New research reveals a subtle form of disengagement has taken hold of Australia’s workforce, where employees appear fine on the surface while unravelling underneath. But how can HR spot the signs of quiet cracking when performance still looks strong?
In an employee’s weekly check-in, everything sounds upbeat. Targets are on track, projects are moving forwards, smiles all round. Then, without warning, that same employee calls in sick for three weeks straight. The manager is blindsided: “I thought they were doing great.”
Across Australian workplaces, many employees are holding it together on the surface while silently unravelling under the weight of economic turmoil, political division and climate anxiety, amongst other things.
They are still showing up, still delivering their work, but something worrying is happening under the surface. They describe “smiling on the outside but totally losing it on the inside” and “struggling silently but outwardly functioning”.
This insidious form of disengagement has been dubbed ‘quiet cracking’. The term was coined in the US earlier this year to capture a widespread despondency that had taken hold of the workforce. Now, local research shows that the majority of Australian workers are feeling the same subtle cracks forming.
A study conducted by wellbeing researcher Dr Michelle McQuaid, founder of the Michelle McQuaid Group, found 55 per cent of Australians say they are quietly cracking.
“Quiet cracking is a state where people are externally high functioning but internally struggling,” says Dr McQuaid. “This came up over and over again in their comments: ‘I’m keeping it all together at work, but I’m going home and I’m falling apart.’”
In the latest episode of AHRI’s podcast Let’s Take This Offline, Dr McQuaid speaks with host Tani Jacobi CPHR about what’s driving quiet cracking, how leaders can recognise it before it escalates and the practical steps HR can take to rebuild psychological safety and connection at work. Listen to the full episode below.
What’s contributing to quiet cracking?
Engagement risks can often be traced back to internal factors such as poor management practices, overwork or toxic cultures. In contrast, quiet cracking is fuelled by external pressures according to two-thirds of respondents.
The biggest culprit is the cost of living, named by more than four in ten respondents. Almost one in five cite job insecurity, while others point to climate anxiety or polarisation.
“It’s the first time in history that we not only have these multiple pressures going on, but we’re also so connected around the globe,” says Dr McQuaid. “We feel a change on the other side of the world in ways we haven’t in the past.
“We are in this supercycle of change, and the reality is that there’s not an obvious light at the end of the tunnel.”
Learn more about the causes of quiet cracking in the clip below.
How to unmask quiet cracking
Unlike fatigue-driven burnout, quiet cracking is harder to see, and unlike quiet quitting, it doesn’t necessarily damage performance in the short term.
Dr McQuaid’s data shows those who say they’re “often cracking” still achieve 93 per cent of baseline performance. That said, it signals troubles down the line, as the research shows it’s a precursor to burnout.
Employees who are quietly cracking are more than six times as likely to experience clinical burnout.
Employees experiencing quiet cracking tend to mask their distress until the façade eventually collapses, says Dr McQuaid.
“Masking takes a lot of work,” she says. “If that masking continues, and we don’t get the support we need, that’s when we see quiet cracking progress to burnout.”
She says leaders need to look beyond surface-level performance and tune into subtle behavioural shifts – things like withdrawal from social interactions, a change in tone or communication or emotional flatness in otherwise engaged team members.
Learn more about spotting the signs of quiet cracking in the clip below.
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What’s next
As external pressures mount, HR faces the difficult task of spotting and addressing early fractures before they become breaks. That means looking beyond performance metrics and rethinking how employers equip their people to stay steady through constant change.
Over the coming weeks, HRM will publish a follow-up article exploring how two HR leaders are responding to quiet cracking in their organisations, from identifying at-risk groups to designing interventions that promote openness, resilience and genuine wellbeing.
Parts of this article were originally published in the October/November edition of HRM Magazine.
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