Guest Post: The Concept of ‘Quiet Quitting’ and Its Impact on Contact Centers

This week, we feature an article by Stephen Holliday, CEO and Founder of Level, an on-demand pay platform that helps employees manage their financial well-being. He writes about ‘quiet quitting’ and how contact centers can resolve this challenge in their organization.

The concept of ‘quiet quitting’ has become a popular term within the working world. But what does ‘quiet quitting’ consist of? 

‘Quiet quitting’ isn’t necessarily what the name suggests it to be. The concept doesn’t refer to someone who is slowly leaving their job. Instead, it’s about putting minimal effort in and abandoning the idea of progression or contributing any extra work.  

For those who know they aren’t at risk of losing their job, ‘quiet quitting’ is the chosen strategy to minimize the stresses of work. It allows employees to cope with their unhappiness in a role without the pressure of needing to secure a new job.  

This trend is concerning for those within the contact center industry, with employee retention and recruitment already at a record low. Staff is burnt out from the strenuous nature of the work, and it’s not a role that would be particularly successful if staff members were to ‘quiet quit.’ 

How can the contact center industry resolve this challenge? 

Power in the hands of the employee

With ever-increasing job vacancies across industries, the power within the workplace has fallen into the hands of the employee. Individuals have a wide variety of roles and job opportunities to choose from, while companies struggle to find enough individuals to fill their vacancies.  

This newly empowered employee is demanding more from organizations around work, pay, and flexibility, and when organizations don’t meet these expectations, they’re left behind. Skilled employees will leave and find a company that will. 

Employers need to understand staff desires and how to adequately meet them while sticking to a budget. 

Salary 

Many employers are out of touch with the true needs of their employees. While offering perks such as discounted gym memberships and ‘dress-down Fridays’ are all in good intentions, it doesn’t quite address what workers really want and need. 

Employees want to be paid more for what they do. But that comes at a high cost, and sometimes it’s impossible to match salary expectations and continue to run a company profitably. For contact centers that have a very high number of employees, this issue around salary is exacerbated. 

Aside from salary increases, what can those in the contact center industry do to meet the desires of their employees, while attracting new staff and retaining current workers? 

Wage flexibility

Those at the top of a business control pay – not just how much an employee receives, but when they receive their paycheque.  

The majority of the UK workforce is paid on a monthly cycle. Employees complete an entire month of work before they receive a paycheck. Employees desire more financial flexibility, and employers are recognizing their capacity to change it. 

Financial well-being depends on more than just the sum of money that arrives in someone’s bank account each month. By giving employees the flexibility to choose how and when they’re paid, they gain further control over the money they’ve earned and are consequently able to manage their income in a way that suits their needs. 

Yet employers can even go one step beyond this. 

Supporting staff financially

Supporting staff financially doesn’t just mean paying them more. Employers could look to focus on financial education, savings accounts that take contributions at the point of payroll, and tools and reminders that are backed by behavioral science to better manage money. 

Now, more than ever, it’s so important that contact centers are focused on supporting the financial well-being of their staff. Due to the cost-of-living crisis and the Great Resignation, those businesses which aren’t doing enough to support their staff will lose their workers’ loyalty.  

The verdict

For their survival and growth, it is imperative that contact centers do all they can to fulfill the needs and desires of their staff. The concept of ‘quiet quitting’ doesn’t exist in a working environment where staff is supported in all aspects. 

It’s understandable that fulfilling demands will be more difficult in the current economic downturn. However, there are so many other methods that show how businesses care and can support their staff. With such support in place, not only will ‘quiet quitting’ diminish but recruitment and retention will improve simultaneously.  

Stephen Holliday is the CEO of Level Financial Technology, an on-demand pay platform that enhances employees’ financial well-being and helps employers improve attrition rates.