Quiet quitting became a phenomenon after the pandemic, particularly among Gen Z workers, where workers are slowly putting less and less effort into their jobs — as a way to quietly rebel and mentally check before actually quitting.
But according to a new Gallup poll, many workers are now going in the opposite direction, choosing to “vocally quit,” meaning they’re “actively holding back” at work and aren’t necessarily hiding it.
Related: Amazingly, 1 in 3 office workers under 40 admit to “quietly quit” for this unique reason. Here you can find out why and how this needs to change.
The Gallup 2023 State of the Global Workplace Report examined data from over 122,416 workers and found that nearly 18% of workers around the world (roughly one in five) are currently in the process of “quitting loudly.”
“These employees take actions that directly harm the organization, undermine its goals and go against its leaders,” Gallup said. “At some point, the trust between employee and employer is severely shattered. Or the employee fell into a role that was completely inappropriate, which led to constant crises.”
Not surprisingly, the same data showed that almost 59% of workers are still “quiet quitting”.
“Silent cessation is what happens when someone mentally disconnects from work. He’s physically present or logged into his computer, but he doesn’t know what to do or why it matters,” Gallup said. “They also don’t have a supportive bond with their co-workers, their boss, or their organization.”
The same data found that employee engagement has up to a 3.8 times greater impact on an employee’s stress level than workplace. This means that even when working remotely, a strong and active relationship with team members is critical to happiness.
According to Gallup, a majority of silent quitters (41%) say they would like a change in team engagement and organizational culture to improve their efforts at work.