% of the reason employees stay in a position is due to the manager. More emphasis is being placed on the role of the manager and whether that person is able to honor and encourage employees to work in their strengths zone. More than ever before, it is important for employees to feel that they are valued in the workplace and engaging in work that capitalizes on their strengths. Employees also need to feel that work and life balances are sustainable, given the many demands we all face in our personal and social lives. Finally, employees more now than ever before, appreciate compassionate work places where they are allowed to be fully human!
If you are a manager, there is hope and a clear pathway to improving retention and engagement of employees. If you are an employee, there is a workplace that is congruent with your values and, in turn, honors you as an employee and “sees” your personal strengths. Individual and team strengths-based coaching can sharpen communication skills and help to define realistic expectations and opportunities for all. Strengths-based workplaces provide language and action that helps employees get clear and be productive!
If you are curious about how strengths-based leadership and coaching can look in your organization, I encourage you to contact me at stacy@klearwatercoaching.com. I look forward to speaking with you!
Here is to making a difference in your own life and the lives of others and living your strengths!