‘Conscious quitting’ is the new trend among millennial and Gen Z workers

What does the new generation of workers expects from leaders? (Representational image)

There has been no dearth of professional buzzwords in the COVID-19 pandemic times -- quiet quitting, lying flat and now "conscious quitting". A survey of 4,000 workers across the United States and United Kingdom has found that a major chunk of workers are quitting or are ready to quit jobs where their values don't align with those of their employers.

In addition to taking care of their financial needs and personal well-being, professionals want to work for companies that are acting to tackle big challenges like climate change and economic inequalities, according to the Net Positive Employee Barometer, a report commissioned by Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever.

Nearly half the employees (51 percent in the US and 45 percent in UK) interviewed for the research said they would consider leaving the employer whose values aren't a match for theirs.

In both the countries, 33 percent workers said they have already quit jobs for this reason.

Many are even taking pay cuts to join more conscious companies, the report said.

"All of these numbers are even higher for Millennials and Gen Z," it added. "We’re entering an era of conscious quitting."

Younger employees are fearful of the future and are asking themselves urgent questions, like what they are doing with the precious time they have, the report said.

"They want to give their time and skills to companies that have a positive impact on our planet and societies, and which offer hope," the research added. "Many can see that their employers are trying to be “less bad”, but they can also see it’s still not enough."

Many of the surveyed employees also a expressed distrust in their bosses, believing they are only motivated by personal profit and do not care about crucial societal issues.

What employers can do

The research suggested that business leaders focus on three chief areas -- setting targets that the world needs, being better at communicating and empowering their employees.

In the first point, the report suggested that companies be ambitious enough to set the targets that are urgently required, not the ones that are easy to deliver.

Second, communication with employees should be open, meaningful and a two-way process. "This is the only way to give employees confidence that their company is taking the actions it should," it added.

Third, leaders should empower their staff to have greater roles in the organisation's initiatives.

Read the full Net Positive Employee Barometer here.