What’s Trending: Quiet Cracking

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A new “quiet” has hit the internet, but this time, it appears to be the source of all the other trends. Recent research led by TalentLMS takes a step back to ask about different trends, from engagement to burnout, and comes to a different conclusion than most other studies.

Researchers revealed in TalentLMS’s new study that another quiet trend that maybe hasn’t been so quiet is that people haven’t been paying attention. They decided to coin the term “quiet cracking” to reflect previous trends that Gen Z has aptly named and highlight how people feel in different aspects of their workplace. 

TalentLMS 

So, what is quiet cracking?

In their words, “A persistent feeling of workplace unhappiness that leads to disengagement, poor performance, and an increased desire to quit.”

This dissatisfaction is commonly felt amongst workers, with 54% reporting some experience of it, but more commonly, it is ignored by higher-ups until there is some action. That is where trends like the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, and quiet firing come from. After people quit, companies have two choices: beginning a replacement process, which can be costly, or dumping the work on the remaining team. Both of these choices lead to the same outcome if nothing changes: the new employee or the remaining employee begins to crack.

Quiet cracking doesn’t happen overnight; it chips away at workers’ confidence through various means.

What makes people crack quietly?

According to the research, there are four main reasons people become dissatisfied with their jobs:

• Job insecurity
• Uncertain economy
• Managerial disconnect
• Lack of career growth

The first reason, job security vs. insecurity, reveals an interesting dichotomy that has trapped workers. 82% of workers feel secure in their current job, but this number drops to 62% when asked about their future with their company. This reveals a much deeper dissatisfaction related to security.

Retention has been a major problem for companies for some time, some would say ever since 2022’s Great Resignation. Companies that have retention strategies, the report warns, might believe things are all right as people report their current job security, but there might be some unspoken resentments that have them looking for a way out.

A tight economy has people holding on by their nails to whatever they can grab, meaning they won’t just quit and wait for a new job to appear. The economy and labor market are in a tight spot, which automatically puts people in a tighter spot. 

Not only that, but the managerial disconnect has people feeling like they’re being overworked or getting asked for unachievable demands while also feeling ignored.  In fact, the second concern most cited by workers is workload and job expectations, with 31%, and the third is poor leadership and unclear company direction, with 27%.  

The fourth most concerning part is that people feel like they are not allowed to grow and haven’t been properly trained in the past year, with 42% saying that they haven’t had employer-provided training. The study shows that those workers who haven’t been updated on their work are 140% more likely to feel insecure.

Quiet cracking vs burnout

Quiet cracking is not the same as burnout. The difference is that burnout relies on extreme exhaustion from workers, while quiet cracking can manifest like that, but it doesn’t always have that particular symptom. 

It might also be confused with quiet quitting, but unlike that particular phenomenon, performance doesn’t diminish. Quiet cracking is when people slowly become dissatisfied with their work and look for somewhere else to grow into their best possible versions.

The solutions for quiet cracking

Companies can take four actions to prevent people from cracking further or to prevent them from ever cracking. 

1. Fostering learning and development programs: Ensure that people are always up-to-date and feeling confident about their skill, to make people value their time at the company more. Keep in mind that there needs to be allotted time for learning, not just access.
2. Ensure managers are leaders: Basic leadership skills are necessary for shaping the culture around them. 
3. Recognize people to remind them that their work matters: Recognition is free and can lead to an appreciation for values.
4. Set clear expectations and balance workloads: A big part of quiet quitting and even burnout is that 29% of people feel overworked and underrecognized. Setting standards that people agree with and follow can mitigate this.

The takeaway

The previous trends in the labor market didn’t happen suddenly, and though these have been extreme responses, something is quietly happening in the background.

Quiet cracking seems to answer the big mystery of what has been happening, especially why Gen Z and millennials have been job-hopping, and sets the blame squarely on companies that don’t allow or offer growth but demand loyalty. This, in turn, has people planning for different avenues out, such as career catfishing and even micro-retirement.