By now you’ve no doubt heard of “quiet quitting,” a phrase that brings to mind an employee giving you the Irish goodbye by slipping out the door, never to be heard from again.
In fact, there’s no actual quitting involved. It simply means an employee has desired to do exactly what’s in the job description, no more, no less.
At a time when the labor market is so tight, having an employee who does exactly as asked and stays on the job sounds like it should be a dream for employers, but the name for this trend is unnecessarily negative. It gives you the impression the employee is doing something wrong, leaving employers in the lurch by leaving entirely or cutting back on the work they’re doing.
Going above and beyond is great and a sign of a truly dedicated worker, but if that employee isn’t being compensated for that extra effort, you can’t blame them if they eventually decide that burning the candle at both ends isn’t doing them much good.
Even so, not every job is a career. I know the hotel industry has been trying to push the idea that a property-level position can turn into a lifelong, rewarding career — and it absolutely can — but sometimes a job is just a job. That’s true even at the corporate level.
There will always be employees who want to go the extra mile and do it consistently, and that effort should be rewarded in any number of ways: raises, bonuses, promotions. They place a great deal of value in the work they’re doing and see it as the steppingstone to a grand future.
Not everyone has that mindset, and some people who previously had it have changed their minds. The pandemic led to countless people rethinking their lives and reordering their priorities, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The pandemic was an incredibly stressful time that reminded us the time we have should be well spent, and for some, doing extra work that leads to burning out doesn’t fit into that equation anymore.
Consider how many in the workforce now started their careers during the Great Recession. Everyone felt they had to go beyond expectations even just to take on entry-level jobs because everyone was trying to get a job. Once they got the job, many continued to give more of themselves to justify their employment. After all, the unofficial slogan for just about every business at the time was “do more with less.”
As the economy improved in the years after, many employees kept that hustle mindset. For some, it paid off through raises and moving up the ladder. For others, it didn’t matter how much more they gave, as the companies they worked for didn’t recognize their extra effort. Either way, giving too much led to burnout and, in some cases, disillusionment.
As you read news articles about this, don’t fall into the “quiet quitting” mentality trap and think these employees are taking away from you. They’re not taking away; rather, they’re not giving more than they need to. If they are meeting the requirements of their jobs, they’re doing their jobs. Those who aren’t actually meeting the minimum requirements are a different story, and I’m sure you know what steps to take in those cases.
If you want or need employees to do more, talk with them. Work with them on taking on more responsibilities, but pair that with appropriate compensation as well. Some may not be interested pushing themselves further regardless of the extra pay, though, as they’re finding greater value in not taking on the extra physical and mental burden.
As long as they’re doing their jobs, that should be enough.
Feel free to reach out to me at bwroten@hotelnewsnow.com or @HNN_Bryan.
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