'You better pay attention to what's going on with your staff and your team'
The practice of ‘loud quitting’ can be a great thing if employees are under a toxic boss in a toxic work environment, according to the star of TV series Shark Tank.
Daymond John, an investor on the business reality TV show and CEO of apparel firm FUBU, made the remarks on a TikTok video when he was asked about the emerging trend.
"I think it's great when there's a toxic boss, toxic environment," John said on the video.
Loud quitting, in the video, refers to employees who are dramatically leaving their jobs – quite the opposite of the quiet quitting trend that made the headlines years ago.
"If employers see that a bunch of people are loud quitting, you better pay attention to what's going on with your staff and your team," John said. "You awoke so much emotion that these people collectively have started saying, 'I don't care what happens to me out publicly, this place sucks.'"
On the other hand, the FUBU CEO also noted a downside to loud quitting – especially when it's carried out on social media.
"If you do it too much and you get too much attention over it, and it's not a bad place to work, I think that you hurt yourself in the future," he said. "I think that if you say the wrong things, you may get sued for slander."
Beyond what was said in John's video, loud quitting is not only about dramatically leaving employers.
A report from Gallup found that loud quitters are actively disengaged employees who are not just unhappy, but also "resentful" that their needs aren't met.
These employees are "acting out their unhappiness," according to the report, which found that 18% of employees are guilty of this behaviour.
Scott Clary, host of business podcast Success Story, described employee resentment as a "silent killer that can wreak havoc" in an organisation.
"Resentment can, indeed, stem from employer mistreatment. But you'll still see it if you're the fairest boss in the world – because resentment can come from factors you don't influence, like if an employee hates the career they've chosen and feels stuck in a job they loathe," he said on a LinkedIn post.
Clary noted that resentment may manifest in different ways, such as cold-shouldering, sharp or agitated mannerisms, poor quality of work, and even hostility.
The best way to protect organisations from resentment is by preventing it.
"But to do that, you need to know where resentment comes from in the first place – and, therefore, how to nip it in the bud from the get-go," he said.
According to Clary, among the potential sources of employee resentment are:
Clary also raised the concept of resenteeism, or the act of staying in a position they dislike out of necessity or because of the fear of leaving.
"Resenteeism is thought to be a direct result of the Great Resignation. Since employees are now hyper-aware of the conditions and roles they could be experiencing in other companies, they quickly grow to resent their current positions," he said.
"It gets worse and worse the longer they stick around."
Preventing these sources of resentment will be the key to protecting workplaces from their impact.
"If you can nip it in the bud early, you'll be able to cultivate a team of happy and productive workers who will take your business to new heights," Clary said.