Quiet Quitting in Workspaces: How to Detect It and Lead Change Through Design and Technology

"Quiet quitting" doesn't mean someone leaves their job, but rather that they stop committing to tasks beyond the minimum required. It is a silent but growing trend in offices worldwide, and it can be devastating for productivity, culture, and innovation within a company.

The Invisible Cost of Quiet Quitting: Key Data

Recent studies warn about the risks of this micro disengagement at work: it directly affects productivity, lowers morale, weakens collaboration, and slows innovation. According to SpeedExam.net, performance and creativity decrease and project delivery becomes slower.

• Up to 68% of workers admit feeling emotionally disconnected in their role (Gallup Global 2024).
• The costs of turnover, absenteeism, and low productivity can consume between 34% and 50% of the annual salary per affected employee (Forbes Councils).

Root Causes: Beyond Burnout

Silent disengagement arises from a combination of emotional burnout, excessive automation, lack of visible leadership, and low social interaction in the office. Distance from leaders and the perception of a lack of meaning in workspaces also influence [see source].

Is there a solution? Yes, but it requires an integrated vision considering space, culture, and technology.

Early Signs: How to Detect Quiet Quitting?

• Disappearance of voluntary participation in collaborative projects.
• Increase in brief absences and disconnection in hybrid meetings.
• Worsening quality in repetitive or low-visibility tasks.
• Feedback that becomes increasingly scarce or superficial.

These clues allow intervention before the problem becomes systemic.

New Spaces, New Motivations: The Role of Design and Technology

Modern offices must not only be functional: they are called to awaken their teams' commitment. The "quiet quitting" trend can be reversed through:

• Flexible spaces that encourage informal collaboration and belonging.
• Wellness and relaxation areas to prevent emotional exhaustion.
• Natural lighting, indoor vegetation, and biophilic design to stimulate connection and a sense of purpose.
• Technological solutions enabling transparent feedback and real-time recognition.

Creativity in design, supported by visualization platforms like Redesign by Deptho, allows creating environments quickly adapted to team needs, overcoming old paradigms of monotonous spaces.

Adding technology, a feedback culture, and human-centered design is crucial to facing the future of work and combating disconnection.

"Quiet quitting is a symptom, not the disease. The challenge is to build work environments where commitment can thrive again."

Action for Leaders and Professionals: 3 Keys to Inspire and Retain

1. Periodically assess your team's motivation with brief surveys and active listening channels.
2. Adapt spaces to offer genuine experiences and connections, relying on visual solutions like Motion by Deptho to visualize changes and new dynamics before implementing them.
3. Promote recognition and transparency with digital tools (feedback, anonymous surveys, collaborative dashboards).

Every action counts: the sum of well-directed microinterventions can completely transform office culture and motivation.

Ready to redesign commitment in your workspace?

If you manage offices or lead teams, start today: listen to your people and enhance your spaces with advanced visualization and adaptable design. Dive deeper into more workplace and collaboration trends in our post XR and AI in offices, or try Free Mode by Deptho to visualize how your office can be much more than just a workplace.