What Tech Companies Need To Know About Quiet Quitting

Picture this: your employee is on vacation. Before taking their time off, they submitted all the tasks assigned. But, the manager reviewed their work after they left and drops them messages after messages. Two cases would happen:

• Case 1: Employee checks the messages and edits their work while on vacation.
• Case 2: Employee turns off their notifications, enjoys their vacation, and checks the messages after returning.

When employees choose the latter approach, they quiet quit their work.

However, numerous misconceptions are floating about the term.

Let’s understand what exactly quiet quitting is and what you as a tech company need to know about it.

What is quiet quitting?

Employers’ and recruiters’ perspectives on quiet quitting: employees quitting their job or being lazy. It’s neither.

When employees quiet quit their job, they do exactly what their job description says. They don’t choose to overwork, cling on to after-work calls, and shut their emails once they head home.

In other words, quiet quitting is all about maintaining healthy boundaries and creating a work-life balance.

What does quiet quitting look like in practice?

Because quiet quitting focuses on creating a healthy work-life balance, employees practicing it usually:

• Say no to projects that do not come under your job description
• Leave work on time
• Don’t check their emails and slack messages after work hours

Quiet quitting in tech: Why does it happen?

• Higher expectations: Imagine a manager overworking, staying late (even on weekends), and working while employees enjoy their weekends off. Because they are driven toward their job, they expect their team members to have a similar approach.
• But here’s the thing: not every employee has similar career aspirations and not all of them want to work day in and out—especially Gen Z.
• Unable to take full advantage of health and wellness benefits: Half of the employees fail to utilize the health and wellness benefits companies provide. They may go on once-a-year vacation but it (still) leaves room for burnout.
• Poor management: According to Gallup, quiet quitting is a consequence of poor management. Managers fail to show leadership skills their team needs where empathy and compassion count first. That’s why, when employees overwork, managers fail to recognize their efforts—leading to disengaged employees.

Also, read: 7 Ways To Reduce Burnout In Your Tech Teams

How can tech companies respond to quiet quitting?

Tech companies have been changing their approach to creating a healthy work environment for their employees ever since the companies transitioned to on-premises. Why?

Working remotely helped employees create healthy boundaries that have been disturbed after their return to the office.

For those interested, here’s an insightful thread on what quiet quitting means for people working in different sectors. 

For some people work is just a job. You do it, you leave it, you live your life. For other people work is craft and mastery—it’s a large part of your identity and a big source of fulfillment. Both are totally fine.

A thread on quiet quitting, which is becoming a thing:

— Brad Stulberg (@BStulberg) August 28, 2022

So what can you do to make sure your employees are engaged and minimize quiet quitting?

#1 Transition to a 4-day work week

Companies have already started transitioning to a 4-days work week model. Employees in these organizations work for four days and have the remaining days off. This gives them ample time to rejuvenate. Does this mean they‘ll need to work extra hours on the 4 working days? Not at all.

A great example: MyCheckins, a Bangalore-based SaaS company functions Monday to Thursday for 32 hours.

#2 Switching teams internally

Are the employees disinterested in working with your team? Instead of pushing them to give quality output, get them to work with another tech team in your department for a few days. If they feel engaged working with the other team, help them make the switch to the other team.

#3 Run employee pulse surveys

Running regular employee pulse surveys is a great way to keep a tab on what’s happening on the ground level. By reviewing the survey, you can find the loopholes and work on improving the reasons for disengagement.

#4 Recognize them for their efforts

Many times, employees work hard only to feel unappreciated. When they put in extra effort, they expect two things from their managers—to be appreciated or rewarded with a pay rise.

When neither happens, they pull themselves off from the overwork they had been doing. To tackle these situations, managers must learn to appreciate their team members more and reward them whenever relevant.

For example, when a team member does incredible work on a project, send them a thank you note or celebrate their efforts in front of fellow team members.

Also, read: 7 Employee Engagement Strategies For WFH Tech Teams

Can quiet quitting ever be positive? Let’s see…

In the context of technology companies, where the phenomenon of quiet quitting has been prevalent, specific positive effects can be observed. Quiet quitting often results in less immediate disruption to ongoing projects and workflows. Teams can continue their work without the abrupt departure of key personnel. Employees who quietly quit may stay on for an extended period during their transition, allowing for the transfer of critical knowledge and skills to team members, ensuring continuity in project execution.
For employees, quiet quitting provides time to reevaluate their career paths within the tech industry. They can explore new opportunities while still fulfilling their current roles, leading to a more informed career shift.

What are some of the negative effects of quiet quitting in tech companies?

While there are positives, quiet quitting often leads to a reduction in employee productivity, as workers only perform the bare minimum required by their job roles. In tech companies, this can slow down project timelines and innovation cycles.

When some employees engage in quiet quitting, it can negatively affect the morale of their colleagues who may feel overburdened or demotivated by the lack of shared effort and enthusiasm. In the tech industry, where precision and innovation are key, quiet quitting may lead to a decline in the quality of work. This could manifest in more bugs in software or less creative solutions to technical problems.

What’s even more important to understand is that quiet quitting is often a precursor to actual quitting. Tech companies might face higher turnover rates, leading to the loss of skilled employees and increased costs in hiring and training new staff. One of the biggest assets in tech is innovative thinking. Quiet quitting can lead to a stagnation in creative ideas and initiatives, which are crucial for a tech company’s growth and adaptation to market changes.

The ripple effect of reduced productivity and quality can potentially reach customers, leading to dissatisfaction with the products or services, which is particularly detrimental in the competitive tech industry. Managers may find themselves spending more time micromanaging or addressing the consequences of quiet quitting, instead of focusing on strategic planning and fostering a positive work environment.

Become a healthy employee-first company

As a company, HackerEarth has a healthy employee-first perspective on things. If employees are indulging in producing lesser output than what their job says (instead of creating healthy boundaries!), relook into the few ways we shared above to create a meaningful and healthy work environment.

On our latest episode of This Is Recruiting, we spoke at great length with Crystal Lay, CEO of GBS Worldwide about what talent teams can learn from the Quiet Quitting trend to improve employer branding and workplace culture. Watch the full episode here!

Nidhi is a freelance writer for SaaS in marketing, HR & eCommerce brands, specializing in long-form blog content. When she is not working, you'll find her hoarding stationery and exploring calligraphy scripts.