Worried about quiet quitting impacting your office productivity? Media headhunters can help to plug the gaps if you’re suffering from quiet quitting. It’s a fairly new term but it’s one that’s much more than just a buzzword – and it can be damaging to your company. 

Unless you get to grips with quiet quitting and look for solutions, it can harm your bottom line in the long run, significantly damaging morale, lowering productivity levels and decreasing overall output.

In this article, we look at why quiet quitting is so dangerous for your media organization, as well as how retained media headhunters can help if you’re worried about losing key talent to apathy. 

What Is Quiet Quitting? 

Quiet quitting is nothing new as such. But because it was previously undefined, the term itself is new and it’s causing alarm among media companies who are concerned that their previously switched-on employees are no longer as passionate and committed as they used to be. 

Quiet quitters are, indeed, seemingly everywhere in 2023, with research showing that they make up at least half of the total workforce in the US alone. 

Who are they?

Quiet quitters are essentially employees that still work for you but with much less enthusiasm than before. They no longer buy into company culture; they don’t put in extra time if it’s needed, and they may even start slacking off when it comes to punctuality and deadlines. 

They’re also more concerned than ever by burnout, they’re disgruntled by their current salary – and they may even have one eye on other roles at rival companies. 

Because they haven’t yet quit, they can be hard to spot and hard to manage. Media headhunters can help you hire leaders that are able to manage quiet quitters effectively and turn the situation around.

Why Quiet Quitting Is Dangerous For Your Organization

Loss Of Productivity 

Research from 2022 showed that the average office worker is productive for around 60% of a working day. That’s decent… but it could be better.

However, quiet quitters are even less productive than that due to lower engagement levels. 

Previously, a quiet quitter who was more committed to their work would have raised their own game, as well as the game of others. They’d have taken on more work, and they’d have helped their co-workers out as, and when needed.

Now that they have less interest in your company, they engage less, produce less – and they’re less inclined to step in and support team members. 

Less Feedback And Input 

Imagine you have a team meeting where everyone chimes in with something useful. This is extremely helpful for your company because it gives you new ideas and concepts to play around with. 

Not just that, but employee feedback in team meetings is super beneficial for your managers when it comes to solving specific issues related to the working environment and staff morale.

While a quiet quitter may still turn up to team meetings, they will speak out less. In fact, they might not say anything at all, and they probably won’t articulate their core problems. 

Why? 

Because they simply don’t care enough anymore.

The situation is even more dire for virtual meetings because quiet workers might mute themselves and turn their audio off. This means not only do they not add anything constructive, but they may also even miss out on important information that’s conveyed to them. 

No Extra Effort

If there’s a project deadline due and it looks like it might not be met by your team, it’s normal for dedicated teams to push that little bit harder by working extra hours.

Of course, extra hours aren’t mandatory, and no one is forced to accept them. But teams that are passionate and committed will take on more hours just to get a project done on time.

Quiet workers are the opposite. They’ll only work their salaried hours and there’s no question of them staying longer. What then happens is that either deadlines aren’t met, or the quiet worker’s share of work falls into the hands of a tired coworker who is already snowed under. 

Drop In Team Morale

Do your employees have to socialize together? 

Absolutely not. It’s certainly not a requirement. 

But teams that are collaborative – ergo, those who work together, play together and generally get along well with each other – are more likely to get stuff done than teams that are broken apart by division and isolation.

After all, successful teams are built on teamwork.

So, what happens when you have quiet workers who refuse to communicate, engage, and connect with their co-workers? 

Morale drops, there’s no common purpose and people become suspicious of each other. Malicious gossip spreads, and employees are isolated from the group – and this can have a knock-on effect on your overall results. 

Can Better Leaders Help?

The thing with quiet quitters is that many become quiet quitters. In other words, they weren’t always disinterested in their job but grew gradually distant from a company and their work over time. 

So, the question is, how were they created? Are quiet quitters simply bad employees at heart who are destined to always transform into quiet quitters after a few months into a new job? 

Or are they a result of bad leadership and management? 

Stats show that employees have an overall negative impression of their managers, with almost 30% suggesting that their manager is unable to build team spirit. This is a high number that indicates the rise in quiet quitters may lie with bad managers and leaders. 

An effective manager can foster a team of employees who work together, connect with each other, and engage with their work and the rest of their teammates. 

Effective managers know how to draw feedback from their employees, as well as share feedback, and they know how to play to everyone’s strengths. 

Ultimately, the best managers and leaders get the best out of their team and are better equipped to prevent a worker from turning into a quiet quitter who sticks around without getting much done. 

How Media Headhunters Can Help With Quiet Quitting 

If you have a quiet quitting problem, it might be a smart idea to turn to retained media headhunters, who can help you find talented leaders that are able to lead, delegate and communicate effectively so that you have a team of responsible, productive, and engaged employees.

Retained media headhunters draw on a high level of knowledge, they work quickly and transparently, and they come with guaranteed results. This in turn allows you to reduce your quiet quitting problem and take your business to the next level with a team that works together, connects together, and has each other’s backs.