Quiet quitting. Silent space-out. Faux focus. Call it what you want, a lot of today’s workers are going through the motions on the surface while quietly powering down beneath it. Nearly half of Gen Z employees say they’re “coasting,” and overall U.S. employee engagement sits at a decade low.
When engagement fades, performance becomes performative. But disengagement isn’t just a problem to solve, it’s a signal to heed. Employees aren’t turning off. They’re trying to tell us something.
As CEO of SurveyMonkey, I’ve witnessed how curiosity can be the cure to the workplace phenomenon “resenteeism”—a state of resentment combined with absenteeism—which is often fueled by the current economic uncertainty, high-profile layoffs, and the always looming threat of a recession that compels employees to stay in difficult jobs. Here are a few best practices:
When you ask better questions, you reveal truer truths
By asking better questions, you can get to the heart of what employees really need. A few small shifts in your approach to asking can make a big difference.
- Ask about feelings and solutions separately. Instead of asking, “What do you think about manager-employee communications?” Ask, “How do you feel about manager-employee communications?” Then, separately, “What do you think would make it better?” Dividing feelings and solutions into two distinct categories enhances understanding of each, providing a better roadmap to real change.
- Keep it simple. Avoid double-barreled questions that blur answers. Instead of asking, “How satisfied are you with your manager’s communication and support?” Ask two clear questions: one about communication and one about support.
- Be receptive to harsh truths. When you ask questions with a genuine interest in the answers, employees will be more likely to open up, share ideas, and re-engage. Asking harder questions often reveals truer answers that get to the heart of the matter faster. You’ll hear frustrations, confusion, and even criticism. But discomfort is often where innovation starts. Plan to be uncomfortable, and you won’t be disappointed.
- Be clear about anonymity. Anonymity can surface more honest feedback, but it’s not always the best route. Sometimes you’ll want to follow up on a great idea or recognize the person who shared it. Either way, be transparent about whether feedback is anonymous. People will keep sharing when the ground rules are clear.
Make every day listening second nature
Too often, conventional check-ins like annual reviews and quarterly surveys feel like impersonal boxes to check. Approached clinically, managers are more likely to miss early signs of disengagement. When people feel like their feedback is lost in a dashboard, they stop providing it.
Employees know when feedback requests are performative, and they respond as such. Sincere listening needs to be lighter, faster, and less formal. You can normalize curiosity in small, consistent ways, including:
- Ask a simple question at the end of a team meeting: “What’s standing in your way today?” or “What can we improve this week?”
- Run short, focused pulse surveys that take 60 seconds or less to answer.
- Follow up verbally when something needs clarification, rather than using email or Slack.
- Share one piece of feedback you’ve acted on recently.
My team has seen that a five-minute feedback loop can reveal what a 50-question survey misses. It’s less about frequency and more about follow-through. When employees see their input lead to action, trust grows, and engagement follows.
Take every comment seriously
Even the tiniest morsel of feedback can spark outsized change. A lone remark can connect teams, bridge silos, and turn passive frustration into active progress.
One of the best examples I’ve seen came from a deceptively simple comment in a benefits survey from our Chief People Officer’s team.
While the overall feedback was positive, one person asked: What about the janitorial staff?
This simple yet powerful question led her team to re-evaluate benefits for the vendor partners who keep our offices running every day. Within months, she expanded health insurance, paid time off, and transportation benefits to all contract employees.
The ripple effect of this change was immediate. Our contractors said they felt more motivated, and regular employees were proud to work for a company that took care of everyone under its roof. That motivation and pride translated into stronger engagement, higher productivity, and a more unified culture.
All of it started with a single comment, taken seriously.
Start small, stay curious
Resenteeism isn’t just a blip. It’s a signal. If we know how to listen, we can turn that signal into strategy. The key is to start small and stay consistently curious.
Ask one question. If you don’t get specific feedback, such as a vague “All good!” or “It’s fine!”, reframe it: What part of this experience didn’t land for you? If it’s a 9 out of 10, what would make it a 10 out of 10?
You can’t reverse disengagement overnight, but you can make incremental progress—and progress compounds. It’s a philosophy my team and I try to live by: better is better.
What question will you ask today?