From Quiet Quitting to Quiet Thriving
How AI promotes a proactive work culture
Every movement has its counter-movement. This is also the case in HR. While “Quiet Quitting” describes a state in which employees only do the bare minimum, “Quiet Thriving” is a concept that encourages people to actively and creatively participate in their work sphere.
A proactive counter-design
The idea behind this approach is that people have a fundamental need for joy, development and fulfillment in their work. This creates motivation to not just strive for the minimum, even in a working environment that is perceived as rather negative, but to take on a proactive role. Such an attitude contributes to mental health and makes it possible to positively shape the environment within one’s own capabilities.
Exploring the possibilities
The “Circle of Control, Influence and Concern“, a model from positive psychology, shows the different levels of influence and the resulting options for action. It illustrates very well that some things are within our control and others are not. Recognizing and differentiating between them paves the way to more (inner) freedom and enjoyment of our own actions, even under suboptimal conditions.
In relation to the work context, this essentially raises three questions:
- If I cannot control or influence my work environment, can I learn to accept it? (e.g. the behavior of my manager)
- If a problem in my work environment is not within my control, can I influence it so that I experience at least some enjoyment at work? (e.g. work routine)
- What is within my control? How can I gradually increase my scope of action in order to not only do the bare minimum, but to develop and contribute my own ideas out of an inner drive that pay into the company’s goals? Not out of obligation, but out of an authentic motivation that enhances me both personally and professionally?
In “Quiet Thriving”, employees consciously deal with their self-efficacy (however small it may be), proactively shape aspects that they can influence and adjust their attitudes and reactions with a look at the things that they cannot (initially) change. They also network with like-minded people and build a supportive community together in order to strengthen and utilize their collective self-efficacy.
Happier work thanks to AI
From an HR perspective, employees who perform monotonous tasks or tasks that are perceived as less meaningful are particularly prone to “quiet quitting”. Especially if they cannot see the immediate effect of their work and therefore do not feel valued. This is where HR can take targeted action and help shape the scope to promote “thriving”. One requirement for this is that HR employees recognize the emotional state of employees. Artificial intelligence (AI), which works with comprehensive language models (as we know them from ChatGPT), can help here. It determines how people in the organization are actually feeling by evaluating qualitative data (e.g. open text responses in a survey). Based on this data, HR can show demotivated and dissatisfied employees development and learning opportunities or enable a temporary transfer to another job.
For example, job rotations or further training can break established patterns, offer variety and provide new inspiration. Which development step is suitable for which employee can also be determined by the AI. It is important that these offers do not come as an additional burden “on top” and increase the employee’s workload, but represent a real alternative to the previous area of responsibility. A deep understanding of employees’ character traits, conditions and needs can also help to place the right people in the right roles within the organization at the right time and thus create optimal conditions for them to perform their tasks with motivation. Thanks to AI, HR has the opportunity for the first time to delve deep into the organization and unleash the full human potential that lies dormant within it.
Know your Privilege – and use it for the better.
It is important for me to emphasize that “Quiet Thriving” represents a privileged approach that is not applicable to all life and work situations. On the work side, it is particularly suitable for office jobs and industries in which skilled workers are scarce and employees have a certain amount of power. At the same time, the knowledge of the diverse nature of work experiences and environments should be an incentive for companies to make working life appreciative and fulfilling for as many people as possible. Emerging AI technology offers fascinating opportunities here. Let’s use them to leverage the creative potential that lies dormant in everyone.
Empowered teams: doing the right thing (instead of doing everything right)
What is more important on the job – doing things right or doing the right things? – Most people will probably answer “both”. Nevertheless, in the context of changing corporate cultures, it is worth thinking about this question in its absolute either-or variant.
Good leadership: With self-reflection and unsympathetic filter
A good leader – is that something you are or is that something you become? – Let me put it this way: you are one if you are willing to become one. In other words, leadership requires a willingness to develop. Leading always means learning to lead. It is an ongoing process that is never finished, especially in the fast-paced world we live in.
The self-made skills shortage
Why should we analyze applicants in depth if we have no choice about who we hire anyway? We hear this question a lot. It reflects the frustration many companies feel about the lack of skilled workers. And rightly so? – We say: Yes and no. For one thing, we think that the shortage of skilled workers is not a “force of nature” that companies are helplessly exposed to.
Lead Effectively: Speak 20%, Actively Listen 80%!*
*(Spoiler: AI makes it possible)
Hand on heart: Do you know the current state of well-being of your employees? Do you understand their worries, challenges, and feelings? Do you know what truly moves them? What challenges they face? What is going well for them? And where they urgently need support?
Listening is exhausting
Effective listening requires practice and training. Especially for leaders and particularly in uncertain times when many people are plagued by existential worries. A natural talent for listening is rare. The ability to constantly express our opinions on various channels and be confirmed in our “bubble” does not make listening any easier.
In hierarchical structures, there is also often the unspoken rule that leaders take up the majority of speaking time in meetings – and ultimately are always right. The transition from a dominant speaker to an attentive listener marks a significant step towards a sustainable cultural change in organizations. Which requires time, strength, and perseverance. Because true listening requires a high level of activity. Studies have shown that listening is much more strenuous than speaking. When we speak, our brain is stimulated similarly to when we eat or have sex. Which releases positive energy in our body; on the contrary, active listening significantly depletes our energy reserves.
Can I actually listen?
When thinking of leadership communication skills, many initially think of rhetoric, the ability to present well and maintain verbal control. This perspective needs to change. Because good leaders, who strive for a collaborative, open, and appreciative corporate culture, do not need to talk much. But rather need to listen attentively – regularly and to each individual employee. This leadership ability can be trained like a muscle. A prerequisite for this is to critically reflect on one’s own communication behavior.
The five stages of listening
Listening goes far beyond the simple absorption of words. The quality of listening can be measured in five stages:
- Stage 1 (lowest level): Not listening – We pay no attention to the speaker, perhaps constantly looking at our smartphone or otherwise signaling our disinterest. Here, the other person is ignored, and effective communication does not take place.
- Stage 2: Listening to speak ourselves – We immediately check the information received for how we can personally interpret or respond to what has been said. The focus is more on formulating our own response than on understanding what has been said.
- Stage 3: Listening to agree or disagree – Here, we perceive the words of our conversation partner, but mainly consider them from the point of view of our own opinion and positioning.
- Stage 4: the transition to empathetic listening: Understanding what moves our counterpart – Here, we listen not out of self-interest or to evaluate what has been said, but out of genuine interest in the perspective and emotions of the other person.
- Stage 5 (highest level): Enabling a better self-understanding of the other person – At this level, listening becomes a mirror that helps our counterpart sort out their own thoughts and feelings and gain new insights or perspectives, without us sending the topics through our personal filter.
Understanding and applying these listening stages, especially stages 4 and 5, enables profound, empathetic communication, creates space for genuine exchange, and fosters mutual appreciation. By actively listening, leaders:
- receive accurate information; this increases the likelihood of making wise decisions.
- show appreciation to employees.
- enhance the sense of belonging and connection among each other.
Actively Listening with AI
However, it is also clear: listening takes time. And given the diverse role expectations on HR in recent years, time has become scarcer. However, the advent of artificial intelligence could herald a turning point here. AI proves to be almost the perfect listener. It can effortlessly analyze text and voice data, a task that was previously reserved for human intelligence and took place in time-consuming and costly assessment and development centers. With AI, qualitative data and complex relationships can be utilized in a completely new way.
Leveraging AI for Qualitative Data
At Zortify, for example, we train our models using artificial neural networks. These can filter information from the environment in a way similar to the human brain. For example, AI is capable of reading out needs and moods from large datasets with qualitative text responses and identifying psychological states of employees. And that’s exactly what it’s all about: recognizing what is there without immediately evaluating it or reflexively reacting to what has been said, as we often unconsciously do in conversations (see stages 2 and 3).
Choreographer Monica Bill Barnes once said in an interview, “Listening is a matter of deciding that you do not have to worry about what you are going to say next.” This is a point that is difficult for us humans, especially when we – as in the professional context – always believe we have to have a competent answer ready. AI does not know such social fears. It listens without its own expectations and thus fundamentally enables a deep understanding of what has been said. This forms a valuable basis for HR experts to initiate specific measures and suggest. For example, an internal job change, a career step, or a confidential conversation. What used to take months or years (or was even completely ignored) is now possible thanks to AI within minutes: Active listening through data analysis, followed by human intervention by HR.
The right setting
Leaders are called upon to develop a sense of which communication channel is most effective for the different personality types in their team. In particular, they should actively approach the “silent” team members again and again and promote continuous exchange. The key here is a setting in which both sides feel comfortable. And what is the best way to find that out? Exactly: by listening attentively.
Article header: Franco Antonio on Unsplash
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