Quiet Quitting has become one of the buzzwords of the working world during the latter half of 2022. As we head into a new year facing the effects of a recession coupled with continued hybrid working, employee engagement is more important than ever.
Keeping employees engaged in the workplace is in the best of interest of all parties – employees are happier, work harder and stay longer, while employers often see a boost in productivity and retention.
On the reverse side, ‘quiet quitting’, where employees mentally clock out over time from their jobs, comes as a result of disengagement – often due to general unhappiness within their role, not feeling valued or feeling as if there are no growth opportunities. This can have hugely detrimental effects, both for individuals and the organisations within which they work.
So, how can organisations help to keep employees engaged?
1. Invest in their current and future development
Any employee who feels as if there is no room for progression or development within their role, is much more likely to feel disengaged. Here, communication and clarity are vital – organisations can sit down with employees, let them know they have their long-term development in mind, and set out a roadmap to achieve this.
By doing this, employees are given a psychological boost of knowing they are in the long-term plan of the company, while also knowing that the work they are doing daily is working towards something that will be recognised for their future development.
Another, more structured route, is to give them access to training and development. Training courses, such as the courses that we offer at Siamo, can be a great way to:
- Let your employees know that you are willing to invest in their future
- Equip them with skills that can help them to perform in their current role
- Support them with skills needed for a future role to which they progress.
2. Make sure your employees feel valued
It is natural for employees to want to feel valued. Ensuring that their hard work is recognised is a fundamental way of maintaining your employees’ engagement. There are a number of ways you can do this:
- Celebrating their success on social media
- Recognising them in your internal communications or newsletter
- Giving them both monetary and non-monetary rewards
- Simply talking to them and letting them know you appreciate their work.
While seemingly simple, things like this can go a long way to making sure your employees feel valued and help to ensure they do not feel disengaged.
3. Support their personal values and interests
Now more than ever, employers need to be aware of the values and interests of their employees. Corporate social responsibility, ethics, and environmental issues are just some of the things that are becoming increasingly important for employees.
As an organisation, showing that you align with your employees’ values and social stances will in turn make them identify with you more, boost their morale, and is more likely to make them feel engaged.
Giving employees the opportunity to partake in social and charitable events that are meaningful to them can also be a good way to identify with your company and boost engagement. For example, here at Siamo, we organised this year for our employees to take part in the Wolf Run, as giving money to charity is meaningful for many of our employees.
Regardless of the way in which organisations keep their employees engaged, the need to do so is perhaps more significant than ever so that they can ensure that disengagement is prevented effectively. The risk of doing nothing is that ‘quiet quitting’ may not be quiet for much longer.