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‘Quiet thriving’ to replace ‘quiet quitting’

Published Apr 27, 2023

Instead of 'quiet quitting' where employees do as little as possible to get through their days, 'quiet thriving' where employees actively change their workday to shift their mental state and feel more engaged, is starting to emerge. 

What can employers do to aid and improve employee retention by encouraging 'quiet thriving'?

Make well-being a top priority

Managing employee effectiveness while reducing burnout and prioritising company values are key to well-being at work. A company's employees are its most valuable asset. This means investment in employee experience, engagement and well-being is essential. According to a Visier survey, 30% of UK employees are likely to 'quietly quit' their jobs to focus on personal projects, look for alternative roles and develop themselves in new areas. In the same survey, employers found that employees will remain engaged in their current role by incentivising employee wellbeing by offering bonus schemes (39%), better learning and development opportunities (29%) and introducing permanent hybrid working schemes (24%). In order to retain top talent, it is crucial to cultivate a positive work culture where employees feel supported and motivated each day.

Set employees up for success by ensuring they rest and recuperate

Encouraging employees to thrive goes beyond creating a healthy environment. It may seem simple, but line managers have a big role in keeping a close eye on annual leave patterns to avoid risking a decline in productivity, employee burnout, and fatigue. Sixty-two percent of UK workers didn’t take all of their annual leave in 2022. Ensure your employees take their annual leave to rest, recuperate and remain productive. 

Engaging employees and avoiding stagnation

Due to the cost-of-living crisis, there is increased pressure to deliver high-quality outputs, creating burnout and work-related stress, which leaves employees feeling frustrated and disengaged.

To encourage the ‘quiet thriving’ trend, find creative ways to engage employees by tapping into the human desire to work towards clear and achievable goals. Employers should set SMART objectives and find ways to support employees in managing their workloads to give them every opportunity to achieve those goals. 

Keeping your employees engaged is imperative. Visier research demonstrated that nearly one-third of employees who changed jobs within the past year did so to learn new skills. This highlights the importance of personal development to our workforce.

Analyse your skills data to understand which skills are available, most in-demand and under-used across the organisation and ensure you engage the right employee in the right place.  

This will also prove advantageous for your business as you will have a clear picture of the current talent and skill set and be able to identify any gaps for the future. 

A dynamic, hard-to-replicate competitive advantage can be gained by using untapped employee potential. Businesses must create a culture that supports individual growth. This means your company will have an environment where ‘quiet thriving’ ensures your business also thrives and not just survives. 

Source hrnews.co.uk