“Quiet” Conflict and How to Avoid it at your Company

Quiet quitting, quiet firing, rage applying. All are terms you may have heard circulating the web recently, but what do they mean for you and your business?

Quiet Quitting

“Quiet quitting” is a new term for an old phenomenon that is currently having a moment in the public consciousness. This trend entails employees consciously doing the “bare minimum” at work, and can include refusing to answer emails outside of work hours, work overtime, or take on extra assignments unrelated to core duties.

The trend boosted in popularity in 2022 after New York engineer Zaid Khan posted a TikTok video discussing the sentiment behind it.

@zaidleppelin On quiet quitting #workreform ♬ original sound – ruby

“You’re not outright quitting your job, but you’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond,” says Khan. “You are still performing your duties, but you are no longer subscribing to the ‘hustle culture’ mentality that work has to be our life.”

Quiet Firing, for the disengaged boss

“Quiet firing” is the managerial counterpart to quiet quitting, when one drives an employee out of their organization without outright firing them. This can be done maliciously or unintentionally/passively, such as through failing to provide adequate support or career development.

Rage Applying

Perhaps a simpler concept, rage applying is pretty much what it sounds like: an employee demonstrating their dissatisfaction with their work through applying to other jobs, often to show their manager that better options are available to them. Rage appliers may apply to many jobs at once without any careful analysis.

What these trends mean

Each of these trends are concerning for a workplace as they point to discontent within it. While it can be tempting to blame the trends (and the social media that often spreads them), they do not cause the underlying problem, which is really what must be addressed.

If you believe your employees- or you yourself- are engaging in any of these practices, it is time to step back and evaluate what is missing in your company. Common causes of dissatisfaction are overwork, lack of communication, inadequate support/coaching, and burnout and disinterest from uninspiring work.

How Digital Workers Can Help

In this turbulent work environment, Digital Workers may be the heroes you need. Centelli provides businesses with a Digital Workforce that we train and put to work in the businesses’ existing systems. Digital Workers carry out routine, repetitive tasks just like employees- except they’re faster, more accurate and need no downtime. This leaves human beings free to concentrate on value-added work. If you can train a person to do a repetitive task, you can train a digital worker to it.

With time given back to employees and managers, Digital Workers free up space for better communication and more rewarding work. Additionally, with improved efficiency, employees should no longer need to work more than their allotted hours. This boosts productivity and employee satisfaction in turn, making your business, and your employees, healthier and happier.

Learn more about how Centelli can help YOUR employees by contacting us to book your demo today