Excerpted from a Littler Mendelson PC Blog by Alan Persaud and Rocio Blanco Garcia.
From “Bare Minimum Mondays” to “Put Your Boss on Blast on TikTok Fridays,” loud quitting is the new emerging resignation trend affecting employers. Where employees previously used “mouse-jigglers” to simulate mouse movement to prevent computers from going into sleep mode, they are now using social media as a megaphone to voice their resignations. Employers everywhere should be cognizant of how loud quitting may impact morale and productivity in the workplace and affect employers’ reputations, sometimes overnight.
What Is Loud Quitting?
Loud quitting is not a Gen-Z or millennial trend. It is cross-generational. It is also not just about prioritizing boundaries over a hustling culture, but rather about how employees are expressing their discontent for their jobs publicly. Loud quitting involves actively disengaged employees taking “actions that directly harm the organization, undercutting its goals and opposing its leaders.” In other words, loud quitters used to be quiet quitters, but instead of remaining quietly disengaged, they are now taking steps to actively influence workplace disengagement.
Why Is it Happening?
Why are employees screaming from the tops of their lungs about the problems they faced at work, and why did they air their grievances on TikTok or Instagram instead of speaking with management or human resources? The likely answer: no one would listen to them while they were employed.
Resignation trends are often fueled by unmanageable employee stress, and loud quitting is no exception.
Takeaways for Employers
Riding on the coattails of quiet quitting, loud quitting is here to stay – at least for now – and this is how employers can combat it:
- Identify Quiet Quitters. Before quiet quitters transition into loud quitters, employers should identify less-productive employees and engage with them. Employers should assess why an employee may have become less productive and should listen to the employee’s concerns and empower the employee with tools to be more productive.
- Educate and Mentor. Workplace trainings are a powerful tool to keep employees and management informed of expectations and foster an inclusive environment where employees feel respected. A mentorship program can offer employees the opportunity to be matched with a more senior employee who can become the ear they often need to communicate their frustrations.
- Find the Right Fit. Employees involved in recruitment and advancement should be carefully matching candidates to the roles for which they are hiring. The focus should not be exclusively on the skills presented on paper.
- Document. Employers should document all instances of loud quitting to identify trends. Is there a common cause to which employees are citing as the reason for their resignation?
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