I first read about "quiet quitting" in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal last summer and didn't think it had anything to do with nursing leadership or even nursing. We're such a driven, mission-oriented profession, how could anyone not do their job fully without serious consequences to patients? However, the concept hasn't gone away in the lay papers and has started hitting nursing blogs and posts. It's time to check in on checking out.
Definitions vary slightly, but the bottom line is that quiet quitting means doing what you need to do to keep your job without any enthusiasm or attempts to go "above and beyond." Those of you who use the Gallup survey for your employee experience measure will be familiar with the three engagement categories: engaged, not engaged, and disengaged. The gold standard is engaged employees who advance better safety, quality, and workforce outcomes per Gallup research. Quiet quitters, who just put in their time, would fall into the "not engaged" category. The dreaded category of disengaged includes those who undermine and poke holes in the boat, as opposed to the engaged folks who are rowing. Only 33% of the thousands of US employees surveyed by Gallup are engaged.
So that leaves many quiet quitters out there. We've all seen it and maybe even been there ourselves. The concept has been around a long time but without the catchy nomenclature. On the other hand, Katie Boston-Leary, director of nursing programs for the American Nurses Association, said that data indicate nurses struggle with not being able to do MORE for their patients.1 That's the opposite of quiet quitting. And isn't that what we see every day: nurses who want to do more, not less, for their patients? Joe Tye, a frequent NM author, responded to Katie's interview saying that nurses are "quietly volunteering"-doing more than their job descriptions to meet patient needs.
As leaders we are, or should be, constantly attentive to engagement initiatives, or even better, promoting a culture of engagement. What quickly comes to mind are the age-old values of meaning, purpose, recognition, being valued, having a voice, feeling cared about, and having opportunities for growth. Pathway to Excellence(R) and Magnet(R) standards require it for successful designation. Nurses who go above and beyond in governance and practice bring joy in a multitude of ways to everyone around them. Promoting that opportunity is worth every minute for leaders in what comes back.
Of course, we want more from our staff and ourselves, but does that require overtime? It shouldn't. Maybe we should take lessons from those who value disconnected time off and don't want to be overstressed or overworked, a quintessential trait of Gen Z. It's also reasonable and important for mental health. You can be enthusiastic/engaged when you're at work during "normal" work hours and enjoy time off as time off. Being constantly badgered for overtime could convert an engaged nurse to a quiet quitter. Same for leaders.
In the end, if you're doing your job, you haven't quit. Leaders and colleagues know the difference between that and those workers who actively disengage and cause overall morale to suffer. Those are the troubled employees who everyone wants to avoid and leaders dread. Those are the "loud quitters."
I'm a big fan of the opposite, engagement in all its forms. It's a mindset that leaders can enable. That's when the magic happens. For yourself, your organization, your staff, and your patients.
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