The United Arab Emirates is an attractive destination for many foreign workers. Specifically, for those who want job opportunities and a better quality of life. However, it is important to keep in mind that you may encounter different situations. Many employees experience situations of abuse, discrimination, harassment, or exploitation in their workplaces. Thanks to these situations, employees come to quietly resign from their positions. This phenomenon has the name of quiet quitting UAE.
In this article, we will analyze the causes and consequences of quiet quitting job, which affects both workers and society. In principle, we are going to explain to you what is quiet quitting your job. Additionally, we will see some measures that can be taken to prevent and combat it. We will also show the characteristics of what toxic work environments are like and how to combat them. Finally, you will see some of the consequences that employees are exposed to in toxic work environments.
Growing Trend of Quiet Quitting
According to surveys, jobs in the UAE have participation levels in the Middle East. However, global trends regarding quiet quitting UAE follow. Quiet quitting UAE jobs is a current and very real trend. Generally, it happens when employees continue to make minimal efforts just to keep their jobs. But, they do not really go the extra mile at work.
As a result, workers will be absent frequently and will reflect this in many ways. For example, do not speak at meetings and do not volunteer to do extra tasks.
According to studies on the state of the global workplace, 62% of employees in UAE perform quiet quitting jobs. The other option is that they do not commit to their work. These employees lack motivation; therefore, they only meet the minimum requirements of their roles.
Additionally, according to this same survey, 46% of actively disengaged employees are looking for new jobs. Only 13% of employees with a real commitment to the company say they are also looking for a job. The good news is that the job market in the UAE is very strong and solid. That is, it has multiple employment opportunities and new changes in visa rules. Thus, they can make the country more attractive to talent.
According to Gallup, the best solution to the UAE crisis is for managers to have a meaningful conversation. They have to do it every week with each team member. Each of these conversations must last a minimum of 15 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes.
Managers must create accountability for individual performance. In addition, team collaboration and value for the client. That is, employees have to see how their work contributes to the broader purpose of the organization.
Toxic Work Environment
A toxic work environment is one in which disagreement and dysfunction rule. That is, it is a culture that encourages aggressive work environments. Furthermore, managers usually do little or nothing to avoid this situation. That is why it is the main reason for the trend of quiet quitting UAE.
If there is a toxic culture in your company, it can cause an increase in people’s stress levels. This is very unhealthy and can affect the private lives of employees. That is, this tends to harm people’s quality of life or hinder their personal growth. That is why they take radical measures such as quiet quitting UAE.
Below, you will see some of the signs that represent a toxic work environment:
Gossip and bullying: Generally, people form groups of friends in companies. Especially since you spend 7-8 hours a day with the same group of people. However, there is a danger that these groups will normalize gossip and bullying. Generally, these behaviors are justified by disguising them as simple jokes.
Ruthless labor practices: Companies that tend to ignore or encourage ruthless labor practices demand success at all costs. No matter who they have to take ahead. This may be one of the work environments that are most likely to witness quiet quitting UAE. This reason is one of the most harmful you can find.
A medium level of competition within a company can indeed be beneficial. But, the success-at-all-costs mentality is very harmful. This is both for business growth and for the well-being of the people.
Decision-making attitude: When there is a Do-It-As-I-say leadership approach in the company, it can be a telltale sign that a toxic work environment exists. Teamwork and collaboration are two important parts of a healthy work environment.
Unspoken Pressures: A Daily Grind
Generally, people in toxic work environments do not communicate the situation. As a result, they have constant pressure and that is what causes them to quiet quitting UAE. The question is, how do you know that you have an overload of work? The answer is simple, if you feel that you are exceeding your capacity at work; You are likely to feel pressure from work overload.
Feelings of work pressure can come from problems in your organization and within your work culture. It is important to keep in mind that if you are feeling overwhelmed by your job, it is not something you are imagining. That is why you have to look for ways to solve this problem before performing the UAE quiet quitting. The first step to this is to understand where these sensations come from.
Below, you will see a set of reasons why this situation happens.
Details of the job: That is, any activity that tends to prevent you from fulfilling your duties and generating impact. For example, search for approvals, track the status of a job, or search for documents.
Isolated work: Another workplace stressor is isolated work. That is, not being clear about what your work team does or why your functions are important. If you have this problem, you cannot do your job effectively. Without transparent communication, workers do not know necessary to practice. That is, they waste time searching for information.
Disconnected objectives: It is essential to understand how the work you do contributes to the company. If you do not have that information, it can feel like you are working in a vacuum. Worse yet, you do not know which work to prioritize, so all your obligations seem to have top priority.
Impact of Stress on Employee Well-being
Pressure at work, job competitiveness, and constant demands can lead to high levels of stress for employees. As a result, you tend to increase the percentage of workers who perform quiet quitting UAE.
This phenomenon generally affects the health and well-being of workers. In addition, it has a significant impact on its performance and, therefore, on the success of the company. That is why employers need to know how work stress affects employee performance. Thus, they can find ways to counteract this problem that is increasingly common in today’s working world.
Below you will see a list of the impact that work stress has on employee performance.
Decreased productivity: Chronic work stress can sap workers’ concentration and energy. As a result, they will have a significant decrease in labor productivity. Employees with high levels of stress may have difficulty concentrating on their tasks and making decisions.
Increased proneness to errors: Stress can interfere with an employee’s ability to make rational decisions. In addition, it leads to a propensity to make mistakes. This is concerning in industries where precision is crucial. For instance, manufacturing or healthcare.
Absenteeism: Employees with high levels of stress are more likely to miss work due to health problems. Of course, everyone because of stress or because they need a break. They may even be physically in the company, but emotionally they are absent. As a result, you will see a reduction in worker efficiency.
Emotional exhaustion: Work stress can lead to emotional exhaustion. That is, workers are exhausted and therefore disconnect from their duties and coworkers. Additionally, this hurts morale and work engagement.
Addressing the Issue
When any workplace problem occurs, the most important thing is to address this problem as quickly as possible. In general, labor disputes are common, but this does not mean that they should be overlooked. If this happens, serious consequences can occur such as decreased productivity or high staff turnover.
There are different types of labor disputes and although they are different, they all must be addressed quickly. In this way, problems are prevented from escalating and they can be solved in the best possible way. For this reason, the company must try to resolve the conflict, by using strategies for these cases.
On the other hand, an employee must address problems that arise in the workplace as quickly as possible. This way, you can prevent the problem from getting out of hand and the company from being harmed. For this reason, any problem that may arise should be addressed together with someone who can help solve it.
These problems must not be left aside because they can directly affect the company. If a problem is addressed quickly and the necessary strategies are followed, it can be solved without consequences for the company.
Creating a Healthy Workplace Culture
Creating a good work environment is the purpose that every company should have. In this way, employees feel satisfied in their jobs, which improves their work performance. Having an optimal work environment is very beneficial for the company’s employees and their productivity.
For this reason, if the work environment is terrible, the company faces a very high employee turnover. Furthermore, a work environment that helps employees generates a feeling of belonging among employees towards the company. In this way, many factors help make a work environment suitable and one of these is interpersonal relationships.
On the other hand, a workplace that offers all the comforts to employees helps improve the environment. Communication is essential in every possible aspect and this can be key to the company’s reputation.
Finally, if working conditions are bad, this generates discontent among employees. In addition, this can be reflected in the salary of employees. For this reason, having good working conditions will help to obtain a better work environment.
Encouraging Open Communication
Communication in the workplace is the exchange of information between different people in the company. It covers a range of interactions, from daily conversations between colleagues; to formal communications from management to all staff.
In this section, we will share some tips on how to encourage open communication at work.
Encourage two-way feedback: Two-way feedback is a powerful tool to improve transparency in companies. If employees can openly and honestly express their thoughts, the room for misunderstanding is eliminated. Additionally, this level of transparency helps with employee trust in the work team.
Promote honesty and integrity: Integrity and honesty have to be essential values in the workplace. To achieve this, leaders have to be the first example. Thus, they can demonstrate their qualities through their actions, encouraging employees to follow suit.
Generate a space of psychological security: That is, create a feeling of well-being that occurs when knowing that decisions are not affected by people’s reactions. Especially for those who are part of the work environment.
Provide a direct communication channel: By using this measure, leaders show the value of people’s opinions and contributions. In addition, by fostering a culture of openness, teams have greater commitment and greater satisfaction with work in general.
A Silent Cry for Change
If you want to create a unique company culture, certain changes must be made. In general, lack of communication is a factor that is usually very present in companies. In this way, misunderstandings can arise because employees do not know what others think and by not communicating it, problems arise.
Communication is important in companies. Thanks to good communication, productivity and efficiency in all tasks are increased. However, if it is bad or simply does not exist, all this happens, but in the opposite way. For this reason, it is important that companies can offer an environment where employees can communicate easily.
Although communication is important, it is not just about communicating. In this way, communication must be also effective between employees. It does not matter that there is a lot of communication if neither of the two parties understands what the other means. For this reason, it is important that when we communicate with another employee, we do so as clearly as possible.
Fear of Speaking Up
The fear of speaking is a very common situation that occurs in many employees. In this way, many problems arise since the employee cannot correctly communicate what he thinks. Furthermore, this is a barrier to the employee’s progress not only in the company but also in other areas.
Typically, when employees are afraid to speak up in their workplaces, it creates a more toxic work environment. By not being able to communicate correctly, it is more difficult for you to convey your ideas to your colleagues and even to your bosses. In this way, it can generate discomfort in the workplace and may be frowned upon by superiors if it affects the productivity of the company.
Being able to speak fluently is very helpful in companies. Additionally, this can help you not only in your job, but it can also do so in a walk-in interview. In general, the fear of speaking is very common and has many ways to be fixed. However, this is not easy and can take a long time depending on the person.
For this reason, it is important that, if an employee suffers from this, they can have the necessary help to overcome it. In this way, if the company helps these types of employees, it can improve talent retention and acquisition. On the other hand, the company acquires a better image since it can be seen that it cares about its employees and their problems.
Employee Burnout: The Silent Epidemic
Employee burnout is a factor that must be taken into account. Tiredness in the employee can be related not only to physical exhaustion, but can also be emotional. Additionally, it is important to note that burnout is not a medical diagnosis. In fact, many experts think that there are disorders such as depression behind exhaustion.
An employee does not take burnout into account until it takes its toll. Furthermore, if he has other types of problems that increase his fatigue, it can cause a much bigger problem. Working hours in the UAE are fair and overtime is paid by the law.
However, there may be companies that do not follow what is established in the UAE labor law. In this way, an employee can work longer than established and cause greater burnout. For this reason, employees can suffer some type of accident in their workplace and even lose their lives.
The company needs to be aware of its employees’ health and burnout. In addition, the employee must report if he or she suffers from labor exploitation to the relevant authorities. Generally, jobs in the UAE have very friendly policies for employees so that these problems do not happen.
