#QuietQuitting is dominating the conversation, a trend originating with Gen Zs and young professionals that voices their burnout and calls for a re-balance between life and work.
Although it’s a fairly new phenomenon, quiet quitting revisits the age-old questions of engagement and burnout, forces that are constantly in tension with one another and must be balanced.
To get ahead of quiet quitting, leaders can use communication to rebalance the opposing forces of burnout and engagement.
Here are a few key strategies for leaders to address employee engagement and experience through powerful communication:
Restore energy and engagement through leadership communication.
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Have a dialogue about the physical, cognitive and emotional demands of the job and clearly communicate the skills required.
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Outline the training opportunities to improve those skills and ways to share job knowledge within and between teams.
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Support employee wellness initiatives and communicate what is being done to implement or improve them.
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Support an organizational culture that applauds engaged behavior, while encouraging periods of rest and recuperation.
Inspire employees by connecting their efforts with the purpose of the organization and impact on customer lives.
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Clarify how their performance delivers on the purpose and strategy of the company, the functioning of the team, and their own growth and development.
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Provide consistent feedback and a sense of progress.
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Share the lived values of the organization in the work and through involvement in the communities where you operate.
Make it easier for employees to experience the feeling of “time flying” when they work.
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Focus on employee capability and confidence in their knowledge. Let them know they are trusted to make the right decisions.
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Equip supervisors to provide team and role-specific feedback so that employees can fine-tune their performance and feel valued in their roles.
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Proactively communicate change and new expectations so individuals are not surprised by shifting work conditions that break their sense of flow.