Quiet Quitting: An Alarming Issue for Healthcare Professionals and Services

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Medics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 756

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Quiet quitting is a phenomenon in which employees do not leave their jobs but instead reduce their level of engagement and perform only their formal job descriptions. This is done in order to avoid burnout and improve their work-life balance. Quiet quitters refuse to compromise their well-being and health for the benefit of their organizations. However, this trend may also pose a threat to organizations as workers reduce their productivity and passion for their work. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in the physical and mental health of healthcare professionals, who have already experienced high levels of job burnout, job dissatisfaction, work disengagement, and turnover intention. Recent data suggest that level of quiet quitting is also high among healthcare professionals, particularly nurses. However, the phenomenon of quiet quitting among healthcare professionals has not been thoroughly investigated. Future studies should quantify the levels of quiet quitting among healthcare professionals and identify potential determinants of this phenomenon. For instance, scholars could investigate the impact of socio-demographic characteristics of healthcare professionals, such as gender, age, clinical experience, work sector, geographic distribution, healthcare settings, and shift work, on levels of quiet quitting. Additionally, psychological internal and external resources, such as resilience and social support, could also affect quiet quitting within healthcare professionals. It is important for policy makers, managers, and organizations to better understand the quiet-quitting trend in order to meet the expectations and needs of healthcare professionals. This trend can be detrimental to organizations since healthcare professionals may become disengaged in organizational citizenship behaviors and may not perform to their maximum capacity.

Therefore, scholars should conduct studies to (1) measure the levels of quiet quitting among healthcare professionals, (2) identify the risk factors for quiet quitting, (3) examine the impact of quiet quitting on mental health and physical health of healthcare professionals, and (4) explore the consequences of quiet quitting. Research areas relevant to the Special Issue may include (but are not limited to) the following: Measurement of levels of quiet quitting in different countries, healthcare settings and healthcare professionals. Validation of scales that measure levels of quiet quitting (e.g., the Quiet Quitting Scale). Different levels of quiet quitting among healthcare professionals.Risk factors for quiet quitting (e.g., workload, work engagement, work conflicts, workplace bullying, leadership style). The impact of quiet quitting on mental health and physical health of healthcare professionals (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression, burnout and well-being). The impact of quiet quitting on work-related variables (e.g., job satisfaction, turnover intention, job burnout, work-related quality of life and work-life balance). The consequences of quiet quitting on healthcare services (e.g., work productivity, patients outcomes and patients safety). Preventive factors or factors that can reduce quiet quitting (e.g., moral resilience, emotional intelligence, coping strategies, leadership style, staffing levels).

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Nursing Reports.

Dr. Petros Galanis
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • quiet quitting
  • healthcare professionals
  • healthcare services
  • healthcare settings
  • healthcare professionals
  • healthcare workers
  • workers
  • workload
  • work engagement
  • work conflicts
  • workplace bullying
  • leadership style
  • stress
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • burnout
  • well-being, job satisfaction
  • turnover intention
  • job burnout
  • work-related quality of life
  • work–life balance
  • work productivity
  • patient outcomes
  • patient safety
  • moral resilience
  • emotional intelligence
  • coping strategies
  • staffing levels

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 277 KiB  
Article
Quality of Work Life Determinants of Healthcare Professionals’ Quiet Quitting: Towards Individual Difference
by Milica Stankovic and Marko Slavkovic
Healthcare 2025, 13(13), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13131547 - 28 Jun 2025
Viewed by 85
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Quality of work life (QWL) in the healthcare industry emerges as an important factor for enhancing positive and preventing negative work-related outcomes, including quiet quitting. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of quality of work life on the [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Quality of work life (QWL) in the healthcare industry emerges as an important factor for enhancing positive and preventing negative work-related outcomes, including quiet quitting. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of quality of work life on the indication of quiet quitting among healthcare professionals. Methods: A cross-sectional study design and convenience sampling method were applied. A minimum sample was estimated by applying Cochran’s formula with a 5% significance level and 95% confidence interval. The target population of the study consisted of healthcare professionals employed in public health organizations in central Serbia, with a total sample size of 647 respondents. Testing the relationship between determinants of quality of work life and quiet quitting was conducted through a structural equation modeling approach based on partial least squares (PLS-SEM). Results: The results indicate that psychological, physical, and cultural quality of work life have a significant impact on the manifestation of quiet quitting among healthcare professionals, especially among women. Conclusions: Findings suggest that social well-being is significant only for men in relation to quiet quitting. The findings reveal the elements of quality of work life are associated with the occurrence of quiet quitting among healthcare professionals, thus serving as a solid starting point for formulating effective human resource management strategies that can prevent negative consequences. Full article
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