It began with a whisper what the internet coined “quiet quitting.” At first, it sounded radical: employees doing only what their job required and no more. But this wasn’t about laziness or slacking off. It was a response to burnout, a quiet protest against unrealistic demands and a lack of appreciation. Workers were still showing up, but they stopped giving away their personal time, emotional energy, and unpaid effort. They were preserving themselves.
That moment marked a shift in workplace culture, and now, that shift has gone even deeper. Quiet quitting didn’t end it evolved. Today, many employees haven’t just stopped going the extra mile. They’ve stopped believing in the journey altogether. What we’re now witnessing is the rise of the silent resignation a growing trend of people who stay in their jobs but have mentally and emotionally checked out.
How Quiet Quitting Evolved
Quiet quitting was deliberate. It was people saying: “I will do my job, but I won’t burn out for it.” It was still rooted in a sense of control. Silent resignation, on the other hand, is resignation in the truest form not always from the job, but from effort, enthusiasm, and engagement. It’s not just about doing less it’s about feeling less.
This shift didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of ongoing disconnection between employees and their work, between teams and their leaders, and between what companies say they value and what employees actually experience. As time went on and little changed, many workers simply stopped expecting things to improve.
The signs are subtle. Someone who used to contribute in meetings now stays silent. A team member who used to take initiative now avoids new tasks. Colleagues who once lit up with ideas now focus only on the bare minimum. They’re not disrupting the workflow. They’re doing just enough to stay unnoticed—and for many companies, that’s the scariest part. On paper, everything looks fine.
Why People Are Mentally Checking Out
There’s no single cause behind silent resignation. It’s a combination of personal burnout, cultural misalignment, economic pressure, and emotional fatigue.
Many employees are still recovering from the intense mental strain of the pandemic years only to be met with return-to-office mandates, increased workloads, and fewer resources. At the same time, widespread layoffs have created a climate of fear. People are hanging on to their jobs not because they’re happy, but because they feel they have no choice. That sense of being stuck can be just as damaging as being overworked. Others are disengaging because they feel invisible. When feedback is rare, leadership feels distant, and promotions are unclear, employees begin to wonder why they’re pushing so hard. They start to believe it doesn’t matter how hard they work so they stop trying. This kind of mental withdrawal doesn’t come from apathy. It often comes from disappointment.
Another key factor is the absence of meaning. Employees today especially Millennials and Gen Z are deeply motivated by purpose. They want to believe their work has impact. When the company’s values feel performative or disconnected from its actions, that belief fades. Without a sense of contribution, the day-to-day becomes hollow.
What Employers Are Overlooking
The danger of silent resignation is that it’s not obvious. Unlike open disengagement where someone stops showing up or begins to underperform silent resignation is quiet. It doesn’t always set off alarms. But it erodes company culture, weakens collaboration, and holds back innovation over time. Companies often miss the warning signs because they’re focused on metrics and outcomes. But people can meet deadlines and still be disengaged. They can follow instructions and still feel lost. When leadership focuses only on output, they miss the opportunity to understand what’s happening beneath the surface.
Some organizations try to fix disengagement with quick perks free lunches, team socials, or an extra day off. But silent resignation isn’t solved with surface-level solutions. It requires emotional intelligence, honest dialogue, and meaningful structural change.
Where to Go From Here
To reverse the trend of silent resignation, companies need to focus less on asking for more from employees and more on giving employees a reason to care again. This starts with trust, recognition, and transparency. Leaders should check in with their teams not just about work, but about how they’re doing. People want to feel seen. They want to know their voices matter. Creating clear growth paths and offering real development opportunities also helps. People are more likely to invest in their jobs when they can see a future in them. Recognition, too, must become a consistent part of the culture not just at performance review time, but daily, in small and specific ways. And finally, companies need to revisit their purpose. Not just what’s written on their website, but what they stand for in action. When values align with behavior, when people are treated with respect, and when leadership models empathy, employees begin to re-engage. They start to believe again.
Silent resignation is not laziness it’s a signal. It tells us something’s broken. It’s the quiet outcome of unmet needs, ignored voices, and emotional fatigue. But it’s not irreversible. With care, effort, and intention, organizations can reawaken the commitment that’s gone quiet. The key is to act now before silence becomes absence.
Luyanda is a digital marketing & SEO professional. She is a part of the Minority Business Review digital marketing team. She is a Boston Media House Graduate who obtained a Diploma in Media Practice majoring in Digital Marketing.