Are Our Brains Wired to Quiet Quit?

The world is getting more and more out of control, with a daily onslaught of bad news. Almost half of the workforce say they aren't going to go above and beyond for their jobs because of the increase in depression and anxiety.

Quiet quitting is about drawing healthy boundaries between work and personal time, but actions such as withdrawing from your team, limiting communication only to what's strictly required, and staying silent rather than contributing in meetings are telltale signs of diminished motivation and low engagement.

The latest expression of a fundamental aspect of human nature is when people give up in the face of persistent and inescapable stressors. Why attempt when nothing is in your control?

This is called "learned helplessness" by scientists. Even in new situations in which you have control, you tend to remain passive and depressed.

This is shown in one study. Students were given a sheet of paper to work with. The students were unaware of the different versions of the sheet. The first two anagrams were easy and unsolvable. The third anagram was easy to solve.

The first two words on the first sheet were easy to understand by students. Students who encountered an unwinnable situation were stuck and frustrated and didn't attempt the third one. One student said that nothing worked so they wouldn't try.

What Drives Learned Helplessness?

In a famous psychological experiment, learned helplessness was found in the 1960s. Dogs were restrained on an electric platform and given electric shocks to their hind legs by Martin Seligman. The dogs gave up trying when they realized they were powerless.

The dogs didn't try to escape when Seligman moved them onto the metal plate. They were passive and curled up on the floor. They didn't know that they could escape.

Humans and dogs do the same things. We stop trying to improve our situation if we don't do anything.

Seligman changed his interpretation due to more recent research. Steven Maier was involved in Seligman's original experiment and went on to become a neuroscientist. His research shows that helplessness isn't just a response to misfortune. Passivity is our default response to long periods of adversity. The brain assumes control isn't present when subjected to a sustained negative experience.

It means that learned helplessness isn't learned. Humans respond to aversive events by shutting down and accepting the status quo. It's like a disease that never dies. You hate your job, but can't leave.

The quiet quitting phenomenon can be explained by default passivity. People who have been stressed for a long time don't have the freedom to quit. It's normal and predictable for people who feel powerless to escape a situation to become passive. They don't give ideas in meetings They don't switch teams or try to find more meaningful work. They only do what they have to to keep their jobs.

Combatting Default Passivity in the Workplace

Passivity can be a temporary condition. There are studies that show that helplessness can be reversed. Seligman and his colleagues dragged the dogs off the platform and onto the other side where they were safe. The dogs started responding on their own after being moved to the other side. The intervention reversed the helplessness of 100% of dogs.

How can passivity be reversed to decrease quiet quitting? By giving employees a sense of control over their lives and choices. There are two ways in which managers can do this.

You can find ways to give employees more freedom. They can choose to work from home or the office. They can make their own decisions about who to work with, how to allocate their time, and how to approach their work. They should be given a voice in how decisions are made.

Encourage employees to make their own decisions whenever possible in order to develop an internal locus of control. A brain region associated with anticipation and excitement is activated when the brain is expecting to make a choice. Encourage employees to take on work that interests them and learn. They might have to choose their own assignments or take on more challenging work to learn new skills.

Let employees know that you are open to their ideas on how they can make their work more meaningful in ways that still serve the needs of the team and the organization. It would be better if employees took action to improve their situation instead of suffering in silence.

Quiet quitting occurs when employees feel trapped. The more freedom you can give them, the less they will have to respond.