We’ve had ‘quiet quitting’, ‘quiet firing’ and now the latest workplace trend is ‘quiet cracking’.
But are these new concepts or are they just novel terms used by younger generations predominantly on TikTok and picked up by US media outlets?
“I’ve noticed a ‘trendification’ of workplace feelings, and I wonder is it just aligned with TikToks emergence and people commenting on the workplace,” commented Behavioural Psychologist and founder of Changeable Padraig Walsh.
More than half of US workers surveyed by TalentLMS reported they were experiencing quiet cracking.
It’s happening as businesses continue to adapt to post-pandemic realities, with many workers silently tackling challenges on their own.
A quiet quitter “gives up” and disengages at work, they do the bare minimum required as per their job description and might be looking for a new job.
Quiet firing happens when the employer doesn’t want to fire someone, but they make the environment so toxic that the worker quits.
And a quiet cracker is when a boss thinks an employee is fine and meeting deadlines, but they are secretly struggling and overwhelmed, making it harder to detect in the workplace.
“Anytime there is a survey out now there seems to be a ‘trendification’ or a labeling of what potentially could just be normal human emotions and typical feelings,” said Mr Walsh.
“The way that quite cracking’is defined is the erosion of workplace satisfaction from within. I don’t know anyone who has never felt that way at different stages,” he said.
Maybe it’s the case that all these trends now pose opportunities for employers to re-engage with their staff to find out what the people working for them need to help businesses succeed.
What is quiet cracking?
The phrase was coined by TalentLMS following an online survey of 1,000 US employees across industries in March 2025.
“Quiet Cracking: a persistent feeling of workplace unhappiness that leads to disengagement, poor performance, and an increased desire to quit,” it said.
The survey found 54% of employees experience some level of quiet cracking compared with 47% who rarely or never feel this way.
While one in five surveyed said they’re stuck in a persistent state of workplace unhappiness, leading to disengagement, poor performance, or plans to quit.
Quiet crackers are not quite at burnout level but it’s an unhealthy level of dissatisfaction and demotivation.
Unlike burnout, quiet cracking doesn’t necessarily leave people exhausted, and unlike quiet quitting it doesn’t always show up on performance metrics.
It is however the erosion of work satisfaction, which over time can lead to disengagement and decreased productivity.
What impact does it have on people?
If like the research suggests 20% of a team is quietly disengaging, it can also erode trust and energy for the rest of their colleagues.
Discontent can spread and there can slowly start to be an erosion of confidence or a steady outflow of people.
“When there are people who are on the fence about their job, suddenly it takes just one person to resign or find a new job,” said Mr Walsh
“If these feelings have been bubbling under the surface, or if there’s an element of this quiet cracking, nothing might be said for ages, then you might have one person who takes action, who brings it to the attention of management to change his job, suddenly you see others feeling more empowered to take action.
“But in the absence of that, what you can find is discontent continuing.”
How can quiet cracking affect businesses?
The Gallop State of the Global workplace 2025 report shows that $9.6 trillion in productivity would be added to the economy if the global workforce was fully engaged.
That would represent a 9% increase in global GDP.
This means disengaged employees could be costing companies a lot of money due to unhappiness at work.
The research found the top three concerns driving job insecurity are economic uncertainty, workload and unclear expectations, and poor leadership and company direction.
It found 82% of employees feel secure in their jobs today, but that drops to 62% when asked about their future with the company.
The research highlights the importance of the role of management and providing the connection for the employee and the bigger picture.
According to TalentLMS the disconnect they found in the data between overall job security and how employees feel about their future with their company indicates something that should alarm leaders.
It said it shows that people are not worried about losing their jobs, but they don’t really feel like the employer-employee relationship is going to last.
What responsibility do employers have?
According to the TalentLMS survey employees who haven’t received training in the past year are 140% more likely to feel insecure about their jobs.
In short, the study says: ‘no growth, no recognition, no reason to stay. Employee training isn’t just about skill-building; it’s an antidote to disengagement.’
For journalist journalist and technology expert Peggy Smedley this is an “eye-watering figure”.
Speaking on her podcast The Peggy Smedley Show (Ep 920) she described quiet cracking as a slow unravelling of employee motivation.
“It’s disengagement that flies under the radar until performance drops, productivity slips and people obsess over quitting,” she said.
“It’s great to recognise all these trends. The real problem is that we need to have workers who have the skills to get the job done.
“We need to take steps today to upskill, re-skill, educate, motivate. Other than that, we got to avoid the quiet cracking.”
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) 2025 HR practices in Ireland survey found that staff turnover rates depending on sector are being reported at anywhere between 5% and 20%.
Turnover is still manageable but its because people have “obviously moved to this quiet cracking place,” according to CIPD Market Director Alison Hogson.
Looking at the CIPD research, the top reasons that people are leaving their job are their commute, work life balance, career progression and the cost of living.
At the same time, 90% of businesses are facing skill shortages, so there is a bit of a perfect storm going on.
“In HR one size does not fit all and one size never fit at all, but it was just the way things went about 20 years ago,” said Ms Hodgson.
“Now, in the world of work, it is all about hyper personalisation, it is all about understanding what the employee wants, what they’re looking for, and seeing how the organization can play their part in that.”
“One hand washes the other, you can’t have a successful business without people who are happy and performing.”
How to prevent quiet cracking?
Results of the study indicate that workplace learning impacts job security.
Lack of learning and training is not just a retention issue; it is a wakeup call for businesses to recognise the cost of disengagement.
If effort goes unnoticed, people start checking out, which can lead to stalled innovation, missed opportunities and rising turnover, according to TalentLMS.
A growing area of uncertainty for workers is around the advancements in technology and the role of AI.
Peggy Smedley offered some advice for business owners on her podcast.
“Here’s my tip, don’t forget about the role of technology in an ever-evolving workforce, but it’s also about making people feel good about themselves.
“The future of work will see workers and technology working together hand in hand.
“It’s about them recognising they’re not going to be displaced, they’re going to find a place within your company that makes them feel important.
“You have a role in making them feel that way. You don’t want to lose your people because your people are your best asset.”
We’re frequently hearing about new work trends, new buzzwords but they have negative connotations.
Maybe, like Peggy Smedley says on her podcast, we should reject quiet quitting and quiet cracking, and the next buzz term should be ‘great learning.’
I’m just not sure it has the same ring to it to go viral on TikTok.
