If you are interested in HR news and the world of work, you have certainly heard about the Great Resignation. This phenomenon hit the United States in 2021, with nearly 40 million employees who voluntarily quit their jobs. Since then, businesses have experienced “quiet quitting”, the fact of performing only the bare minimum in one's tasks. They are now facing “resenteeism”. Although very recent, this new phenomenon is already worrying organizations - and rightly so. What is resenteeism? What are its consequences? How to prevent it from being implemented within your company? We answer all your questions.
What is resenteeism?
The word resenteeism (or resenteeism) comes from the English “to resent” which means “to be outraged”, “to resent someone or something” or even “to have resentment”. This term was invented by HR management software provider Rotacloud.
Concretely, resenteeism reflects the feeling of generalized exasperation that an employee may feel towards his employer. It is as a result of The Great Resignation that we saw this word appear. While many workers left their jobs, businesses had a hard time replacing them. As a result, those who stayed behind sometimes had to take on larger workloads and new responsibilities, without additional recognition. Not all of them received the support they expected from their management, felt abandoned, undervalued, and worried. They have ended up resenting their employer, and are not hiding it.
What are the consequences of resenteeism?
The frustration caused by this situation first of all has consequences on the productivity and performance of the employees concerned. Indeed, they are not fulfilled, do not find meaning in their tasks and no longer invest in the mission of their organization. Logically, this lack of well-being does not allow you to perform your work to the maximum of your abilities.
The second consequence of resenteeism is even more problematic: the people concerned are actively disengaged and make it known to those around them. They therefore do not hesitate to say unkind words to their colleagues about management. Thus, a certain negativity can spread within the workforce... and permanently affect team morale. This point illustrates an important difference with The quiet quitting : this movement is causing a rather silent disengagement which consists in doing only the minimum amount of work required. It does not necessarily cause your resentment to be expressed orally by the people around you.
How can you prevent resenteeism from taking hold in your business?
If you want to have a successful and healthy company, it is essential that resenteeism does not affect your employees. Here are some tips for that.
Limit turnover as much as possible
The first parameter you need to worry about is turnover. Indeed, too many departures are often a sign of inadequate working conditions, a lack of meaning, or even an unsuitable type of management. In all cases, it reflects an insufficient commitment rate on the part of your employees and harms the performance of your company.
You can find all of our advice for reduce turnover in our dedicated article.
Becoming an attractive company
If, despite your efforts to keep your employees in your company, you still endure a few departures, it is important to be able to recruit quickly to replace these people. This is essential so that the employees who continue to work for you do not suffer negative consequences as a result of these departures.
Today, the war for talent is raging and the task can be difficult, especially if you are looking for very specific profiles. It is then necessary to make a difference with respect to other companies. Not anticipating this can jeopardize the well-being of your teams with too much work that would weigh on the employees who remain.
For this, it is essential to enhance your employer brand. It is an essential asset to convince new people to join you.
Increase employee engagement
Finally, the fact of develop the commitment of your employees makes it possible to limit both the number of resignations and the number of resenteeism.
Indeed, a committed employee is invested, productive and enterprising. He finds meaning in his missions and feels good in his work environment. It is therefore more likely that he wants to stay in his business in a sustainable way. In the same way, in case of difficulty, he will be more inclined to look for solutions than to complain.
Resenteeism is therefore a new phenomenon that affects businesses. This is a logical continuation of the Great Resignation, and some organizations are already worried about its appearance among their workforce. While it is difficult to predict whether or not France will be affected by this negative wave, you should know that there are powerful ways to anticipate this phenomenon before it reaches you. Teamstarter, a crowdfunding platform, is an example of a tool that helps you effectively and sustainably reduce your turnover rate, engage your employees and improve your employer brand. Reducing departures while increasing employee involvement limits the chances of resenteeism appearing within organizations.
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