The term is a misnomer because employees don’t really quit their jobs. Instead, it refers to the work-to-rule job action of employees strictly following what is stipulated in their contract. Over 80% of young workers say that doing the bare minimum for their job appeals to them, according to a new study among participants aged 18 to 29.

In other words, quiet quitters are satisfied with putting in only the bare minimum effort for what they are paid for — no more, no less. Sounds fair, right? So, what seems to be the problem?

The Business Impact of ‘Quiet Quitting’

Looking at the other side of the same coin, this spells a red flag for employers. From the management’s perspective, having a team of quiet quitters means low morale, poor employee engagement, and a higher risk of turnover.

This culture of quiet quitting has a hefty price tag for businesses. In this study conducted by The Conference Board on workplace management, statistics show that quiet quitting costs U.S. businesses around $450-500 billion annually to cope with the negative side effects of this phenomenon. Worldwide, the impact is up to $1.5 trillion of revenue loss already.

5 Tips to Address Quiet Quitting in the Workplace

What are there steps managers take to increase the efficiency of their team? Let’s look at these tried-and-true case studies on how quiet quitting is best handled.

1. Conduct periodic performance evaluations

The first step businesses can take is to identify employees who are coasting for the wrong reasons and pinpoint the root cause for this behavior. Many factors could be causing an employee to coast by, and it is in the company’s best interest to get to the bottom of it. In this regard, it’s best to go straight to the source to find out.

“Conducting quarterly check-ins creates a two-way conversation between employees and managers,” said Sam Tabak, Board Member at Reb Meir Baal Haness Charities. “It is an avenue for employees to talk about work or personal matters that are affecting their performance in the workplace. This then helps us leaders think of the best solutions for the problem. ”

2. Pay employees for the quality of work you want

Quiet quitters are essentially asking, "What's in it for me?"

Employers must be ready to respond to this question by properly compensating and incentivizing employees for the level of effort they want.

“Offering incentives are a great way to motivate employees to perform their best. More than the money, employees feel that they are respected for their time, effort, and dedication,” said Josh Tyler, Founder and CEO of Giant Freaking Robot. “Plus, it is only fair for employers to incentivize any extra work they want employees to accomplish. We reap what we sow,” Huang adds.

3. Foster genuine relationships beyond the digital screen

When employees feel disconnected from their colleagues and managers, they feel alienated from the rest of their team, which strongly influences them to quietly quit. This is a rampant struggle among remote companies, where the physical distance solidifies the wall of social disconnect among employees.

To combat this, remote work managers must make a harder effort to reach out to employees and build team rapport beyond the digital screen. Leaders should open up opportunities for employees to connect with each other both online and offline.

“Building genuine workplace relationships helps our remote team work harmoniously despite the distance,” said Milo Cruz, CMO of Freelance Writing Jobs. “We host virtual hangouts every Friday to celebrate the end of the work week over some drinks and games. We also gather twice a year for an in-person R&R, which everyone looks forward to.”

Creating a positive workplace where employees can interact, express themselves, and learn from one another is vital to preventing quiet quitting.

4. Distribute workload evenly

Employees who are feeling overloaded are more likely to avoid additional activities to reach tight deadlines, which causes them to withdraw from workplace interaction and leads to alienation from their colleagues. Excessive workload is also the number one factor that causes burnout, so managers must sure the workload is spread evenly among their teams.

“Put the same effort in recruitment as you do with scaling efforts to make sure that you’re not understaffed as workload continues to increase. You don’t want overwork employees by letting them take on the task of 3 people”, advised Garrett Smith, Head of Local SEO at GMB Gorilla.

5. Respect employee boundaries

Instead of seeing quiet quitting as a rebellion of indifference, take it as an employee’s cry for proper workplace boundaries. The lack of separation from work hours and personal time leads to poor work-life balance for employees. When employers fail to establish and respect workplace boundaries, employees will eventually take it upon themselves to do that by quietly quitting.

Leaders should lead by example when it comes to setting clear and strict boundaries in the workplace, said Jonathan Merry, Founder of CryptoMonday. For example, managers shouldn’t condone any calls or email exchanges after office hours. Let employees take PTO unbothered by work matters.

“We must stop glorifying the “hustle culture” that thrives on blurred boundaries because this is where employees feel exploited, leaving them feeling no choice but to comply. Employers should never feel entitled to their employee’s personal time,” said Stewart.

It turns out that overstepping these boundaries is actually counterproductive because employee performance suffers when they can’t properly recharge from work-related stress.

To conclude, employers that find themselves dealing with quiet quitters shouldn’t be quick to chastise or intervene with extreme, punishing actions that could backfire. Don’t be quick to hit the panic button too fast, too soon, either. Perhaps this is simply asking for a closer look at how your employee management strategies can be improved. Take this with a grain of salt and focus on the actions you can take to address this dilemma, so you can move your team forward and propel your business toward success.