Key Points
- Silent resignation is a complex challenge for human resources that occurs when employees feel dissatisfaction.
- Employees may not communicate their situation clearly and reflect this abandonment of functions in their day-to-day behaviours, making it difficult to detect and prevent.
- Reasons for silent resignation include lack of recognition, professional development and growth, lack of communication and transparency, work overload, and a lack of challenges and variety of tasks.
- The severity of a quiet resignation may vary depending on the employee's character and how they choose to communicate their dissatisfaction or desire to leave their job.
- Companies need to have digital tools, such as HRMS software, to set clear objectives to prevent demotivation.
Topics Covered
- Silent Resignation Meaning
- Causes of Silent Resignation
- Signs of Silent Resignation and How to Identify It?
- Strategies to Fight Silent Resignation
- Final Words
- FAQs
Introduction
Silent Resignation represents a complex challenge for human resources. This problem occurs when there is an abandonment of tasks and responsibilities by the worker, and the company does not have clear signs of this.
Also, the employee does not communicate his situation clearly and reflects this abandonment of functions in day-to-day behaviours, which becomes something even more complicated to detect.
It is not only important to try to solve it but also to know the tools to anticipate and prevent it. Keep reading to delve deeper into this problem that is increasingly worrying organisations.
What is Silent Resignation?
Let us try to tell you the silent resignation meaning in simple terms. The situation in which the workers begin to subtly and gradually disconnect from their jobs, the company, and colleagues is called silent resignation or "quiet quitting." Therefore, it is a voluntary resignation from work.
For some, it means mentally disconnecting from work, and for others, it means declining additional unpaid work. The New York Times
Unlike “conventional” resignations, where the employee expressly communicates the decision to leave the company, for example, through a resignation letter or a conversation with the boss, in silent resignation, the employee chooses to express his dissatisfaction or desire to leave his job without prior information. However, employees' certain behaviours can express the about quiet quitting. We will identify these behaviours or signs in a later section.
Causes of Silent Resignation
The reasons why the employee begins to disconnect are multiple and, of course, various reasons root this dissatisfaction. There may be a trigger, but generally, the activator is a set of aspects that the employee perceives negatively. Here are some of them:
Lack of Recognition and Rewards
Workers want to feel that the work and objectives they achieve are recognised, but this is not always the case. When they do feel that any reward or work recognition is absent beyond the salary, they can become emotionally disconnected from the company and the tasks they perform.
Lack of Professional Development and Growth
The lack of opportunities to grow or advance within the organisation can lead to job dissatisfaction and demotivation. Therefore, the worker himself chooses not to continue actively fighting to achieve those objectives or completing tasks.
This factor is usually more visible in people with a high degree of professional ambition.
Lack of Communication and Transparency
The lack of communication and transparency, whether with superiors or colleagues, has a clear consequence: distrust and uncertainty. Working under these two beliefs is not a dish of good taste for anyone.
Being certain about what is going to happen or trusting the people around you is a fundamental aspect of avoiding giving up your job.
Work Overload
This is closely linked to "workplace burnout." According to the McKinsey Health Institute’s 2023 survey, 59% of working Indians suffer from it. Excessive work has never been positive when it comes to having employees who develop their work skills well. The stress of having a workload greater than what the employee can handle makes him want to give up and free himself from it in some way.
Lack of Challenges and Variety of Tasks
Monotony can be frustrating. This sign appears mostly in employees whose creative abilities are higher.
They need to receive more stimuli to satisfy their creative needs. Therefore, if they are not provided with a variety of tasks that are up to their standards, they may be heading towards that silent resignation.
The need to set clear objectives becomes a priority when demotivation reaches the employee. This is why it is necessary to have digital tools such as HRMS Software that allow you to set goals and be able to see your progress. Further, it is important to set SMART goals to achieve them.
Other Personal Problems
Many times, it is thought that the problem and the solution lie within the company itself, but this is not always the case. In most cases, the worker has other personal issues to resolve that are unrelated to his work and that greatly affect his work and performance.
When the problem is personal, then why do they choose this passive method or silent resignation?
This may be a consequence of different factors, including:
The employee may experience communication difficulties with their bosses due to their own character or the company's poor management of staff relationships.
Signs of Silent Resignation and How to Identify It?
These subtle behaviours can appear in different ways and in different settings. The signs, in turn, are the consequences of passively initiating quiet resignation on the part of the worker.
To determine if an employee is silently resigning, it's crucial to have a good understanding of their behaviour. Without a baseline for comparison, it's difficult to make an accurate assessment.
Reduced Interaction and Increased Social Isolation
The employee, compared to his previous relationship with other colleagues, begins to worsen. He communicates less with others. In the worst case, it can turn out to be a more aggressive or unfriendly way to resign.
Work environment surveys are a very useful method to be aware of the opinions and situation of the entire workforce. Without prior guidance on how employees are doing, it will not be possible to begin to find solutions.
The way they are prepared will be decisive in receiving the information that is truly needed.
Lack of Interest
This sign is common when an employee's work quality declines. Previously, the employee showed interest in learning and improving, but it seems to be disappearing now.
Lack of Initiative
The employee, who was once proactive and made proposals, now only performs essential tasks. The person displays an avoidant character.
Decreased Productivity
As interest has been lost, there is a certain isolation from other colleagues, and as their tasks begin to decrease, the worker's productivity declines. This has a clear consequence for the company and the mental health of the worker himself.
Resigning from a job, like absenteeism, has consequences for both the employee and the company. These consequences will become apparent sooner or later, making finding a solution even more complicated.
Strategies to Fight Silent Resignation
Once the signs and causes that led to this job resignation have been identified, you must find a solution. Multiple options can be put into practice to try to solve it.
First, you can have HR Software. It is a great option to actively fight against the silent resignation of workers. It is a useful tool for the following strategies that we recommend.
Open and Transparent Communication
It is crucial to foster an environment where internal communication is open between workers, regardless of their rank or level. In this way, they will be able to express disagreements, and ultimately, anyone will feel free to express their opinion or the situation in which they find themselves.
In short, open communication is essential. Employees should feel comfortable expressing themselves in person or virtually at any time.
To improve the company's internal communication, NYGGS Human Resources Software allows the dissemination of messages to employees through the bulletin board. Through this channel, managers can notify employees of essential notices or also facilitate relationships between colleagues so that they are aware of everything that is happening internally.
Know the Worker Well
To know if the worker's performance has been reduced, it is necessary to have knowledge of the previous performance and thus be able to compare it.
One of the best alternatives to having this information about the employee is performance evaluations. If done regularly, it will allow you to constantly monitor and measure performance and detect these problems in time.
Through Performance Evaluation Software, it is possible to make these evaluations in a fully automated way and visualise the data to be able to make qualified decisions.
Active Listening From HR
To know what is happening to the workforce, you must have an active listening strategy. The messages or feedback received from workers must be analysed, not falling on deaf ears, listening with awareness and empathy, and always being willing to find a solution.
The word itself says "silent" resignation; the signs to detect it are not clear and often confusing. To prevent this from happening, HR should find a solution. There are tools such as "Job Satisfaction Surveys" and "Heart-to-Heart" sessions that allow these problems to be detected in time. This way, it will be easier to identify problems in time.
At NYGGS, we have Human Resources Performance Tracking Software that will allow you to know first-hand what happens to workers and receive the necessary feedback.
To improve employee performance, we recommend tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess employees' overall performance and identify problems early on.
Encourage Professional Development
Many times a lack of knowledge about a topic or tool or even the constraints on professional growth dulls the employee's motivation and increases the likelihood of resignation. To avoid this, there is the possibility of implementing training plans according to your position and your professional career. As a company, you must be open to providing opportunities for growth within it.
Furthermore, the Training Software can be used to design development and growth plans. It connects with other modules of the suite, such as evaluations, work environments, and reports, to detect which employees may need training. This includes those who are unmotivated, looking for a better professional role, or seeking to exploit their full potential.
Implementing a professional development plan according to the growth desires of each employee will help them have a more attractive horizon aligned with their values and purposes.
Compensation Plans and Benefits
A competitive salary is already a "must" for workers. Workers' compensation plans and extra strategic benefits for the worker have grown exponentially in recent years. Companies pursue the objective of increasing the well-being of workers and making them feel supported by the company.
These extra benefits can include incentives, ease of remote working, flexible hours, and mental health and well-being plans, among others.
This recommendation is aimed at avoiding silent resignation by the worker. Offering the employee these extra compensations, in addition to increasing his well-being and thus preventing him from gradually abandoning his tasks, helps him perceive that the work environment encourages him to express what he needs.
Culture Makes Everything Easier
None of these actions are valid, nor will they be put into practice if the organisational culture does not accompany them. Having a good foundation is a facilitating component so that the processes of identifying and finding a solution are fruitful. Not only that, but there will not be many workers who will try to silently quit their job if, even if they want to quit, there are the correct ways to communicate it beforehand.
There are times when, despite everything, the employee needs to leave the job. When that happens, the company must also provide all the information to the worker so that the resignation can be carried out. The ideal means to carry this out is through a voluntary resignation letter.
Final Words
In summary, silent resignation is a phenomenon that companies must address seriously and sensitively. Although not expressed explicitly, signs of employee discontent can have a significant impact on team morale, talent retention, and company results.
Also, companies today must have all the possible tools in their hands to monitor and identify these problems and thus be able to minimise their impact on the company.
FAQs
Q1. Can we resign immediately?
A. Employees are free to leave their jobs at any time. They may do so because of a better opportunity or because they are dissatisfied with their current position.
Q2. Is it OK to quiet quitting?
A. It may seem like a reasonable approach. But it can be more harmful than you think. Silent resignation is not only disrespectful to employers and managers, as employees are not giving them the chance to address their issues, but it also harms the employees themselves.
Q3. When employees go silent?
A. Passionate employees may become silent for various reasons. These reasons include a loss of motivation, a breach of trust, and personal challenges.