Read the following scenario and answer questions that follow:

Quiet quitting isnt new. Creative fatigue has always plagued the ad industry

Of late, the phrase quiet quitting seems to have become ubiquitous across newspapers, the internet, in conversations or just about wherever one looks. For the uninitiated, this term first surfaced when engineer Zaid Khan, himself in his 20s, said in a TikTok video that employees arent outright quitting their jobs, but youre quitting the idea of going above and beyond.

A report by Gallup, an American analytics and advisory company, reveals that employees that have disengaged from their work alone cost the worlds economy USD 7.8 trillion or 11 per cent of the GDP.

The discussion around quiet quitting has polarised people over the world. While some believe employees are simply delivering what theyre paid for, others look at it as the rightful indictment of the glorified hustle culture seen across corporates and startups.

Shifting the lens to the advertising industry a sector thats often called out for poor work-life balance and long working hours the big question is: Is quiet quitting perturbing creative heads? And how does it affect creative output?

To quit or not to quit

FCB Indias CCO, Surjo Dutt, believes this is an old problem in a new bottle and is pretty industry-agnostic. Wanting to do just the bare minimum and going home isnt something were hearing for the first time, he says. Instead of coining a new phrase, Dutt believes itll be better for the industry to combat this plague.

As for Ajay Gahlaut, group CCO, Dentsu Creative India, he isnt worried at all. He believes theres no middle ground to quitting; one either quits or doesnt. He says, Quiet quitting seems like a strange term, coined by people who are not in line with the company or agencys objectives and at loggerheads with the management, but without the courage to call it out.

In fact, it might just be better for an employee to resign if they find themselves in this position, he says. Employees having an issue with a boss or an organisations way of working, should question it loudly and persistently. A valuable employees voice will always be heard, he adds.

Creative fatigue

A creative person needs to feel inspired and motivated to think of fresh ideas for brands. But a mind bogged down with working weekends, low pay grades and constant pitches is bound to produce tired ideas.

Rajdeepak Das, CEO and CCO, Leo Burnett, South Asia, believes that creative fatigue has always been the industrys biggest challenge. And its also why creatives leave advertising to pursue other challenges that inspire them. They even have newer avenues for it now.

He says, There was a time when we lost good talent to Bollywood, digital content creation and now its to OTT platforms. Creatives need to be [creatively] challenged.

When one hears about how things are in the industry, with high levels of exhaustion and burnout, the quality I must say is the first victim. After that, its a downward spiral, says Vikash Chemjong, CCO, Cheil India.

Creative heads also believe its easy to spot team members that are quitting quietly. Ordinary ideas, lazy craft and zero proactive thinking are some of the obvious ways in which creatives subconsciously rebel, as pointed out by Kartik Smetacek, joint NCD, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi India. But more worryingly, he says, its the negativity and pessimism accompanying it which has a way of spreading to the entire team, sapping their energy and enthusiasm.

For Dutt, a good leader already knows what a team member is going through; there always are signs. The first step is to acknowledge it and then to hear the employee out. Understand where its stemming from and at least attempt to eliminate the root cause, he says. In case that isnt possible, then the leader must give the employee a break, depending on the situation.

Gahlaut believes its incumbent on employees to inform their supervisors if they are unable to cope with the jobs pressures. And it is equally the managers responsibility to take this seriously and address it with urgency. Pointing out how mental health is as important as physical health, he adds, I would be very worried if I found a colleague of mine quietly rebelling against exhaustion. I would consider it a failure of the organisation that the employee did not approach their superior and had to rebel in silence.

Infusing motivation

There are ways to motivate colleagues who seem to be feeling the blues at work. Managing workloads, appreciating creative contributions, rewarding efforts, conducting happiness surveys, and building a culture where everyone works towards a common goal are a few of them.

The most effective way to mitigate against it is to keep honest communication channels open. If an individual feels like theres a receptive ear they can freely talk and vent to, it goes a long way towards assuaging any frustration, says Smetacek.

For Chemjong, low phases are par for the course as a creative. But its great, quality work that brings the high in the job back.

It starts with creating buddy leaders within the team, offers Dutt, adding, Leaders who keep an eye out for things like these creeping into the group. Atomic attempts at providing extra support, giving necessary breaks, sharing the load with zero favouritism are really the little things that can absolutely uproot the [quiet quitting] problem.

1.1.1 Looking at different types of organisational commitment, which ones are more related to quiet quitting, state the reason for your answer by relating the definition of a specific organisational commitment and quiet quitting.

1.1.2 Judging from the article, some organisations seem to be taking the matter lightly and blaming it on the employees. What is the ideal types of organisational commitment and how can organisations achieve such commitment from their employees.

1.2 The case study mentions a number of issues that make employees leave organisations, identify at least three issues and how these issues can be addressed using physiological empowerment theory.