Meaning of quiet cracking | Babel Free

Definitions

The decline in an employee's sense of well-being and motivation in a job.

uncountable

Examples

“TalentLMS, a leading employee training platform, released a study⟳ of 1,000 U.S. employees that uncovers a silent crisis in the workplace that's going largely undetected — a phenomenon its researchers have⟳ coined "Quiet Cracking."”

“2025 Caroline Castrillon, "7 ‘Quiet Cracking’ Behaviors That Are Killing Productivity," Forbes, 18 May 2025; updated 25 May 2025. Unlike "quiet quitting," where employees deliberately set⟳ boundaries by doing the minimum required, quiet cracking represents persistent workplace unhappiness that gradually leads to decreased performance, diminished productivity, and resignation.”

“What is “quiet cracking”? Think⟳ of it as a slow fracture in an employee’s psychological foundation at work⟳.”

CEFR level