“Kudos to you for crushing that presentation!”
What is quiet cracking? I’ll tell you all about it today, but please understand that it's not a TikTok trend. It’s definitely not a productivity hack, and it’s pretty easy to miss.
Quiet cracking involves the single mom who shows up every day, smiling in meetings, but cries on the drive home. It creeps its way over to the loyal manager who doesn't complain but hasn't felt appreciated in years.
It's personified by the rockstar employee who begins losing their stage presence. In many ways, it is burnout performed in slow motion.
What is quiet cracking?
Quiet cracking describes an early stage in the breakdown of an employee’s job satisfaction, engagement, and morale. These employees are still completing their work, but the spark is gone.
Unlike resenteeism, there are few complaints. Unlike complete burnout, the behavioral changes aren’t as external. Quiet cracking can be hard to spot because it’s an inside job. Training platform TalentLMS, which coined the term, helps identify a few contributing factors:
General job insecurity and fears about the future
Cracks can begin to appear in people who find their jobs manageable or even enjoyable. This is because how they regard their role right now does not reveal how they feel about their future at the company.
When growth seems unlikely and training is nonexistent, it can be exacerbated by other concerns. Global economic uncertainty and AI gradually taking over more roles are two major examples.
Lack of recognition and feeling disconnected from leadership
Managers who do not listen to feedback or show any sign of investment in professional development further dim the light.
All of these factors, from fears of the future to detached leadership, are made worse by a lack of recognition. Lack of recognition serves to confirm the employee’s anxieties that they’re replaceable and ultimately on their own. It’s only a matter of time before the employer-employee relationship meanders to its end.
How is quiet cracking different from quiet quitting?
Quiet quitting is a deliberate decision to stop offering more than the bare minimum at work. Quiet cracking is a marked drop in morale as an employee begins experiencing a loss of hope in their future at a company. It can be a precursor to quiet quitting.
Another difference between the two terms is the potential cause. Employees can choose to quiet quit as a response to an unbalanced workload or a toxic culture. Quiet cracking is a more likely response to a lack of appreciation or recognition. It’s the internal belief that one’s effort doesn’t matter, period. Quiet quitters, on the other hand, have resolved that the company isn’t deserving of their efforts.
I’ll share some signs of quiet cracking next. But first, I want to illustrate the difference between these two terms with a common symptom they share: increased sick days.
Quiet quitters may intentionally use up their sick days as they create their exit plan. Quiet crackers will also take their sick days, but their behavior at work can be more indicative of actual unwellness. Increasing complaints of headaches, body aches, digestive problems, and fatigue are very real symptoms of impending burnout.
How to spot quiet cracking at work
With quiet cracking, silence can convey a powerful message. No matter the reason, here’s what it looks like when an employee begins to struggle.
- A chatty teammate begins sending fewer Slack messages.
- An employee downplays their own achievements and refuses compliments.
- Remote employees abruptly refuse to turn their cameras on.
- One of the team’s best thinkers isn’t sharing as many ideas.
- An even-tempered person becomes frustrated more quickly.
- They meet deadlines, but there’s a small drop in the quality of their output.
- A person stops eating lunch with the team and reduces socializing with coworkers they usually like.
- A cracking employee can become more anxious about changes, even small ones.
Quiet cracking is the emotional equivalent of putting on a hoodie and turning away. Identifying it is not observing a behavior and judging it; it’s observing a change in behavior and addressing it.
Mending cracks in the culture
Quiet cracking at work bears the distinction of being more psychological than other retention issues. However, you don't need a psychology degree to fight it.
🌮 Notice effort and say thank you. Send the taco.
✔️ Check in. Ask people how they are and if they’re missing anything at work.
📚 Create learning opportunities. Small investments in employee skills foster hope.
🎉 Celebrate the big and small wins. Birthdays, bug fixes, or brave ideas.
🤝 Encourage peer recognition. Supportive teams create feelings of belonging.
❤️ Make recognition a habit. It should never feel like a quarterly HR initiative.
Address quiet cracking with behavior, not perks.
The inner turmoil of quiet cracking often centers on fears of the future. Economic security and ensuring skills can withstand the adoption of AI are two examples. Another is the worry that our company just doesn’t care what we do.
You can’t put a few words of encouragement or a gift card on top of these anxieties once and see it improve. Consistent recognition is the way, and it’s easier to do when everyone gets involved. Teammates giving each other tacos for the small stuff sends a big message over time. It says, “We see you, you matter, and you belong.”
That's how you crack through the silence before it becomes a collapsing heap of burnout and quiet quitting.
Quiet cracking is real. But so is the power of recognition, and we believe it’s much stronger. Learn more about how HeyTaco has become the not-so-secret superpower of thousands of teams worldwide.
