By Lily Carlyon, Head of Strategy, Mahlab
It was only a few years ago that the “quiet quitting” of post-covid burned out employees dominated headlines.
The global workforce was said to be doing the “bare minimum” whilst enjoying some of the most progressive workplace policies in history.
But today, organisations are doing their own version of quiet quitting as they quietly step back from the workplace commitments they once loudly championed.
Policies are being quietly revised behind closed doors, language softened and commitments diluted, often with little explanation beyond a carefully crafted statement or internal memo and often, without consultation.
For communications professionals, this should ring alarm bells. When organisations fail to explain difficult decisions transparently, they don’t control the narrative; they surrender it.
EY’s recent changes to its parental leave policy are a case in point. Last month, the organisation added a repayment provision where employees who take their parental leave entitlement may be required to repay part of it if they leave the company within 12 months of returning to work.
Reports suggest that this change was communicated to Australian employees through an internal memo, but that’s where the official conversation seemed to end. Despite extensive media reporting and corporate leaders weighing in on the changes, there appears to have been no public commentary by EY.
Media Outlet Women’s Agenda even called out the fact that they didn’t receive an official statement.
A lack of official commentary didn’t make the conversation go away – for EY or any of the other many organisations ‘quietly’ making these changes.
Type the name of any of the large corporations that have announced changes to DEI, return to work and parental leave policies into Reddit, and you’ll find hundreds of discussions.
Comments reveal that people are confused about the details of particular policy changes and why they’re happening. And this is not just on Reddit. Across LinkedIn and other social channels, people are asking for more transparency, more consultation and more accountability.
And if employees are talking about it in a public forum, it’s highly likely they’re also having discussions in private group chats.
Interestingly, commentary on some of these policy changes is somewhat balanced, with many defending the company’s decision as a necessary fiscal measure.
People understand that policies sometimes need to change to align to commercial or strategic priorities. But, they expect organisations to own these decisions and be prepared to have the difficult conversation about why they were made.
If organisations believe flexibility needs to change, explain why. If parental leave policies are being tightened, outline the commercial rationale and be clear about the changes. If investment in inclusion programs is being scaled back, be transparent about the changes and what they mean.
People don’t expect businesses to ignore economic reality, but they do expect transparency.
When organisations fail to communicate openly, trust erodes, culture suffers, and the risk of reputational damage increases, which can seriously impact the attraction and retention of talent.
Prospective employees increasingly research employers before applying, while customers and clients are paying closer attention to whether brands live up to the values they promote.
Silence or inconsistent communication weakens brand trust and puts customer loyalty at serious risk.
Workplace progress was loudly celebrated on the way up. We should not be quiet about its rollback as we go down.