Is Quiet Quitting a Thing in Cannabis?

It could be. Fortunately, smart leaders can preempt this phenomena

Quiet Quitting (QQ) is not about quitting.  Rather it is the philosophy of doing the bare minimum at a job. QQ is an issue in every industry and has led to a serious drop in labour productivity.  It is also particularly worrisome for the cannabis sector. Heres why- 

The largest cohort of quitters - Gen Zers – make up the biggest segment of the cannabis workforce.  The relatively small size and immaturity of most cannabis firms magnifies the impact each quitter can have on corporate performance and morale. Furthermore, a tight cannabis labour market reduces the threat of job termination and the impact of QQ mitigation strategies.  Finally, the prevalence of remote work structures in cannabis produces a fertile setting for QQ to emerge and propagate.

Many leaders will discount this problem, but they do so at their own risk.  Today, cannabis firms are not considered places to find sterling cultures or high pay relative to other industries.   The sector is already unstable and about to get more so. The ‘get rich’ era of lucrative stock options is long gone. Why would someone put up with corporate shenanigans when they can walk across the street and make more money at a competitor?

To be clear, quality data on QQ is lacking; we may just be getting better at measuring workforce sentiments that were always there.  Nevertheless, most cannabis companies will struggle to become profitable and maintain competitiveness if they can’t improve productivity.

Leaders can deal with this issue through a variety of measures, including-

1. Gage employee sentiments – Periodically run anonymous surveys to find out what’s really going on, and with whom; 

2. Up your management game - Move beyond an ad hoc ‘command & control’ style to more communication-focused practices including regular coaching & training and frequent 1:1s;

3. Address the ‘low hanging fruit’ – To rebuild trust and confidence, firms must start listening to their employees and dump stupid, soul-destroying practices as well as deliver on earlier promises; 

4. Recapture the heart – The love of the plant, developing amazing products and social justice remain foundational to rebuilding your motivating purpose and values.  Managers need to live and breathe these ideals and model reinforcing behaviors; 

5. Dump the malcontents – Some employees may be too disengaged, entitled, or impervious to change.  They should be exited, quickly. 

Fixing QQ is a two-way street.  Each employee has an obligation to be professional and to help solve the problem (after all, you are getting paid). Today’s strong labour market won’t last forever, so don’t disregard your manager so fast. Finally, that boss may have a wild card up his/her sleeve:  implementing digital productivity monitoring. You won’t like that.

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