A Qualitative Study to Analyze The Concept of Quiet Quitting from The Perspective of Generations

Abstract

Quiet quitting is a current concept that has recently attracted attention and research in the literature. This concept has come to the forefront in an ever-changing, uncertain and turbulent period when businesses demand more from their employees but ignore their wishes. This concept, which has become the voice of the younger generations in particular, affects not only the quiet quitting, but also other employees and has a negative impact on them. This research was conducted within the scope of content analysis, which is one of the qualitative research methods, to reveal the perceptions of Generations X, Y and Z, which are predominantly in today’s workforce, regarding the concept of quiet quitting. Within the scope of the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 people from different professions and different age groups. The data obtained were analyzed using the MAXQDA 24 program. According to these results, the highest level of quiet quitting reasons were coded as “insufficient managerial skills” (25%) for Generation X, “not being valued” (23%) for Generation Y, and “difficult working conditions” (16%) and “fatigue and boredom” (16%) for Generation Z. 73% of the participants characterized the concept of quiet quitting as negative and 67% stated that the concept of quiet quitting had a negative impact on motivation. In addition, the participants shared the common view that quiet quitting would create an increase in their workload and that they did not want to work in such a work environment. All generations stated that they did not want to work in an environment where quiet quitting employees were present, and the common codes regarding the damage of quiet quitting to the business were ‘decrease in quality’, ‘decrease in productivity’ and ‘decrease in profit’. Participants (60%) stated that there is no awareness of managers about the concept of quiet quitting. In addition, the suggestions for dealing with quiet quitting were coded as ‘supporting the employee’ (12.2%) and ‘effective communication’ (12.2%). In addition, it was determined and coded that each generation has different expectations from the organization. This research adds an important and unique value to the field by contributing to a better understanding of the concept of quiet quitting in line with the perspectives of generations. Finally, with the evaluations made on the results obtained, a guiding study is presented for future researchers. In addition, suggestions are made for organizations to combat quiet quitting.

Keywords

• Quiet Quitting
• X Generation
• Y Generations
• Z Generations
• Qualitative Research

Kuşakların Bakış Açısından Sessiz İstifa Kavramının Analiz Edilmesine Yönelik Nitel Bir Araştırma

Öz

Sessiz istifa, literatürde son zamanlarda dikkat çeken ve araştırmalara konu olan güncel bir kavramdır. Bu kavram, işletmelerin çalışanlarından daha fazlasını talep ettiği ancak isteklerini görmezden geldiği sürekli değişen, belirsiz ve çalkantılı bir dönemde ön plana çıkmıştır. Özellikle genç kuşakların sesi haline gelen bu kavram sadece sessiz istifa edenleri değil, aynı zamanda diğer çalışanları da etkilemekte ve onların üzerinde olumsuz bir etki bırakmaktadır. Bu araştırma, günümüz işgücünde ağırlıklı olarak yer alan X, Y ve Z kuşaklarının sessiz istifa kavramına ilişkin algılarını ortaya koymak amacıyla nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden biri olan içerik analizi kapsamında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma kapsamında farklı meslek gruplarından ve farklı yaş gruplarından 15 kişiyle yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Elde edilen veriler MAXQDA 24 programından yararlanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Bu sonuçlara göre en yüksek düzeydeki sessiz istifa nedenleri X kuşağının “yönetici becerilerinin yetersizliği” (%25); Y kuşağının “değer görmeme” (%23); Z kuşağının ise “çalışma koşullarının zorluğu” (%16) ve “yorgunluk ve bıkkınlık” (%16) ile kodlanmıştır. Katılımcıların %73’ü sessiz istifa kavramını olumsuz olarak nitelendirirken, %67’si sessiz istifa kavramının motivasyon üzerinde olumsuz bir etkisi olduğunu belirtmiştir. Ayrıca katılımcılar, sessiz istifanın iş yüklerinde artışa neden olacağını ve böyle bir çalışma ortamında çalışmak istemedikleri konusunda ortak bir görüşe sahipti. Kuşakların tümü sessiz istifa çalışanının bulunduğu ortamda çalışmak istemediklerini belirtmiştir ve sessiz istifanın işletmeye zararına ilişkin ortak kodlar “kalitede düşüş”, “verimlilikte azalma” ve “kârda azalma” şeklinde gerçekleşmiştir. Katılımcılar (%60) sessiz istifa kavramına ilişkin yöneticilerin farkındalığının olmadığını ifade etmiştir. Ayrıca sessiz istifa ile başa çıkmak için önerilenler “çalışana destek olmak” (%12.2) ve “etkin iletişim kurmak” (%12,2) şeklinde kodlanmıştır. Ayrıca her kuşağın işletmeden beklentilerinin farklı olduğu tespit edilmiş ve kodlanmıştır. Bu araştırma, kuşakların bakış açıları doğrultusunda sessiz istifa kavramının daha iyi anlaşılmasına katkı sağlayarak alana önemli ve özgün bir değer katmaktadır. Son olarak, elde edilen sonuçlar üzerinde yapılan değerlendirmelerle, gelecekteki araştırmacılara rehberlik edici bir çalışma sunulmuştur. Ayrıca, işletmelerin sessiz istifayla mücadele etmelerine yönelik önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sessiz İstifa
• X Kuşağı
• Y Kuşağı
• Z Kuşağı
• Nitel Araştırma

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