"Quiet quitting" made waves last year as employees started prioritizing boundaries by not taking on additional work or going above and beyond at their jobs. 

While quiet quitting is often regarded as a personal rejection of the hustle culture, some workers are no longer keeping discontentment on the down-low — instead, they are engaging in "loud quitting." 

Almost 1 in 5, or 18%, of global employees are loudly quitting or actively disengaged, according to a new report from Gallup of more than 120,000 global employees. 

The consulting company defined loud quitters as employees who take actions that "directly harm" the organization, while undercutting its goals and opposing its leaders.

"At some point along the way, the trust between employee and employer was severely broken," said the report. 

"Or the employee has been woefully mismatched to a role, causing constant crises." 

With the majority of the world's employees engaging in quiet quitting (59%) — only 23% of survey respondents consider themselves to be thriving or engaged at work. 

Low-engagement workers are costing the global economy an estimated $8 trillion and account for 9% of global GDP, according to Gallup. 

"[They] represent an immense opportunity for economic growth … Leadership and management directly influence workplace engagement, and there is much that organizations can do to help their employees thrive at work." 

What loud quitting means for companies

Loud quitting can signal "major risks" in an organization that should not be ignored, Gallup said. For one, actively disengaged employees report feeling significantly more stressed at work. 

According to the report, only 30% of engaged employees felt "a lot of stress" on a daily basis, compared to 56% of loud quitters.

Unsurprisingly, employees who are actively disengaged are also more likely to turn loud quitting into an actual resignation — 61% of them are actively seeking a new job, compared to 43% of engaged workers, the report added. 

Quiet or loud quitting employees would also switch jobs for less pay, compared to engaged employees who require a 31% pay increase to consider a job switch, according to Gallup's analysis.

Meanwhile, it takes a 22% pay increase on average to get employees who are not engaged and actively disengaged workers to look elsewhere. 

Quiet quitters: 'low-hanging fruit' for change

Not all hope is lost however, as quiet quitters can be a company's "greatest opportunity" for growth and change, said Gallup. 

"Quiet quitting employees are your organization's low-hanging fruit for productivity gains. They are ready to be inspired and motivated — if they are coached in the right way," it added. 

"A few changes to how they are managed could turn them into productive team members," the report said.

According to the survey, 85% of responses offered by those considered to be quieting quitting were related to engagement or culture, pay and benefits, or wellbeing-work/life balance. 

"True engagement means your people are psychologically present to do their work," said Gallup.

"They have what they need; and they have a supportive manager and a supportive team. They know why their work matters." 

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