Recently, Assistant Professor Truit Gray of Bowling Green State University’s Schmidthorst College of Business had his study on the topic of quiet quitting, the act of intentionally performing minimum job requirements, published in the acclaimed journal “Human Resource Management.”
Gray and his research team had wanted to clarify what causes the phenomenon and what its effects are. In a recent BGSU press release highlighting the study, Gray said that quiet quitting is psychological and can be due to organizations breaking “psychological contracts” or promises with their employees.
“One of my core research interests is psychological contracts, which consists of what an employee believes their organization has promised them in return for their effort,” Gray said. “Specifically, employee psychological contracts may be fulfilled, which is when promises are met, or breached, which is when the organization fails to live up to promises.”
Gray had also said that human resource professionals should keep in mind the possible quiet quitting that can occur when promises are not met.
“[Human relations] professionals must be aware of both the explicit and implicit promises made to employees – not just during hiring and onboarding, but throughout their entire employment,” Gray said. “Overpromising with the goal of hiring and retaining exceptional talent may result in quiet quitting and subsequent detrimental outcomes should those promises not be kept.”
Gray said that HR professionals need to become a central part of organizations due to the changing landscape of the workforce.
“What people expect from their organization has shifted dramatically in recent years,” Gray said. “Trends such as remote/hybrid work, back-to-office mandates and an increasingly diverse workforce require that HR departments become integral strategic leaders within organizations.”
In light of the rise of quiet quitting, Gray said he believes HR professionals may be the key to reversing the phenomenon.
“Our initial findings point toward an optimistic outlook that human resource managers may be able to limit the prevalence of quiet quitting and subsequent harmful outcomes by accurately communicating expectations and job characteristics,” Gray said.
