'All about balance' | Quiet quitting isn't going away. What can HR leaders do to buck the trend?

In this feature, Dr Erin Eatough, Sr Insights Manager for BetterUp, discusses quiet quitting and the role employers play in creating an engaged workforce...

‘Quiet quitting’ became a real buzzword in the world of work last year, even being included in Collins Dictionary’s top 10 words of 2022. However, while quiet quitting as a talking point is relatively new, the concept is pre-existing.

Quiet quitting refers to when employees show up to work with the purpose of doing no more than what's required to stay employed. It is an issue which has been plaguing the workplace for years and is indicative of an ongoing problem regarding employee engagement and satisfaction.

Recent research by BetterUp found that one in three workers are currently quiet quitting, highlighting the ongoing prominence of the issue. Thus, with this new label, quiet quitting has been brought to the forefront of HR leaders' minds as an issue they must tackle – and for good reason.