Is ‘quiet quitting’ a real threat? – Lawrence Zammit

It is still unclear what has caused ‘quiet quitting’ and its sister idea ‘the great resignation’. It could have been the coronavirus pandemic and the sense of mortality it gave us. It could have been the increased importance that is being given to employee wellness. It could also be simply due to a belief that irrespective of how much employee compensation has risen, it is still not enough and will never be enough.

Another cause which has been mentioned is that work is becoming increasingly meaningless (again for various reasons) and, as a result, employee engagement is being lost.

Whatever the reason may be, ‘quiet quitting’ is now recognised as a worldwide phenomenon. We feel it in Malta as well. It is the attitude of employees of doing just enough to get along. One notices it through certain employee

behaviours, such as not volunteering to organise fun team-building activities at work, or refusing to do that little bit of extra work, or reporting sick at the first sign of a common cold or a headache. They are doing just enough to keep up.

There is then the sister idea of ‘the great resignation’. When employees cannot take it anymore, they resign and move on. They would not...