Employee satisfaction is the key to a successful business, and managers must acknowledge this in the era of quiet quitting as Ross Slogrove, UK and Ireland country manager at business phone system provider Ringover, explores.

The results of the Job Satisfaction Survey of 2,080 UK professionals, carried out by Lanes Group, showed that 67% agreed that the term “quiet quitting” described their own attitude to work, while 69% said the same was true of their colleagues.

The recruitment industry has faced a lot of disruption over the last few years, enduring the backlash from the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting Great Resignation. But now, many people are quiet quitting. In fact, June 2023 data from Gallup found that 59% of 122,416 of global workers say they're not engaged at work.

The noise around quiet quitting

The reason for quiet quitting is multi-faceted. But ultimately, it’s the result of significant employee dissatisfaction. Firstly, stagnant wage growth and the cost-of-living crisis means more people are no longer satisfied with their salary. Whether it’s limited opportunities to progress and earn more money, or simply not being paid enough to cover the cost of higher bills, if an employer cannot or is not willing to support these needs, then people begin to disengage and look for new opportunities.

Secondly, working overtime and taking on responsibility above a person’s pay grade, often without recognition, is also feeding quiet quitters. Naturally, workers feel frustrated if they don’t receive appreciation for their extra time and hard work, or are declined a pay rise, causing employees to take a back seat and feel unappreciated in the workplace.

If businesses don’t consider the part they play in their employees’ attitude and happiness at work, this approach of doing the bare minimum will continue until employees actually quit.

The importance of employee satisfaction

It’s not just the way employees feel that should raise concern for managers, but the impact this can have on other areas of the business.

Workers that are quiet quitting are performing at the minimum level. This means that productivity is not as high as it could be compared to employees who are overachieving at work. Satisfied employees are usually motivated to perform their best, leading to increased productivity and higher-quality work. For those quiet quitting, it’s the opposite.

Employees that are disengaged are naturally less happy, which means their attitude may reflect in their interactions with customers and colleagues. Satisfied employees tend to provide better and more positive customer service because they are more positive, attentive and motivated to exceed their daily tasks, but also their effort with customers and colleagues.

The link between employees and customers is straightforward. Unhappy employees directly correlate to unhappy customers. The consequences of this can be detrimental for a business, as they risk losing customers, reducing profit and turnover.

Leveraging technology

So, what’s the answer? While ultimately, if an employee has firmly made up their mind that the role is not what they want, it can be quite hard to change. But that shouldn’t deter managers. In fact, it should spur them to assess what the problem is and what they can do to minimise the impact and make positive business change.

But how can technology help? While salary, hours and responsibilities vary from job to job, there is one thing they all have in common. The option to utilise technology that makes employees lives easier, leading to increased job satisfaction.

More and more interactions are happening virtually — whether those are internal collaborative conversations or front-line customer service delivery. As such, technology is now a central part of the employee and customer experience.

With this in mind, ensuring employees have a seamless set up and are equipped with the right tools to do their job is crucial. Platforms like Ringover, which can be integrated with modules backed by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) abilities provide a more intuitive, seamless user experience. By alleviating some of the workload, automating in this way will improve employee experience and provide employees with more time and energy to focus on delivering better performance for the business and customers.

While loud resignations usually gain quick attention from management, employees that silently disengage from their work can have equally detrimental effects on an organisation. By recognising and addressing quiet quitting, employers can foster a more engaged workforce, enhance job satisfaction and increase productivity.