$11$ June $2023$

While "quiet quitting" by employees has emerged as a damaging workplace trend in the post$-$Covid world, a new trend is

emerging that pushes the scales in the other direction.

According to HR expert Anja van Beek, "quiet promotions" are increasingly bogging down workers worldwide, including

South Africa, and reflect growing dysfunction and poor leadership at the organisations that practice it$.$

"Quiet quitting" is a situation where an employee purposefully does the bare minimum required for their job, not extending

any additional time or resources or going beyond their duties for the benefit of the company they work for.

"Quiet promotion" is a kick from the other direction, where an employee is asked to take on more duties at their job by their

managers or bosses $-$ without receiving additional compensation or a formal promotion.

While promotions are highly sought$-$after and often take years to work towards, when done in the correct way, they typically

come with a pay bump or other benefits on top of the greater responsibility. However, as employees come under increasing

strain and companies move to rationalise their workforces, some diligent staff are being tasked with greater responsibility

on the sly$.$

Van Beek said that the term can also be used to describe a situation where high$-$performing employees are "punished" for

their success by being given more work and responsibilities instead of being recognised and rewarded for their

contributions. Whichever way the "quiet promotion" takes place, the end result is the same: it can lead to burnout and

decreased job satisfaction, and ultimately, higher turnover of staff.

She said that employees need to be aware of the signs of quiet promotion and take steps to avoid it$.$

A quiet promotion was reported by $78\%$ of surveyed employees, according to the employer review website Job Sage.

Additionally, $67\%$ of employees had additional work after a coworker left the company.

"The lack of communication and transparency surrounding these quiet promotions is a concerning reflection of

organisational dysfunction and poor leadership," she said.

"Quiet promotions $-$ like quiet quitting $-$ are a troubling workforce trend that speaks to a lack of communication and leads to

high turnover rates. To avoid quiet promotions in your company, select leaders carefully, delegate wisely, and establish clear

roles and expectations."

$1\mathrm{.}1$ Based on the prescribed requirements for the proposed study, analytically discuss the $5$Ws that would inform

the scope of the proposed study.

$(5$

Marks$)$

$1\mathrm{.}2$ Based on the outcome of $5$W analysis in $1\mathrm{.}1,$ formulate a suitable title for the proposed study. $(3$ Marks$)$

$1\mathrm{.}3$ Formulate FOUR $(4)$ research questions that the proposed study will attempt to answer. $(4$ Marks$)$

$1\mathrm{.}4$ Based on your understanding of research philosophy, critically discuss the ontological and epistemological

perspectives of the proposed study

$(6$

Marks$)$

$.$

$1\mathrm{.}5$ Briefly discuss the concept of research design and specify, with detailed elaboration on$,$ an appropriate

research design that you would use to answer the four research questions formulated in $1\mathrm{.}3.$

$(7$

Marks$)$