Employees Are Done With Hustle Culture; Quiet Quitting Becomes a Major Concern for Managers in 2024

With employee burnout rates skyrocketing, it's a good idea to re-evaluate the impact of hustle culture. It's been quite some time that bosses and companies have been looking at ways in which they can reduce the workload on an employee. However, some companies and bosses feel that a reduction in hustle can lead to a decline in profits. Recently Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah got backlash for sending the company's employees a memo that condemned laziness and even asked workers to not "shy away" from long work hours. The memo also mentioned how the company wants the employees to blend their personal and professional lives.

Ian Williamson, Dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California predicts that the professional landscape is all set to change in 2024. He also says that the companies will be working towards a more holistic work environment, mostly because of the shortage of workers and continued diversification in the workforce.

"This will increase expectations on employers to consider how they can best create inclusive environments that meet the expectations of a wide range of employees," he adds.

Many workers are slowly resorting to quiet quitting, a term used to describe minimum efforts on the employee's part, which means doing the bare minimum of one's job and putting in no more time and effort. According to a 2023 survey by Resume Builder,  98% of managers disapprove of employees quiet quitting. The trend emerged back in 2020 and needless to say, the reaction of managers to this trend has been polarising.

Another survey found that 67% of companies believe quiet quitting is one of the major concerns going into 2024. “Mid-level managers in particular are caught between quiet quitting and hustle culture. More senior leaders require hustle and are laser-focused on profits, growth, and scale,” Barbara Palmer, founder of Broad Perspective Consulting in Los Angeles, told Success.

"At the same time, mid-level managers may be faced with junior resources who are looking for better work-life integration, a focus on well-being, less hustle, and more culture. The work needs to get done, but employees may want to set boundaries, and those two things may be in conflict," she adds.

Another reason why companies feel that quiet quitting can bring no good is because customers are extremely demanding and all they care about is whether the company is delivering. "Customers can be unreasonable and customers will take their money and their business elsewhere if they aren’t getting what they want," Marc Cenedella, founder of Leet Resumes, a professional resume writing company, and Ladders, said.

Many people have often taken to social media to talk about how they feel that they have already blended their work-life and personal lives. A survey found that  64.2% of employees said they “always or usually” respond even when they are contacted outside of work hours.

So, how do bosses walk the fine line? The key is to find a middle ground. An all-or-nothing approach doesn't always seem to work and therefore, adopting a more holistic approach can prove to be more beneficial both for the businesses and the employees. “[Doing this] can unlock the highest level of productivity. And having an open dialogue about skill set, career aspirations, and professional goals enables managers to better support their employees where they are," said Kristin Lytle, CEO of The Leader’s Edge.