Stop quiet quitting with DISC Flow
I published a blog last week about the hot topic ‘quiet quitting’, which received overwhelming responses. It turns out many organisations are witnessing the same behaviour.
What is ‘quiet quitting’?
This HBR article describes quiet quitting as ‘employees who are only willing to do the minimum work necessary to keep their job’, and Gallup mentions that ‘millions of people in the US are not going above and beyond at work and just meeting their job description’.
Is quiet quitting new?
I chatted with a group of senior leaders at a recent workshop about quiet quitting. They responded that organisations and teams have always carried what they call ‘dead wood’ or ‘quiet quitters’. An old behaviour with a new name.
I found the data from Gallup helpful to get some insights into where quiet quitting comes from as they connect it to employee engagement. Their findings show that whilst the proportion of engaged workers remains at 32%, the proportion of actively disengaged employees has almost doubled since early 2021.
I asked my group of leaders about their thoughts on the root cause of increased quiet quitting. Their answer was synonymous: a lack of engagement with the manager or leader. Their response didn’t surprise me. Employee engagement has been long identified as the biggest driver of growth. The HBR article attests to that as well with their data from a recent survey:
The survey shows a direct correlation between the manager’s ability to build a relationship with their employees where they are not counting the minutes until quitting time and quiet quitting numbers.
I am working with a leader in the consumer goods industry who has been struggling with his team’s performance. Quiet quitting is part of the problem, and after some 360 feedback, it’s evident that the leader has almost completely disengaged themselves from the team. Whilst this is an extreme example of someone not even talking to their team apart from ticking boxes, we see a lack of engagement all too often.
How can you use the DISC Flow tool to increase engagement?
DISC Flow is a self-assessment that helps individuals understand why they do what they do and why other people do what they do. In a nutshell, it gives us insights and knowledge to increase self-awareness, awareness of others and how to adapt our own natural behaviour and communication style to engage with people.
This year alone, I have run more team workshops using DISC than in the last five years together. Organisations and leaders have realised that it is the self-awareness but also the quality of conversations that drive engaging behaviour and team culture.
DISC Flow is a simple but powerful tool. It helps people understand how they are different but also how easy and effective it is to adapt their own style to meet people where they are. It gives people the skills to create effective and trusting relationships.
