Is Resenteeism A Silent Threat To Your Business?
You may notice that some of your peers at work are always irritated, doing the bare minimum, avoiding extra tasks, and feeling frustrated all the time. Maybe you hear them complain about management, company policies, or workload. That behavior is called resenteeism, and it’s becoming a serious issue in businesses everywhere.
Resenteeism is when employees stay in their jobs despite feeling unhappy. Unlike absenteeism, where employees frequently call in sick or avoid work, resenteeism is more of a silent threat. These employees come to work normally, but they’re barely productive. They may feel uncertain about their job security or finances or think they won’t find an alternative, and thus, instead of leaving, they stay and let their dissatisfaction grow. Resenteeism in businesses may sound like quiet quitting, where employees quietly stop trying, but it’s not quite the same. With resenteeism, they are frustrated and spread negativity through the team, affecting morale, collaboration, and overall workplace culture.
So, why should resenteeism concern you? Well, although it might seem like an employee problem, it’s actually a major issue for businesses, too. Resentful employees don’t give their best, which means lower productivity, decreased customer satisfaction, and a toxic work culture. Without further ado, let’s dive deeper into resenteeism and uncover its causes as well as its consequences for businesses.
What Causes Resenteeism?
Toxic Work Environment
A toxic work environment is one of the fastest ways to turn an excited employee into a resentful one. What does a toxic environment entail, though? First of all, poor leadership. Some managers micromanage, others are absent, no guidance is offered, and some have unpredictable behaviors. Then, there’s favoritism. When employees see others getting promotions because of their good terms with leadership, they get frustrated.
Lack Of Career Growth
Most employees want to grow in their careers. They want to learn new skills, take on challenges, and get promoted. But when those opportunities don’t exist, they feel stuck. For example, someone working at a company for years suddenly realizes they won’t advance in their role. This causes them to stop trying because they don’t see a point. Similarly, if your business doesn’t invest in training or upskilling its employees, you risk losing them.
Unfair Compensation
Employees who feel underpaid compared to their workload, expertise, or industry standards often start resenting their jobs. Especially if they find out that a coworker who does the same job gets paid more, they will quickly get irritated. The same applies to inadequate raises. If your staffers don’t see a raise in their salaries—or when they do, it’s low compared to their cost of living—they tend to work less.
Workload
You can’t expect your team members to feel satisfied with their roles when they’re overworked but unappreciated, right? When a company expects employees to do the work of more people, there’s bound to be exhaustion. Even worse, imagine if they get no help or support from their managers or have to sacrifice their personal lives to do more work. This is the recipe for employee burnout and, in turn, frustration and resentment.
5 Ways Resenteeism Negatively Impacts Your Business
1. Decline In Productivity
It’s only logical that employees who stay in a job they hate start losing their motivation. Yes, they still show up every day, but with no will to perform. Instead, they do just the bare minimum without contributing their ideas, leveraging their skills, and excelling in tasks. This leads to projects taking longer, more mistakes, and no innovation. All these hurt productivity significantly. And this level of disengagement can quickly spread. When one employee stops trying, it often impacts the whole team. Others might have to do more work, leading to frustration and resentment of their own. Remember that businesses thrive only when employees thrive as well.
2. Negative Workplace Environment
Resenteeism doesn’t just affect the employee who feels it; as mentioned above, it spreads throughout the entire workplace. When employees are frustrated, they tend to voice their frustration in meetings and casual office chats. Before you know it, you have a workplace full of negativity and angry staffers. This is because if someone constantly complains about their job, other employees may start feeling the same way. Instead of brainstorming solutions and working together, employees become disengaged, stop sharing ideas, or even actively avoid one another. And there’s nothing worse for team morale and collaboration than increasing tension among the workforce.
3. High Employee Turnover
Resenteeism tends to cause more business problems in the future. Why? Eventually, many of the resentful employees will leave, and that’s where the real issues begin. Losing an employee bears costs such as recruiting, hiring, and training new hires. Not to mention that it takes time. And even when a replacement is found, they won’t have the same level of experience as the person who left. Plus, turnover due to resenteeism hurts team morale. When one person leaves, others may start questioning their own job satisfaction, which may cause more departures.
4. Customer Experience Problems
If your business deals with customers, you ought to know that resenteeism will show and cause dissatisfaction to them as well. Employees working somewhere they hate have no passion, do no extra effort, and certainly don’t care about customers. And, trust us, clients notice. However, unhappy customers don’t just leave quietly. They tend to leave bad reviews, tell their friends, and choose a competitor. Over time, this is bad for your brand reputation and drives loyal customers away.
5. Burnout And Other Mental Health Issues
Working while feeling dissatisfied, unfulfilled, or like you have no future can seriously impact someone’s mental health. This is because resenteeism isn’t just about being unhappy at work. With time, this negativity can lead to stress, anxiety, and even depression. For your business, this is a serious issue. The more mentally drained people are, the more it will show on their bodies, resulting in more sick days, decreased productivity, and even long-term absences.
Conclusion
Ignoring workplace resentment in your business won’t make it disappear. Instead, it will hurt productivity and morale even more. However, if you act quickly, you can turn things around. Open communication, fair pay, career growth, and a supportive culture should be your top priorities. When employees feel valued and heard, they are motivated and loyal. Therefore, investing in employee well-being is what smart businesses should do to have happier teams and a thriving workplace. So, address resenteeism early and keep your business operating smoothly.
