Quiet cracking: the silent employee struggle (and how to solve it)

You’ve heard of quiet quitting. Now meet its gloomier cousin: quiet cracking.

This isn’t about people logging off at 4.59 pm or saying “no” to weekend emails. Quiet cracking or 'Work ghosting' is subtler and far sadder. It’s when employees are showing up in body but quietly falling apart in spirit. They’re still at their desks, but the spark’s gone.

According to research by Adaptavist, over 40% of knowledge workers reported emotional withdrawal and reduced motivation in the past 12 months.

Gallup’s latest global workforce survey paints a similar picture, revealing that 60% of employees feel “emotionally detached” from their jobs. As many as half experience constant stress. In the UK, workers are among the least engaged in Europe.

In short, many people aren’t quitting: they’re cracking.

Work without purpose

The data paints a bleak picture. Employees say they feel disconnected from their colleagues, unsure why they're completing the tasks on their to-do list, and overwhelmed by the jargon.

A concerning 74% of workers admit they don’t always understand the “why” behind tasks; the same percentage also said corporate buzzwords like “KPIs” and “action items” make them switch off, while 27% regularly feel overwhelmed by “digital noise.”

These aren’t minor grumbles. People don’t disengage because they dislike free snacks or dislike their colleagues: they disengage because they can’t see how their work connects to the bigger picture. They ask: “Why am I doing this, and for whose sake?”

Neal Riley, Innovation Lead at The Adaptavist Group, explains, “Leaders can no longer afford to ignore the cracks in workplace engagement. Employees need clarity and purpose, not buzzwords.

Articulating the ‘why’ and aligning teams around shared outcomes is critical to both protect morale and boost performance.”

Another root cause of quiet cracking is the so-called “managerial gap.” Over time, many organisations have quietly disempowered managers. Rather than equipping them to build culture, accountability has been pushed upwards, leaving employees with less support and direction.

The result? Confused employees at the bottom, overwhelmed leaders at the top, and an engagement gap in the middle.

When people can't see how their daily work connects to the bigger picture—if they feel like mere cogs in a machine whose purpose is unclear to them—it's no surprise they disengage.

More than a cog in the machine

Here's the good news: employees aren't looking for miracles. They want recognition. They want to know that their effort matters. They want to see how their work contributes to the company's success and partake in it.

This is where incentives and rewards come in - and no, not the superficial kind you may already be thinking of. Free pizza Fridays are fun, but they don't answer the deeper "why."

What does? Equity.

Giving employees a real stake in the business changes the story completely. When people own a slice of the pie, they no longer feel like cogs in a machine. They become partners in the company’s success.

Share schemes can:

• Turn effort into ownership. Employees know their hard work contributes directly to the growth of something they own.

• Provide long-term rewards. Instead of only receiving monthly pay, there's a potential financial upside in the years to come.

• Reinforce purpose. Equity makes the “why” of the work crystal clear: you’re building value, and you share in it.

That sense of ownership is one of the most powerful antidotes to quiet cracking; it’s when employees know their effort isn’t just fuelling someone else’s success but also building their own future that they truly give their best.

Fixing the cracks

So, what’s the fix for quiet cracking? It’s not about gimmicks or jargon. It’s about building a culture where:

• The ‘why’ is clear. Every employee understands how their role fits into the bigger picture.

• Managers are empowered. Teams have leaders who can align strategy with day-to-day work.

• Recognition is real. Employees feel valued for their contributions.

• Rewards are meaningful. Share schemes ensure that when the company wins, employees win too. Other valuable benefits include private healthcare and wellbeing perks.

In other words, companies need to move beyond beanbags and buzzwords and give employees genuine reasons to stay engaged.

This is where Vestd comes in. As the UK’s first FCA-regulated, cloud-based equity management platform, Vestd helps companies set up and manage share schemes from one central online portal.

Whether it's setting up an EMI scheme, issuing growth shares, Vestd makes it easy for companies to share ownership with their teams. That means employees can see the bigger picture—and their part in it.

Quiet cracking might sound like a new social media trend, but the problem it describes is real and widespread. Employees are disengaged, stressed, and unsure of their purpose. But the solution is no mystery: it lies in clarity, recognition, and meaningful rewards.

Give people ownership, and you give them back their motivation. Sounds simple? It is. See it in action.