Why go the extra mile? Re-engaging quiet quitters through dialogic communication and community building in the workplace

Abstract

Instead of going above and beyond their roles and responsibilities—once regarded as the hallmark of an engaged employee—many employees now do only the bare minimum required, a behavior known as ‘quiet quitting,’ which has drawn significant attention in public discourse. Despite its recent prevalence in social media and popular press, the existing public relations literature falls short of fully capturing the complexity and multifaceted nature of quiet quitting in relation to employee engagement and disengagement. Drawing on the dialogic communication framework and emerging research on employee disengagement in public relations, this study explores the influence of internal communication on quiet quitting. Through a nationwide survey of 700 full-time U.S. employees, this study showed the important roles of employee resilience and sense of community in mediating the impact of organization-employee dialogic communication on mitigating employee quiet quitting behaviors. The study argues that public relations must extend beyond its traditional boundaries, evolving into a strategic internal function that promotes more equitable, supportive, and sustainable work environments. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.