The rise of conscious quitting

There’s camaraderie among workers now. Whether it’s revolting against in-person work or better benefits, staff are voicing their views.

 

Aside from quiet quitting and quiet firing, there’s more to what employees are thinking. Conscious quitting is what happens when staff no longer agree with the pulse of the organisation. Likely uncommon in the charity sector, but this new idea may impact staff.

 

 

What is conscious quitting?

 

A key reason why people like working in the charity sector is because it gives them a sense of fulfilment.

 

“The work is value-driven, prioritising ethics over profit so you always know you are supporting a good cause and helping the lives of others,” reports The Guardian Newspaper. Speaking more plainly, charity workers focus on doing good for others because they know that their organisations have a moral and ethical code.

 

Conscious quitting happens when that moral and ethical code doesn’t align with an individual’s own values.

 

LinkedIn shares the impact on retention. Their research reveals that: “Almost half of the workers surveyed said they would rather leave their jobs than work for a company that does not share their values, especially around issues like the environment and social equality.” 

 

 

Value-driven decisions are on the rise

 

Overall, audiences are becoming more aware of the impact businesses have. They are forming groups with distinct interests to do good.

 

Charity workers and candidates are making employment decisions based on values. Amba’s study of over 1,000 workers found that 58% of staff are thinking of leaving their jobs in the next year because the employer doesn’t share their views. Of those, more than half of them were looking for jobs with organisations that did share their beliefs.

 

The younger the employee, the more poignant the effect. According to the same study, a whopping 69% felt that it was important that the workplace had high ethical standards.

 

 

It’s not just about workers

 

While conscious quitting focuses on the reasons why workers tend to leave their jobs, value-driven decision-making doesn’t stop there.

 

Impact investment is value-driven. Here, philanthropists and supporters donate their money to organisations that want to do good. As we have previously explored, impact investment can offer good social outcomes as well as making money.

 

The size of the impact investment market in the UK shows just how powerful values and ethics are. Last year, Enrst & Young estimated that the market is approximately worth £58 billion. They note that the demand from investors is increasing. That is, more and more people want to put their money towards good causes. 

 

 

How to prevent conscious quitting

 

Since conscious quitting is about aligning ethics and values, charities should have few problems here. To best let your staff and audiences know what the organisation stands for, here are our top tips.

 

 

Speak through your mission statement

 

Make it easy for audiences, staff, and potential employees to understand what the purpose is. Writing a mission statement is crucial to showing others what the organisation’s values are. To start, address the what, who, why, and how of charity activity. Once that’s done, share online.

 

 

Practice what you preach

 

Sharing the impact of charity work goes a long way to convincing staff and audiences of the worth of the work. Use digital tools and reports to tell the story. Digital impact measurement tools include those that track carbon footprint, governance, and activity. Surveys that chart the before and after journey of beneficiaries also go a long way.

 

 

Policies do matter

 

Diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I) policies let prospective candidates know what their careers might look like. The policies are a stance on racism, social mobility, sexism, and other socio-economic issues. Letting staff in on how the policies are translating into action helps ease the dissonance that conscious quitters might feel.

 

 

Going green and sustainable

 

One of the top reasons that Millennials and Gen Z ‘vote with their feet’ is over environmental and climate change concerns. The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey shows how prevalent and meaningful being value-aligned is.

 

For both generations, the survey found that climate change ranked second – and second only to cost-of-living worries. Deloitte found that both generations “don’t believe business and governments are as strongly committed, and many are pushing their own employers to take action”.

 

To assuage conscious quitters, take aim at climate change. Whether it’s delivering on sustainability goals or conservation, going green is crucial

 

 

Engage staff 

 

Empowering charity staff combats conscious quitting. LinkedIn News, writing on the topic, notes that: “By demonstrating your company’s values and involving employees in decision-making, recognition, and development opportunities, you can retain your best talent and prevent ‘conscious quitting’.” Getting staff to make decisions allows for greater value alignment.