Reviving Quiet Quitters Through Quiet Motivation

Although employee disengagement is not new, post-pandemic workplace terminology includes buzzwords such as "quiet quitting," often referring to employees who have lost the passion for their jobs. These employees are not quite ready to give up their paychecks but are considering making a move. The dilemma for employers who manage these workers involves considering the time and energy it would take to recruit and train replacements if they subject these employees to “quiet firing,” versus finding a way to re-engage current talent. One possible solution is “quiet hiring.”

Image by Jerry Kimbrell from Pixabay

Expanding Employee Engagement

“Quiet hiring,” a term largely attributed to Emily Rose McRae of Gartner, occurs when a company onboards contract workers or requests that current employees expand their horizons to perform job duties outside of their current roles.[i] Perhaps an employer assigns employees different positions or different projects—ideally suited to the employee’s interests. This involves engaging with employees nontraditionally—instead of telling them what to do, asking them what they would like to do.

Upon first blush, some wonder whether adding responsibility would be the last straw that would force disengaged employees to (actually) quit. However, many workers view a new challenge as an opportunity to not only do something they enjoy but develop new marketable skills. This can both spark interest and defeat boredom.

Accordingly, as a practical matter, among other potential benefits, this method:

• May protect employees from future layoffs, particularly if their current role is eliminated—because they are already developing new skills.
• Provides variety, challenge, and novelty within a current field of work.
• Demonstrates company trust by assigning a variety of responsibilities.
• Provides more control over a career path by broadening a skill base.
• Demonstrates initiative, company loyalty, and team playing.

Why might quite hiring work? Research provides some history and evidence.

The Revival of Re-Engagement

Research reveals a spectrum of different motivations that drive employee engagement. Understanding these motivations may give employers ideas as to how to “hire” existing talent to engage with different aspects of their work that may provide more personal satisfaction and increase professional productivity.

David J. Pincus (2023) examined the issue of employee engagement within the larger context of human motivation.[ii] He noted, among other things, that the leading definitions of employee engagement can be reduced to a core set of human incentives, which present a model of twelve human motivations. His model represents a pyramid with four sides representing life domains: the Self, the Material, the Social, and the Spiritual, suggesting strong linkages between adjacent domains.

With this type of global view in mind, employers may consider the value of engaging employees in ways they are not currently challenged, considering how identifying and fulfilling individual motivations would benefit the company. Pincus gives the example of how further research could identify how different motives interact to promote developmental progression for the benefit of both the employees and the organization with the ultimate goal of unifying all twelve motivations. He suggests examples such as: “What gives me security also provides justice for others." "What gives me a sense of achievement also brings honor to the organization." and "What gives me a sense of authenticity also brings me a sense of purpose.”

What to Consider While Hiring

Employee engagement is a career-long goal, but can initially be addressed during the hiring process. Asking employees about their goals and interests is best broached during the onboarding phase—instead of during an exit interview when the answers can no longer help employers re-adjust working conditions or duties in a fashion that could have benefited both the employee and the company. Addressing individual motivational incentives at the beginning of a professional relationship, as well as throughout employment, can provide ongoing benefits for both workers and companies, contributing to a healthy, productive workplace for everyone.