Are High Performers Quiet Quitting?
The term quiet quitting may be a recent phrase coined on TikTok, but the concept is far from new. Whether you’ve done it yourself or not, I think we can all agree we’ve watched it happen with a teammate or colleague. Recently, one of my clients, an executive leader at a large organization, made a passing comment to me that he thinks employees who are quiet quitting are mediocre or low performers. It was just a matter of time before they leave for a new job. I couldn’t help but think that might not be the case, so I did a little digging.
As it turns out, the data suggests the opposite. A recent poll by Gallup suggests that nearly 50% of the US workforce consider themselves quiet quitters and that the stress of their current role or company negatively impacts their mental health. Conceivably, that should include some high performers, yes?
I dug a little deeper and found another study focused on mental health in the workplace suggesting that while “high performers” are overwhelmingly committed to their job, more than half feel burnt out. That same group does not feel comfortable talking about their mental health with their manager.
The current climate in many organizations is challenging at best. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since the fall of 2021 more than 4 million people leave the workforce each month without already having another job. This leaves workload gaps to be filled by who remains. When you couple that with rising numbers of layoffs and increasing demands by employers, shareholders, and customers it’s easy to see why workers are feeling pushed beyond capacity.
When it comes to high performers, being stretched to the point of burnout is exponentially worse than when it happens to low or average-performing employees, because high performers are:
More likely to give discretionary effort. They’re already doing more work beyond what they’re compensated to do, so companies are losing significant productivity and performance when just one high performer feels burnt out.
Less likely to admit personal setbacks or ask for help. High-performing workers are conditioned to do whatever it takes to accomplish tasks and goals, often at their own expense. They tend to maintain their work performance at all costs even when their physical, emotional, mental, and social health is negatively impacted.
Less likely to receive coaching and support. Managers overwhelmingly spend more time coaching, mentoring, and developing low or under-performing employees, making them less likely to notice when a high performer exhibits the signs of burnout.
Leaders can help prevent their best employees from quiet quitting or actually quitting, but don’t expect them to come knocking at your door or begging you to jump on a zoom to talk about how they are feeling. Here are a few ideas for where to start when tackling burnout:
Model the way - It’s not always employees who struggle with mental health, stress, and overwhelm, it’s leaders too. I often say that leaders need to put their own oxygen masks on before helping others, just like we hear in the airplane safety briefing. If YOU need to be taking better care of yourself to manage your mental health and stress, then this lesson in burnout starts with you.
Understand the resources available - Even if you’re not in a place where you need to access mental health services, as a leader you should know how in case you need to help connect someone who is struggling to a trained professional who can help. It’s not enough to refer someone to HR and hope they help. Hope is not a strategy.
Get curious - Ask open-ended questions during your 1:1 meetings to better understand your employee’s current state of mind. Don’t assume they’re OK just because they don’t magically offer that information to you. And, be ready to listen to whatever comes up. It’s not an inquisition, but a conversation where you genuinely want to understand their experience.
Burnout and quiet quitting are completely preventable phenomena. It’s every leader’s responsibility to be proactive and show up in a meaningful way to support employees who might be on the verge of checking out.
