Just because workers aren’t leaving doesn’t mean they’re happy about staying.
The Great Resignation came and went, leaving the Great Stay in its wake. In a cooling job market, employers are once more gaining the upper hand as employees find fewer opportunities to jump ship. Gridlocked in their current roles, finding that perhaps the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side, bored workers are taking refuge in detaching from their work as much as possible.
Enter the Great Detachment. Only, it’s not so great.
If a workplace is toxic, many employees will take drastic measures to escape. Some things just aren’t livable. But a workplace that’s just not all that interesting—well, many times it’s easier to just detach, disengage, do the bare minimum. It’s the dark side of quiet quitting and it’s becoming more prevalent as workers feel less freedom to make a move.
“Employee detachment has been a challenge and topic of conversation for decades,” says Leena Rinne, Skillsoft’s global head of coaching. “However, the issue now has a ‘uniqueness’ to it and has been exacerbated in the last 12 months as remote employees increasingly seek human connectivity, workloads increase due to industry-wide staffing reductions, and workplace trust erodes.”
Rinne and I recently discussed the inherent challenge employers are facing in a workforce that is too disillusioned to get fully on board, yet also too cautious to leave. They’re not hot or cold; they’re lukewarm. And that may just be the biggest challenge to employers trying to stay profitable, deliver on their promises and build a vibrant work culture that gets it done.
Morale and the bottom line
Study after study has shown a strong link between employee engagement and productivity—and the Great Detachment threatens both. “Organizations need to take this trend seriously,” says Rinne. “When employees are disengaged, apathetic, or bored, creativity, productivity, and quality of work suffer. A sense of passiveness can also spread among colleagues and lead to an increase in turnover or ‘quiet quitting’.”
Most employees who are catastrophically unhappy in their workplace will make it their business to find a new job—risks or no risks. But those who can escape into detachment may subtly influence the rest of the organization in a negative way…all while looking good as far as retention goes.
While Rinne believes that performance indicators such as productivity and turnover rates are valuable to track, they’re only part of the story. Retention numbers can no longer be the only metric employers use to measure the wellbeing of their workforce. Just because people aren’t leaving doesn’t mean they’re happy about staying.
These internal impacts also extend outward, says Rinne. “When employee performance declines, oftentimes so does the satisfaction and loyalty of customers and key stakeholders.
“This can compromise revenue and the overarching mission of the organization if not addressed quickly and effectively.”
Back to the basics: trust
Some companies who fear their employees are mentally checked-out have tried surveillance and monitoring tools to combat the loss of productivity from workers who aren’t, well, working. This in turn has led to the coining of a new term, “fauxductivity,” as employees turn their creative powers not to the work, but toward working around the technology that’s supposed to watch them.
Worse yet, this isn’t just a problem for individual contributors. Workhuman found that managers (37%) and C-suite executives (38%) are actually the biggest offenders when it comes to faking work. Nobody trusts anybody these days.
Rinne believes the lack of trust is one of the driving factors in the Great Detachment. “There are many moments of fear, disruption, and anxiety in today’s workplace,” she says. “And, it’s a natural emotion for individuals to pull back rather than lean in—especially if there isn’t an already established layer of trust and open communication in place.”
Of course, trust and communication don’t happen on their own. “They require intentionality, company-wide buy-in, and continuous effort,” says Rinne. “Developing power skills amongst the entire workforce is a critical precursor to this, as workers that know better can do better.”
While it’s clear how employers benefit from a workforce that trusts its leaders, a culture based on trust is also highly beneficial to the employee as well. “When team members are open and communicative, adopt a solution-oriented mindset, and seek to trust versus distrust, significant strides can be made,” says Rinne.
“It’s far more rewarding and enjoyable to work in an environment of trust and can bring significant benefits ranging from greater opportunities for professional growth to improved mental health and overall well-being.”
Re-engage
The first step to re-engage a bored workforce is to seek out areas where trust has been compromised and start shoring up those weaknesses. “Organizations can repair trust by being transparent, actively listen to and address employee concerns, and involve them in decision-making processes,” says Rinne.
Further, employers should remember that their employees are people. “They are experiencing natural human emotions,” stresses Rinne. “In an era defined by technology and productivity, leaders should slow down, listen, and promote open communication where dialogue between the employee and leader is encouraged.”
In addition to establishing or rebuilding trust, leaders should also reevaluate their learning and development programs. “Stagnation is a key contributor to workplace disengagement and apathy,” warns Rinne. “It’s critical to invest in the continuous development of employees and offer opportunities for stretch projects so team members are continuously challenged and developing their skills.”
She also suggests offering meaningful opportunities for coaching, mentorship and instructor-led training where team members can receive more tailored guidance and feedback to help them stay motivated and accountable. “Use skill assessments and benchmarks to see if employees are continuously learning and seeking opportunities to grow their skills, which indicates an engaged, motivated workforce,” says Rinne.
Be interesting
A final word on recapturing the attention of detached workers is my own: be interesting. We can all get bogged down in the mundane tasks of day-to-day work. Many of us complete the same tasks or types of work every day, and while routine may be comforting, it’s also just routine.
Every now and then it can be good to shake things up a bit, to remind your team of the purpose behind the work, to share a story about the impact you’re making or the clients you’re helping. In other words, lend some interest to the daily grind by reminding people of the bigger picture. Our daily work can have a positive effect on the world, and that’s worth drawing attention to.
As employees continue to reassess their relationship with work, employers who take them for granted may find their retention rates are fine—while other, less tangible metrics are plummeting. Build trust, improve communication, empower growth and be an interesting place to work: it’s what disillusioned workers are looking for.