“Resenteeism” is the latest trend to hit workplaces. The term describes employees that actively dislike their job but stay put, not wanting to risk the security of their current role in the hope a new job will offer greater fulfilment.
The challenge for employers is that, unlike “quiet quitting” that dominated employer concerns last year, resenteeism is harder to spot. Employees don’t noticeably stop fulfilling their duties but tend to bring lower energy and morale to their work and a palpable sense of resentment. If left unchecked, it will negatively impact not just the individual’s performance but team dynamics and ultimately harm company performance, brand, and customer satisfaction.
If you suspect your staff are becoming disaffected, early intervention is a must to prevent the issue escalating to a bigger problem and prevent it spreading to other team members. Here are seven actions employers can take to re-engage staff who have fallen out of love with their jobs.
7 ways to reignite passion for work
- Understand their love language
Until you know what’s eating away at employees and how they’d prefer to be treated you can’t fix the problem, so listen up! Have one-on-one meetings with disengaged employees to understand the specific issues making them unhappy. Get their input on what changes they would like to see or what resources they need to become re-engaged. Simply showing that their concerns and ideas matter to you will make them feel valued. - Create a shared vision of the future
To remain invested in the employer / employee relationship, both parties need to feel they have a future together. Discuss the individual employee’s professional goals and aspirations and help connect these to their current role and daily tasks, so they can see how their job will help them to progress. In cases where there is a misalignment between the employee’s goals and current job, consider whether it’s possible to modify parts of their role, so they see purpose and meaningful progress. Set goals collaboratively to boost motivation and check-in regularly on progress. - Respond to their desire to learn
Related to the previous point, knowing the company will support their desire to continually learn new things helps lift spirits and support staff retention. Invest in training and courses that help staff gain skills for the next step in their career. This doesn’t have to be expensive, learning opportunities can be created internally through mentoring, work shadowing or secondments. - Help them feel invested in the relationship
In addition, encourage greater autonomy and ownership of projects based on the employee’s strengths and interests. Increase the level of discretion they have to decide how to complete tasks. Make them project leads, being trusted to take the lead, and have more control over decisions will provide a greater sense of individual empowerment that makes us feel more invested in work and doing a good job. - Spread the love
Friendships and positive relationships with team members and work colleagues make the biggest difference to how an employee feels about work. Foster positive relationships and community through team bonding. Whether that’s taking time out each week to enjoy a team lunch or coffee breaks, or team events to facilitate social connections and build team camaraderie. Carving time out for team members to spend meaningful time together will increase loyalty, unity and restore a sense of belonging. - Show you care
Feeling “put upon” creates resentment in any relationship. Check whether the individual is feeling burnt out. If this is the case, consider ways to create greater work flexibility to help them manage work and home responsibilities more easily. Provide options like flex time, remote work, or temporarily reduced hours or workload after an intense project. By showing you care about their overall wellbeing sends the message that they are valued on a human level. - Show appreciation
Finally, publicly recognise the contribution and progress staff make with rewards, shoutouts and praise. Validate their work ethic and effectiveness so they realize their efforts don't go unseen or unappreciated. Gratitude boosts happiness and job satisfaction. You don’t have to shower employees with expensive tokens of appreciation, small, frequent acknowledgements will keep motivation high. It’s the being seen and valued that matters most.
It’s easier to prevent than reverse disengagement but once it’s been spotted, managers must address the issue quickly to prevent it spreading to other team members. This will require a consistent effort on various fronts, but the payoff in terms of higher performance and retention pays dividends. Implementing even small changes that show you hear them, care for them, and want to empower their best work is sure to reignite the passion for work.
