Is Your Team Connecting, Whispering or Shouting?

As a leader, do you know whether your team is connecting, whispering or shouting? A recent Gallup survey identified three categories to describe employee engagement at work.

1. Thriving because they find meaning in their work, engage and listen to others, take pride in their performance and are willing to go the extra mile. Only one in five employees feel connected to their leader and the organization in this way.
2. Quiet quitting because they’re just doing the bare minimum, are disconnected emotionally or feel stressed. Surprisingly, three out of five employees are not engaged. They’re whispering about their leader and the things they don’t like in their environment.
3. Loud quitting because they’re causing harmful crises in the business, lack trust in their leadership or aren’t fulfilling their role. One in five employees is actively disengaged and symbolically shouting their discontent to those around them.

Quiet quitting and loud quitting may be more recent labels, but the behavior isn’t new. Organizations have been talking about employee engagement for years, yet it’s never been more important to team health than it is now. And it requires leaders to pay more attention to employees’ emotional needs so that they can be psychologically present in their roles. 

So, what should leaders do to improve engagement?

Quiet quitters

Research consistently shows that it’s easier to motivate employees who are not engaged than to reach those who are actively disengaged. So, most of leaders’ efforts should be focused on quiet quitters. Here are several key steps.

1. Build leadership capabilities for emotional intelligence, particularly for empathy. Measure employee engagement as a component of the leader’s performance evaluation. This should be part of the cultural fabric of the organization.
2. Connect with team members by learning their interests, strengths and career goals. Help them develop plans to reach them.
3. Recognize employees’ contributions through verbal and written praise, remembering work anniversaries and birthdays, highlighting project completions, offering professional development and providing monetary rewards and benefits.
4. Collaborate with employees to find new solutions to business problems. Empower them to make certain decisions. Present opportunities for autonomy that enable them to learn.

Leaders must be committed to investing in their team members. This isn’t just a benevolent gesture or a transactional experience. Your team will know if you really care about them. It’s also not about blaming the team members themselves; it starts with developing great leaders.

Loud quitters

The rise of loud quitters who are actively disengaged is a source of increasing frustration for leaders. But rather than criticize them, it’s more constructive to recognize that their behavior is the result of some need not being met. Instead of pushing them away, this is an opportunity for leaders to lean in and try to get to know them better. Sit down with them over coffee or lunch and learn more about their background, career, and work experiences. What do they value most in life? Maybe they have personal needs that are not being met, and they take it out on coworkers. Maybe they have professional needs that aren’t being met and you can help them with constructive behaviors to get closer to their goal. Share your own professional learning experiences to model growth opportunities for them.

You may find:

• There’s a cultural mismatch between their values and the organization’s values.
• There’s a misalignment of skills required for the job.
• They’ve been placed in an environment or role that prevents them from thriving.

There may be an opportunity to help them find their sweet spot in the organization where they feel valued. It’s also possible that their unique combination of skills, interests, beliefs and personality will best serve another organization.

And what are they saying?

Most importantly, know what quiet quitters and loud quitters are saying about you and your organization. Employee surveys, job board comments, social media reviews, focus groups and casual conversation are all important sources of information that can be analyzed. The Gallup survey revealed that 41 percent of what quiet quitters would change about their workplace falls under the heading of engagement or culture. This includes wishing managers were more approachable, receiving clearer goals and guidance, wanting everyone to be recognized for their contributions, or just desiring more respect. Individual leaders can make it a priority to invest in their own professional development to address these needs.

Make sure you know whether your employees are connecting, whispering or shouting.

Want to keep your team running smoothly? Follow these 7 Essential Steps to Team Health.