A New Employee Experience
We all have a bit of stress these days when confronted with new social situations. Stemming from the pandemic, most of us are transitioning to more in-person events and find it difficult to speak freely or feel heard by those closest to us. Do our new social fears have any relation to what’s causing American workers to quit their jobs at alarming rates today? Conversate Labs recently spoke with professionals all across the country about their work experiences in the hopes of answering why it seems like the only option is to quit their job.
The term “quiet quitting” recently went viral. To some, it means a rejection of the 24/7 hustle work culture while others believe the term just describes doing the work for the amount of pay. So we decided to find out what it really means and talk to the “quiet quitters” directly to understand more about this new workplace trend.
We spoke with American workers in professional jobs about many topics: their connection to the company, if they felt valued at work, their manager’s effectiveness, the company’s culture, and what they were looking for in a new job. We heard many stories to explain the reasons behind the “quiet quitting” trend, but were most surprised to learn much more than that.
A Media Director in California who worked nights and weekends to go above and beyond in his job this year. He even won 3 industry awards for his outstanding work. He notes, “My boss gave me a cupcake when I didn’t even know if I would get my bonus that year or not.”
An HR Director from Texas who noticed when she wasn’t getting support for her ideas to invest in their workforce. “I’m the only Millennial on the executive team. I am a team player, but we have to have boundaries. I don’t live for this company. I work to live not live to work. They don’t want to hear what I have to say any more about retaining our employees. I just collect a paycheck.”
A Director of Operations in Washington, DC who lost respect for his senior leaders for their lack of focus on employees. “When you see your friends at the company work so hard for so many years and then leave, it’s not a great feeling. You give up caring in a lot of ways.”
An IT Analyst in Virginia who explains how he doesn’t want to work in a political and toxic culture where fake smiles and silos are prevalent. “Respect is someone of integrity and character. I don’t think my Directors’ have my respect. In a big company, to get somewhere, you have to sacrifice some things, like your integrity. They do it to get ahead and take shortcuts in a competitive environment.”
It got us thinking, is “quiet quitting” really just about the workers or is there something else going on?
Every worker we spoke with was very accomplished, satisfied in their role, mostly happy with their manager, and working well beyond the requirements of their job. Some think the term “quitting” is just another way to say that Millennials are lazy, when in fact, we found exactly the opposite to be true. It was the lack of listening at the leadership level, inflexible working environments, low pay, and unwillingness to adapt to the new ways of work that we found most problematic. In the words of Aretha Franklin, the workers just wanted a little bit of R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
So how do workers give and earn respect in the modern workforce? Here’s what respect means to them:
“Being on a level with someone that they are at. Understanding and appreciating their whole self.”
“You need to listen. My ideas are pushed off or they say ‘no that won’t work’ and never answer me with a why. Validate you heard me and acknowledge the idea….it helps me feel heard.”
“Reliability. Can I rely on you to help me through this problem?”
“Trustworthiness – if you say something different in another meeting then that breaks trust. You can gain respect when you have new insights and great ideas.”
“Appreciated for your time and efforts. Talked to as an equal even though your position may not be.”
Workplace respect may not always have been viewed this way. Even just two years ago before the pandemic, respect in the workplace may have been earned differently. For example, employees who worked long hours in the office or were willing to relocate were rewarded with the most prestigious jobs or led the largest departments. Today, many professionals can work remotely, live where they choose or work on a variety of cross-functional projects. So how is respect earned and given in your workplace?
Thank you, Aretha Franklin, for your foresight on R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Having conversations with employees about what respect means to them and how the company, and its leaders, can earn their trust will lead to a stronger foundation for future work. By investing in our employee relationships, understanding how to show respect for the work in meaningful ways, and modernizing our workforce cultures, companies can begin to close the gap on a new way to work where quitting will be a thing of the past. Find out how you can understand your employee’s experiences and company’s culture with Conversate Labs.
