“Quiet Cracking”?
“Quiet Cracking” is defined as employees’ being disengaged, with performance “tanking,” and planning to quit. Employee surveys indicate that employees are becoming less engaged. In a somewhat unsettling result, a survey of 1000 employees by an employee training company found that about one-third of the respondents said they “experience workplace unhappiness occasionally,” while about 20 percent said they experience it “constantly” or “frequently.” Further among the roughly half who said they are not experiencing quiet cracking, about half of those said they feel that way to some extent.
A breakdown of employee responses is this:
29% report unmanageable workloads.
20% say their manager doesn't listen to their concerns.
42% haven't received any employer-provided training in the last 12 months.
Employees without training are 140% more likely to feel job insecure.
Quiet Cracking employees are 68% less likely to feel valued and recognized at work.
The training company listed the following “simple but effective” steps to counter quiet cracking:
Survey employees: HR and leadership should know if their employees are suffering from persistent feelings of unhappiness; knowing is the first step.
Empower managers with empathy: Listening, regular check-ins, and recognition can dramatically improve employee sentiment.
Double down on learning and development: Employees who receive regular training are more likely to feel confident, engaged and valued.
Recognize contributions frequently: Low-cost recognition programs can deliver a high impact on employee morale.
Clarify expectations and manage workloads: When people know what's expected and workloads are balanced, disengagement drops.
Researchers identified feelings of insecurity and lack of connection as potential cases of quiet cracking. Their insecurity could arise from lack of training or lack of connection with their supervisors. Once again, communication is a real key to successful employee-employer relationships.