By: Natasha Archary
Human Resources (HR) Specialist Sipho Mabaso joins Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz to talk about “grumpy staying” in an unhappy work environment.
In a nutshell the term, grumpy staying can be broken down as employees who are unhappy but staying because they don’t have any other option at the moment which they can leave their current employer for.
Workers in this position exhibit a detached attitude in their workplace, and display signs of “quiet quitting,” which essentially means they’ve checked out of the company mentally, and perhaps emotionally but remain employed physically.
Mabaso says the phenomenon is more common these days, where disengaged employees choose to stay in unhappy work environments because they have commitments that doesn’t give them a way out.
Often this comes at the expense of their mental health and wellbeing and can impact the overall atmosphere in the work environment.
“This trend is not isolated to just South Africa, and is being noticed globally, with the US for example undergoing a recession, a lot of people are scared of shifting jobs because they might not find another opportunity.
In the peak of Covid-19, there was a surge in the number of people who resigned from their jobs because they wanted to prioritize their mental wellness. Many people found their true calling and either quit to pursue their passions, or to find a more fulfilling work-life balance.
Because the realization that life is so short was brought to the fore during the pandemic, millions of people reassessed their lives and the jobs that they had, and started making decisions that were in their best interest.
But, what’s happening now, is that the job market is so tight, look at South Africa, in the first quarter of 2023, unemployment is sitting at 33%.
People are aware that they need to make more informed decisions, and can’t just quit because their pockets need to take priority now.”
Sipho Mabaso, HR Specialist talks about grumpy staying in an unhappy work environment
Mabaso says some of the factors to grumpy staying is having a guaranteed salary at the end of every month, or week, and security.
Other factors include:
- Job dissatisfaction
- Toxic work environment
- Lack of work-life balance
- Poor management and leadership
- Limited opportunities for growth and development
- Personal circumstances
- Cultural or organisational mismatch
- Uncertain job market
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:
Also read: Working parents are burnt out and feel unsupported by employers
