I quit! ‘Loud quitting’ is the latest workplace trend - here’s what employers need to know

On the back of it, ‘loud quitting’ may appear to the answer to having yourself heard. But often times, your employer won’t agree. Photo: Elisa Ventur/Unsplash

On the back of it, ‘loud quitting’ may appear to the answer to having yourself heard. But often times, your employer won’t agree. Photo: Elisa Ventur/Unsplash

Published Nov 1, 2023

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You know those Hollywood movie scenes where the fed up employee throws their hands in the air and makes a theatrical performance of quitting their job?

They’re normally portrayed as the working class hero or the dead beat who goes grovelling back for their job.

You’ve probably even fantasised about doing the very same thing. And like many before you, reality sets in at the last minute because, let’s face it, you’d rather be miserable with money.

When the ‘quiet quitting’ trend took over the workplace shortly after falling into the grips of the pandemic, many people chose to quietly leave the job they had learnt to dislike. Doing the bare minimum and getting paid to do it, that is what it essentially came down to.

Most would end up resigning as quietly as they started.

Recently, a new trend has emerged. Called ‘loud quitting,' it’s exactly as you’d imagine - leaving your job in a loud and disruptive manner.

Whether it’s quitting after a heated argument or via social media, “the major reason for departing loudly is to make the employee’s displeasure known to the public,” according to a Times Now article on the subject.

And then it’s also seen as a vehicle to expose workplace injustices or righting a wrong.

On the back of it, ‘loud quitting’ may appear to be the answer to having yourself heard. But often times, your employer won’t agree.

A report from US consultancy firm Gallup found that one in five, or 18 percent, of global employees are loudly quitting or actively disengaged.

It also defined 'loud quitting' as employees who take actions that “directly harm” the organisation, while undercutting its goals and opposing its leaders.

Loud quitting can signal “major risks” in an organisation that should not be ignored, CNBC quoted Gallup as saying.

The report also added that employees who are actively disengaged are more likely to turn ‘loud quitting’ into an actual resignation.

And a word of warning for employers - all it takes is a 22 percent pay increase for them to take another job offer.