Quiet Quitting: Recognition and Prevention
Access this expert-led webinar instantly, available anytime on-demand.
Included in All-Access Membership Live Webinar
On-Demand Webinar Available
Customer Satisfaction Guarantee Learn with confidence. If you're not happy, we'll make it right. That's our guarantee.
"Quiet quitting" is a term that refers to a situation where an employee quietly disengages from their job without informing anyone. The terminology itself is offensive as it is used in the mainstream media to accuse people of quitting but not telling anyone, as they are still on the payroll. What quiet quitting really means is an employee no longer goes above and beyond, instead they do the basic requirements of their job, which upsets the leadership team because they are used to the employee going above and beyond what they are hired to do. Why would a person “quiet quit”? This typically happens when an employee has become disengaged or dissatisfied with their job, and as a result, they choose to disengage without making a formal announcement.
Learning Objectives Covered During This Session:
- Set boundaries for your team to avoid both quiet quitting and quiet promotions
- Learn how to engage employees at their individual level and recognize signs of disengagement
- Gather employee feedback via surveys and act using committees and teams
Why attend?
Quiet quitting can be difficult for employers to detect and manage, as the employee may simply stop showing meetings, and in some cases the job altogether, without any explanation. This type of behavior can create confusion and disrupt the work environment, making it important for employers to address and prevent it where possible.
-
Wendy Sellers
Wendy Sellers, MHR, MHA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR has 25 years of experience in HR, change management, operations, strategy, corporate culture, and leadership development in all size businesses (local startup to global enterprise) in a wide variety of industries including healthcare, professional services, hi [...]
ATAHR Credit
Aurora Training Advantage is offering continuing education points designed to recognize dedication to training and excellence in human resources.
Invest in your future with confidence! Our Customer Satisfaction Guarantee eliminates all risk, letting you focus purely on mastering new skills and advancing your career. If you're not completely satisfied, we'll ensure you are. Your satisfaction is not just a promise; it's our guarantee.
This webinar received a total of 2 survey responses. Attendees have given an average rating of 4.9 stars out of a possible 5, reflecting the quality and value of the content presented.
Webinar Presentation
How many of the objectives of the event were met?
5.0 Stars
How useful was the information presented at this event?
5.0 Stars
Overall, how satisfied were you with this event?
5.0 Stars
Speaker Performance
Overall, how satisfied were you with this presenter?
5.0 Stars
How closely did the presenter follow the schedule?
4.5 Stars
Reviews From Webinar Survey
Our webinars are crafted to deliver exceptional value and insight to business professionals. Below, you'll find genuine feedback from attendees.
Tito A.
April 18, 2023
4.8 / 5
Webinar Rating:
5.0 Stars
Speaker Rating:
4.5 Stars
Do you have any other comments, questions or concerns?
Excellent presentation.
Angelique M.
April 17, 2023
5.0 / 5
Webinar Rating:
5.0 Stars
Speaker Rating:
5.0 Stars
Do you have any other comments, questions or concerns?
This course was very helpful and gave me deeper understanding of quiet quitting and the issue surrounding it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quiet quitting refers to the phenomenon where employees disengage from going above and beyond their defined job requirements, performing only the minimum expected of their role. Despite the term, the employee is not actually quitting — they remain employed but withdraw the discretionary effort that many managers have come to expect. This typically happens when employees feel overworked, underappreciated, underpaid, or misaligned with their organization's culture or leadership. It is important to recognize that quiet quitting is often a symptom of broken employment dynamics rather than employee laziness. When leaders expect employees to consistently exceed their formal job requirements without fair compensation, recognition, or growth opportunities, disengagement is a predictable response. Understanding quiet quitting as an engagement and management challenge — rather than a character flaw — is the first step toward addressing it effectively.
Managers can recognize quiet quitting through behavioral shifts that indicate an employee has withdrawn their discretionary engagement. Common signs include a noticeable decline in the quality or quantity of work output, withdrawal from voluntary activities such as team meetings, cross-functional projects, or mentoring relationships, consistently doing exactly what is required but nothing more, decreased responsiveness in communication, reduced contribution to team discussions, and a general emotional flatness that contrasts with the employee's prior energy and enthusiasm. Unlike explicit disengagement that manifests as conflict or attendance problems, quiet quitting is often subtle — the absence of something rather than the presence of something. Managers who conduct regular, meaningful one-on-one conversations with team members and pay attention to engagement patterns over time are best positioned to detect these signs early, before the employee moves toward formal separation.
Preventing quiet quitting requires addressing the root causes of disengagement through deliberate, sustained engagement strategies. Key approaches include ensuring that employees clearly understand how their work contributes to meaningful organizational goals, not just their task list. Regular, specific recognition of individual contributions — beyond annual reviews — communicates that effort is noticed and valued. Providing opportunities for growth and development signals that the organization is invested in the employee's future. Allowing employee voice through surveys, listening sessions, and feedback committees — and visibly acting on what is heard — demonstrates that employee perspectives shape organizational decisions. Managers who hold regular one-on-one conversations focused on the employee's experience, goals, and concerns — rather than only on task status — build the relational trust that is the most reliable predictor of sustained engagement.
Both quiet quitting and quiet promotions — where employees are informally given more responsibility without formal recognition or compensation — stem from a lack of explicit, documented expectations about the scope of roles and what going above and beyond legitimately requires. Organizations can prevent both phenomena by ensuring that job descriptions accurately reflect actual responsibilities, that any expansion of responsibilities is formally evaluated and compensated appropriately, and that managers do not rely on employees voluntarily absorbing excess workload as a substitute for adequate staffing. Clear communication about what is expected in a role versus what constitutes exceptional performance — and how exceptional performance is recognized and rewarded — removes the ambiguity that drives quiet quitting. When employees feel that expectations are fair, transparent, and matched by appropriate recognition and growth, they are significantly more likely to remain engaged.
HR can use structured employee feedback mechanisms to surface the organizational drivers of quiet quitting and design targeted interventions. Engagement surveys that include specific questions about workload reasonableness, recognition, growth opportunity, manager effectiveness, and alignment with organizational values provide quantitative data about where disengagement is most prevalent. Pulse surveys conducted more frequently than annual engagement surveys detect engagement shifts in near real time, enabling faster response. Exit interviews and stay interviews — conversations with current employees about what would cause them to leave or stay — reveal both risk factors and retention levers. The critical step that many organizations skip is acting on this feedback visibly: forming employee committees, communicating what was heard, and reporting back on what changed as a result. Employees who see their feedback lead to real change trust the process and are more likely to remain engaged.