Quiet Quitting in Times of Uncertainty: Definition and Relationship With Perceived Control.

Uncertain times—such as periods of political turmoil, economic instability, health, or climate crises—can diminish individuals' perception of control over their environment. This paper hypothesizes that reduced perceptions of control may impact how individuals relate to their work, specifically, tri...

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Publicado en:Human Resource Management Vol. 64; no. 5; pp. 1421 - 1457
Autores principales: Hervé, Justine, Oh, Hyewon
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Sep/Oct2025
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Sep/Oct2025
      vid: 64
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        10.1002/hrm.22317
        187693178
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        atl: Quiet Quitting in Times of Uncertainty: Definition and Relationship With Perceived Control.
      aug:
        au:
          Hervé, Justine
          Oh, Hyewon
        affil: The School of Business, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken New Jersey, , USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Uncertainty
          Employees Psychosocial Factors
          Work Engagement
          Employee Attitudes Evaluation
          Intention
          Job Description
          Task Performance and Analysis
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          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Surveys
          Summated Rating Scaling
          Factor Analysis
          Mediation Analysis
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Funding Source
          Scales
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Uncertain times—such as periods of political turmoil, economic instability, health, or climate crises—can diminish individuals' perception of control over their environment. This paper hypothesizes that reduced perceptions of control may impact how individuals relate to their work, specifically, triggering quiet quitting, where employees intentionally refrain from tasks beyond their job requirements. Evidence supports this hypothesis: for example, the phenomenon of quiet quitting has resurged in the post‐pandemic era, coinciding with a significant decline in workers' perceived control around that time. However, no research has yet explored the relationship between perceived control and quiet quitting. Drawing on motivation theory, this paper posits that workers' perceived control, reflected in their beliefs about the effort‐reward link, can explain quiet quitting. To test this, we conducted two extensive online surveys with two main objectives: first, to conceptually refine and operationalize the construct of quiet quitting with a 5‐item scale; second, to examine the relationship between perceived control and quiet quitting. Our findings reveal a significant negative association between workers' perceived control and their propensity to engage in quiet quitting. This relationship is partially mediated by a reduced affective commitment to the employer and an elevated sense of replaceability. A direct implication of our results is that initiatives aimed at restoring workers' sense of agency at work might reduce quiet quitting behaviors.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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