Silent resignation, a problem that is becoming more and more widespread in companies.
Por PEDRO SOLÓRZANO
What is Quiet Quitting?
When an employee quietly resigns from his or her position, he or she essentially withdraws from his or her job in a way that does not involve a formal resignation. This self-resignation is based on gradually doing the minimum or taking on less responsibility than agreed upon, taking the job as a burden. It is important to keep in mind that this type of resignation does not mean that an employee is going to leave his job, as happens with the big resignation, but that he is no longer committed to his job in the same way as he had been before.
How Silent Job Quitting Occurs: A Process of Disengagement
If you’ve ever felt discouraged or indifferent about your job, you’re not alone. This phenomenon is known as quiet quitting, a gradual process of disengagement and indifference toward work. It’s something that many of us experience at some point in our professional lives, and it’s something that can be difficult to detect and understand.
At the beginning, when we start a new job or company, we are usually excited and full of energy which leads us to “give it our all”. People have three needs: to feel fulfilled, to feel appreciated and to know that our contributions are making a difference. These expectations may not always be met, leading to a disagreement between what we expect and what the company expects of us. This can cause us to lower our arms and no longer give our best, resulting in an unhappy atmosphere.
The clash between our expectations and those of the company may be due to a variety of causes. Our values may not align with those of the company, our suggestions and input may not be accepted, there may be a lack of understanding and our expectations may be too high. In these situations, we may feel disappointed or misled. Perhaps we then choose the wrong approach which is to assume that if we stop working hard, our boss and co-workers will recognize our value. This leads us to not take the initiative and stop coming up with ideas. To accept what we are told (be it by the boss or other workers) even if we do not agree. This changes our attitude. If you used to be on time, you start to be late or absent. If he used to support others, now he only does his own thing. He becomes more distracted, does just enough, isolates himself and works on autopilot. All the extras have disappeared and it also affects personal life. Our productivity is at rock bottom in our workplace which affects our mental health. If the company does not fire us then we enter the loop and go down the well of feeling that we are “good for nothing”.
Why should you fear silent resignation in your company?
Silent resignation can be a difficult process to approach or notice for both employers and workers. For employers, it can be difficult to detect the signs of a person’s gradual disconnection from their job and more so with telecommuting. It is important to note that a lack of enthusiasm or motivation among staff can often be a sign that someone is quietly beginning to quit. Employers should also be on the lookout for employees who begin to take on less responsibility or become increasingly isolated from their colleagues.
Causes of silent resignation
One of the main causes of silent resignation is internal dismissal. This phenomenon refers to the situation in which an employee feels demotivated, devalued and without future prospects.
These feelings may be due to a lack of recognition, an excessive workload, harassment at work or a bad atmosphere in the workplace.
But above all due to a lack of communication. An unresolved issue because we have decided not to talk about it, to pretend it doesn’t even exist. It may happen that we have talked about it but we have not reached an agreement so we lower our arms. Without communication, relationships stagnate and rot. These factors make the employee decide to leave the company without notice or worse, in the absence of prospects, decide to stay in a process of self-dismissal that will culminate in the “daily suicide”, which is to say to oneself “if no one wants me, if I am not worth, where am I going to go …” and thus enter into that destructive circle or descent into hell, where it ends in prolonged leave for anxiety or depression and its consequences for both health and for ourselves and others.
There may also be other reasons that prevent employees from communicating their decision to resign, such as personal problems, lack of trust in the company or fear of a backlash. Whatever the cause, silent resignation is detrimental to both the employee and the company.
What you can do to avoid silent resignation
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. There are a number of strategies we can use to keep ourselves motivated and engaged in our work. The first is to take breaks from work. Taking regular breaks from work can help keep us refreshed and energized.
We can take time to reflect on our work and make sure we are satisfied with the progress we are making. We can also look for ways to make our work more interesting and engaging. We can look for new challenges or ways to do things differently. This can help increase our enthusiasm and make us feel more invested in our work.
Remember, it is important to take care of ourselves. Giving ourselves time to rest, exercise and relax can help us stay focused and motivated. Internal layoffs are a common phenomenon, but they don’t have to be the end of the story. With the right strategies, we can stay motivated and engaged in our work. By taking regular breaks, seeking new challenges, and taking care of ourselves, we can stay excited and invested in our work.
Don’t give up on your dreams, before others make you give up. After all, you are the same person who went into that job and you can re-engage with yourself and others.
