Quiet Quitting, Loud Consequences : The role of Management in Employee Engagement

Abstract: The phenomenon “quiet quitting” is receiving considerable attention in the US recently. Quiet quitting broadly refers to employees who do the minimum amount of work required at the workplace and managers seem to be at the core of the problem. This thesis aimed to study quiet quitting in Sweden through the lens of Self-Determination Theory and provide managers with a framework to tackle quiet quitting. This was achieved through a survey which showed a low to moderate statistically significant correlation between the three basic needs of Self-Determination Theory (competence, autonomy, and relatedness) and employee engagement. Moreover, poor employee engagement seems to be a good predictor for quiet quitting. Furthermore, we suggest a “Need-Supportive Management” style for managers to increase the need satisfaction of the three basic needs of their employees. Using this, managers could be able to increase employee engagement and thus decrease quiet quitting in their workforce.