What Burnout-Like Feeling Costs the U.S. $2 Trillion Annually: Quiet Cracking

Remember when quiet quitting was all the rage? When employees across the country decided that it would be better to exist in a role performing the bare minimum until they were eventually let go. Well, due to changes in the job market, individuals are now starting to show signs of something else.

This emerging trend is called Quiet Cracking. Quiet Cracking is a persistent feeling of workplace unhappiness that leads to disengagement, poor performance, and increased desire to quit. 

It looks like burnout, but it’s not exactly the same. Quiet cracking happens when people feel so overwhelmed in their positions that they want to change jobs, but can’t. Whether because of limited professional mobility, financial pressures, or a constrained job market. Instead of leaving they disengage and the cost is massive

Experts estimate that quiet cracking drains the U.S. economy of nearly $2 trillion each year in lost productivity.

The Causes of Quiet Cracking

Let’s dive into the causes of quiet cracking, and share more about the experience that many professional individuals are going through. It’s a system failure with three primary drivers:

1. Frustration – When employees lack clear goals and feel unable to achieve wins. A moving target keeps them in a cycle of effort without fulfillment.
   
   

2. Overwhelm – Intense workloads and constant pressure that feels insurmountable erodes motivation. Without recovery, the brain and body hit limits.
   
   

3. Disconnection – Poor relationships at work leave people without emotional or psychological support. Humans don’t just need colleagues, they need individuals in their workplace that they feel connected to.

When these forces combine, employees disengage not because they don’t care, but because they feel helpless to change their circumstances within or outside of their workplace.

What Leaders Must Do About It

Leaders can’t ignore this. Quiet cracking is not solely an employee problem. It’s a leadership challenge.

Here are three actions leaders must take:

1. Listen for Strain
   Take time to hear the frustrations and challenges that your team members are sharing, and seek to address them. When economic times are tough it is easy to get tunnel vision on outcomes, but it is still important to measure emotions. Employees often reveal early signs of cracking in their tone, language, and energy.
   

2. Create Human Connection Moments
   Build intentional space for personal conversation, not just performance conversation. Disconnection isn’t about being physically apart, it’s about lack of meaningful communication. Workplaces that are “all business” often starve people of the connection they need from the individuals that can relate to one another. This interferes with the human desire to thrive.
   

3. Invest in Stress Recovery & Resilience
   Educate employees about practical strategies for stress reduction. Provide access to tools and resources that help them build resilience. Mindfulness, physical recovery practices, or frameworks like our Work Life Balance Guide are great for helping individuals better manage stressful conditions. 

The Bottom Line

Quiet cracking is more than a buzzword. It’s a silent crisis that eats away at engagement, creativity, and organizational performance.

If left unchecked, it costs organizations trillions and leaves employees stuck in cycles of quiet suffering.

But leaders who listen deeply, connect intentionally, and equip their people with the tools to recover will not only prevent quiet cracking—they’ll create workplaces where people perform at their best and feel fulfilled in the process.

References:

CNBC – Why Workers Are Quiet Cracking