60% of workers quietly quitting, study reveals

MANILA, Philippines —  Sixty percent of employees in the Philippines have engaged in quiet quitting due to the low salary they receive and the lack of opportunities to move up in the company, according to a study by consumer and data analytics company Milieu Insight.

Conducted in October last year, the survey covered 800 employees working in office environments in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, to understand how quiet quitting is perceived and the motivations behind it.

Quiet quitting, which was popularized last year, refers to doing just what is required and not going above and beyond at work.

The study showed that 23 percent of the surveyed employees in the Philippines started quiet quitting a long time ago, while 37 percent only got into it recently.

When asked why they engage in quiet quitting, having a low salary (53 percent) emerged as the top reason.

Other top reasons cited were lack of promotion opportunities or salary increments (51 percent) and protecting one’s mental health (49 percent).

Across the six countries, the survey showed 58 percent of employees are engaging in quiet quitting, with 22 percent doing it for some time now and 36 percent starting only recently.

Top reasons for quiet quitting in the region are to take care of mental health (48 percent), prioritize work-life balance (42 percent), lack of opportunities to advance in the organization or to get salary increases (40 percent) and low pay (40 percent).

The study showed that employees in the Philippines see benefits in quiet quitting such as having less stress (67 percent), better mental health (54 percent) and work-life balance (48 percent).

Employees in the country also recognize, however, that just doing the bare minimum has consequences such as being perceived as not hardworking or slacking (51 percent), being regarded as disengaged or disinterested in work (44 percent) and being seen as unreliable (44 percent).

Despite the perceived consequences of quiet quitting, 71 percent of employees in the country believe those who do not go above and beyond the job requirements should still be entitled to a performance bonus, higher than the regional average of 64 percent.

For respondents from the Philippines, there are actions that can be taken if there are quiet quitters in the company.

These include having a conversation with the concerned employee to understand the reason (62 percent), looking at areas where the team or management or company can improve (54 percent) and improving the work culture (54 percent).