Managers' attempts to quell quiet quitting may be having the opposite effect than they intended, Forbes reported Dec. 14.
As companies moved to improve employee engagement, they increased oversight with more consistent check-ins and meetings. But rather than ensuring productivity, these meetings take away from the work that management actually wants to prioritize, Dean Guida, CEO of the software development company Infragistics and founder of the workplace management app Slingshot, told the publication.
"When the world shifted to remote and hybrid workplaces, many quick exchanges in the office were replaced with 30-plus minute meetings," Mr. Guida said. "While leaders may feel like they have a better gauge on what individual employees are working on and their performance with more meetings, it's actually hurting employees' productivity. Not to mention, it's making nearly half of employees feel micromanaged."
A 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S.-based employees and 500 HR leaders found that nearly half of employees are overwhelmed by the number of meetings they attend, and 70% of these meetings "crush productivity" by prohibiting employees from focusing on the task at hand, according to Forbes. Unnecessary meetings can cost large companies up to $100 million in lost productivity per year.
Although employees are touching base with their managers more, they say they have less clarity than ever before on their goals. A recent survey from Slingshot found that 34% of employees say they have to guess their priorities, and 64% say they lose between one to two hours of work every day because they do not have deadlines.
As such, 2024 should be the year of "quiet management," per the publication; it suggests leaders align with employees on clear priorities and then step back, allowing them to reach those well-communicated goals in their own way.