The hustle and bustle culture has been abolished. Quiet Rehab is crowned queen.
A quiet break has been one of the hottest topics in the 2022 news cycle.
There is no absolute agreement on what this means, or the impact it has on business.
But the only thing for everyone tin She agrees that a quiet detox is the opposite of the hustle and bustle.
And while it causes sirens to scream in the heads of some business leaders, a silent exit can be the unexpected blessing that boosts your company’s productivity.
In this article you are going to learn:
- The hidden drivers behind the silent withdrawal phenomenon.
- What do these tell us about modern workplace culture.
- 5 practical ways you can leverage a quiet break to increase productivity.
A silent break occurs on Spectrum.
At the extreme (and touching) end of the spectrum, employees quietly quit in response grinding.
When employees experience burnout, they are mentally and physically exhausted.
The result? indifference.
shocking Survey conducted by Deloitte found that 77% of full-time workers have experienced employee burnout in their current job, with more than half reporting repeated incidents.
Even more shocking is that many of them those surveyed Reportedly love their jobs.
But just like you can’t drive a car without gas, you can’t work without energy.
And when workers are expected to put extra energy into their work without many opportunities to refuel, burnout and apathy are the inevitable results.
In these cases, a silent break is less of a choice and more of a survival mechanism.
Employees may not have the energy, time, or other resources to look for a new job, so they do the bare minimum in the job they have.
It is understandable that this form of silent pause concerns business leaders.
Because this is not just a personal problem for employees.
The spread of erosion has a measurable effect on productivity, with the Peterson Institute for International Economics A report of a record drop in productivity in the first half of 2022.
At the same time, we all saw that the pandemic caused many people to reassess their priorities.
A Pew study reports that 1 in 10 people value their work life less than they did before the pandemic.
a lot of those surveyed Similar sentiments were echoed, that “long hours at work” and “being defined by [their] Work”, dropped down their list of priorities.
But changing values does not automatically translate into a decrease in productivity.
Humans are not machines.
Every hour has no equal value when it comes to personal productivity.
In fact, a Stanford University 2019 study found that productivity drops significantly when people work more than 50 hours a week, and productivity drops so drastically after 55 hours that the extra time is “pointless.”
The study also notes that “Employees at work for a long time may experience fatigue or stress that not only reduce their productivity, but also increase the probability of mistakes, accidents and illnesses that impose costs on the employer.”
Therefore, the problem is not that workers are less willing to work overtime.
The problem is that the employees do not feel supported.
And a lot of it adds up workplace culture.
Gallup reports that, “It’s clear that quiet withdrawal is a symptom of poor management.”
Meanwhile, Engaged employees (eg engaged and enthusiastic). will improve Customer loyalty by 10%, leads to an 18% improvement in productivity and a 23% increase in profitability.
Additionally, an engaged employee is a happy employee, which leads to increased employee retention and lower hiring costs.
Unfortunately, engagement declines faster than the stock market during a recession.
and this is directly related to the lack of “clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, a sense of caring and connection to the organization’s mission or purpose”, that employees experience in their work.
So how can you increase employee engagement?
This is where the other end of the silence spectrum comes into play.
For many, a quiet break is not passive aggressive withdrawal or laziness.
This is a recognition of the need for healthy work boundaries and greater support.
Healthy work boundaries and greater support are the perfect prescriptions for lower attrition rates.
Together, they promote a workforce that remains engaged and passionate, leading to increased profits for the company as a whole.
When you look at a quiet break from this perspective, you can leverage awareness around it to increase productivity.
Here are 5 practical tips:
Use these strategies to increase productivity in your company.
1. Use checklists
Do you want employees who love to do work?
Give them a checklist.
A speaker list provides you and your employees with clearly defined expectations, so you know you’re on the same page in terms of what needs to be done.
Speaker lists also make inconsistencies clearly visible, so you can quickly diagnose flaws in your system and take proactive measures to smooth out shortcomings before they turn into tears.
And there’s a reason why to-do lists are so satisfying.
Every time you check one of these little boxes as complete, your brain releases a hit of dopamine that can be downright addictive.
This is one of the ways that checklists increase employee focus and a sense of accomplishment.
This means more job satisfaction for the employee, and more positive results for the company.
2. Provide growth opportunities, at work and outside
Boredom is a huge nail in the tire of job satisfaction.
Curiosity feeds inspiration, and inspiration is a much stronger and more sustainable motivator than money alone.
But employees cannot be expected to repeat the same tasks every day and feel inspired.
Diversity creates interest, and people thrive when they have something to work towards.
There should be room to grow.
And this also applies to life outside of work.
International 2022 study on SME employees published in Frontiers in Psychology, proved this “Employees who have a poor balance between work and life suffer from a decrease in productivity and low employee performance. Conversely, employees who have a healthy balance between work and life improve work performance.”
A lot of it comes down to stress reduction.
Hobbies provide a welcome distraction from work-related thoughts.
And it doesn’t even matter what kind of hobbies are chosen.
Creative pursuits, social activities and physical activity have Proven effects to lower cortisol.
When employees are encouraged to pursue their interests, stress levels go down, productivity goes up and everyone wins.
3. Help your employees shine
Are your employees doing what they were hired to do?
Do they have the opportunity, every day, to do what they do best?
Most people are passionate about their work when they start.
But the reality is that time spent on mundane tasks like email and scheduling is draining 40% of productive time at work
These operational tasks act as speed bumps, interrupting focus, slowing productivity, and using up workers’ precious energy reserves.
Employees end up feeling unappreciated and frustrated because they can’t perform at the level they know they would otherwise be capable of.
And your business will suffer as a result.
the solution?
there are a few.
One of the most effective strategies is to change expectations around communication.
How often should you really check email?
For most jobs, 1-3 times a day is enough.
If something is urgent, a phone call or an in-person meeting may be more appropriate anyway.
Another strategy is to delegate operational tasks to those whose job it is to manage them.
Prialto’s managed virtual assistant service is a great example of a support system that helps employees spend more time on work that lights them up.
Once everyone can focus on what they are good at, you will see a greater return to your business.
4. Create company health initiatives
Healthy employees are more productive, which leads to greater financial gains for your business.
A 2013 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed that employees who participated in health and wellness programs saved the company an average of $353 per person per year, reflecting 10.3 hours of productive time per year.
Other studyconducted in 2017 by the University of California had even more dramatic results.
This study found that participating in corporate wellness programs leads to one more productive workday per month for the average employee.
But health is not only physical.
Wellness programs also bring mental health benefits.
This means more resilience in your workforce, more enthusiasm for work and less employee burnout.
Health initiatives don’t have to be expensive.
Some cost-effective steps you can take to improve health and wellbeing in your company include:
- Free access to health apps
- social hours
- Green space (UK study found that bringing plants into the workplace increased productivity by an amazing 15%!)
- Standing desks
- Monthly health challenges
- Education for health and quality of life
- nutritionist services
- Guided fitness, yoga and/or meditation sessions
- Mental health days
- Mandatory use of PTO
Check with your employees and find out which wellness initiatives they would be most excited about, hear their ideas and take steps to implement some.
Everyone will benefit when you do.
5. Lead by example
Actions are always louder than words.
You can talk about making changes all you want, but until you embody those changes in your work and life, the impact will be as unremarkable as a gentle breeze on a sand dune.
Company culture begins with purposeful leadership.
The first step is to set your priorities, and then execute.
Do you want employees to be more involved?
Start by reducing unnecessary stress.
Set yourself designated working hours, and stick to them!
Talk about your hobbies.
Work on your personal development and emotional regulation.
Don’t underestimate the power of social influence.
The change starts with you.
As the saying goes, “If not now, when? If not me, who?”
Prioritize your work-life balance.
Allow employees to do the same.
And see how a “quiet break” changes your company for the better.
These 5 strategies ensure your employees know you care about them as people, not just employees, and that’s a leadership quality that will increase engagement and retention in your workforce.
Once employees are engaged, the next step is to empower them to take more pride in their work.
The key here is to foster a sense of ownership through delegation leadership.
Click here to learn how.
