Quiet Cracking: The Silent Workplace Crisis You Can’t Ignore
What is Quiet Cracking (and why you need to know)
You’ve probably heard of ‘quiet quitting’ -- intentionally coasting and having healthy boundaries with work as an act of resistance. But quiet cracking? That’s something more tragic. It’s when you’re deeply unsatisfied at work, you’re burning out, your purpose has dimmed, and you disengage to survive the next day.
Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. We’ve all felt this at some point in our careers.
Why Quiet Cracking Is Spreading Right Now
I recently shared my thoughts with HuffPost in this article, on why this trend is hitting workers so hard, especially in Corporate America. So many professionals feel trapped in jobs they’ve outgrown and checked out of, while simultaneously being disillusioned and demotivated by the brutal, oversaturated job market.
Since 2020, work has felt like a revolving door of layoffs, re-orgs, and budget cuts that stall promotions and pay raises. And in the middle of all this, leaders are piling on more responsibilities without the acknowledgment, support, or compensation employees deserve.
It made me wonder: is quiet cracking just burnout rebranded—or something deeper?
Common Reasons Quiet Cracking Happens At Work
From what I’ve seen with my clients, workplaces create the conditions for quiet cracking in these three common ways:
Doing more with less, indefinitely. After layoffs, survivors carry the workload of entire teams without relief.
Mixed signals about wellness. Leaders preach balance and employee wellness, but model overwork, leaving employees feeling like they can’t set boundaries.
Overwork disguised as growth. Extra projects and endless assignments get spun as “stretch opportunities,” when really they’re signs of an unsustainable culture.
The result? Employees feel overwhelmed, overstretched, and quietly cracking under pressure.
Non-work Reasons Quiet Cracking Is Spreading Right Now
People are showing up to work weighed down by financial anxiety due to rising costs of living, witnessing political instability and social tension on a local and global level, and have so much more going on in their personal, individual lives.
All of this doesn’t just go away when they clock into work—they hum in the background as they go through their endless to-do’s and the insurmountable workload, and it can add to the cracking.
What Managers Can Do Today
Quiet cracking is a warning sign. If you’re leading a team, you can ask yourself these questions to understand the experience of your team members and how you can support in preventing and relieving quiet cracking:
How am I noticing the invisible? What shifts have I seen in my team member’s energy, excitement, and communication lately?
How am I acknowledging the extra weight my team is carrying? How am I setting boundaries and prioritizing my own mental health and leading by example? How have I created psychological safety for my team to be honest about how they might be feeling?
In what ways am I supporting growth—not just output and productivity? In what ways am I providing mentorship, training, recognition, and clear pathways for career growth?
My Take As a Leadership Coach for BIPOC Women & Femmes
Quiet cracking may be the newest buzz term, but the hurt is not new. For years, I’ve coached women of color who’ve been told to be strong, resilient, and grateful for their jobs—often at the cost of their well-being, joy, and fulfillment.
You don’t have to tough it out alone or feel guilty for not being okay. Many of us are navigating grief, economic stress, endless productivity expectations, and global unrest outside of our control—all at work under a silent pressure.
Naming it is the first step—not the only one. Changing things for yourself requires courage, clarity, and strategy.
That’s where I come in. Ready to reclaim your energy, your boundaries, your leadership? I’d love to help you do it.
👉🏽 Work with me through 1:1 Leadership Coaching
Because your leadership shouldn’t cost you your soul.
Leadership & Negotiation Coach for Women of Color in Technology|Founder|Workshop Facilitator, Speaker & Trainer
Nadia’s career and leadership expertise has been featured in CNBC, HuffPost, FastCompany, New York Times Kids, Teen Vogue, and The Muse.
BROWSE BY CATEGORY: