Quiet quitting might be a sign that an employee is losing enthusiasm for the job. Beyond that, this practice reportedly exposes security risks within an organization or a company.

Gallup noted in its report that at least 50% of US workers resort to this trend. Since they only exert minimal effort to finish a task, even the smallest margin of error could appear, affecting the company's cybersecurity management.

Quiet Quitters Opens Doors to Insider Risk

If an employee is mentally detached from the usual assignments on a work site, the company should immediately check to see what leads to that.

Oftentimes, these workers could contribute to the presence of insider threats in a firm. If this happens, the company's credentials and other data might be in trouble when it comes to cybersecurity.

Over the past year, 82% of hacking incidents were reportedly caused by human error. The ones to blame are those quiet quitters who ignore their work. When there's an insider threat, it's automatic that there's an insider risk that triggers this to appear.

Per Gartner, an insider risk can be anyone, including a third-party partner, a staff, or a contractor. These people have access to corporate files and data, so they could potentially leak them out of nowhere.

Many companies invest a lot of resources in their products and workplace yet fail to invest in mental health counseling for their employees.

"It's important to be aware of quiet quitting, so a quiet quitter doesn't become a loud leaker. Leading indicators for quiet quitting include an individual becoming more withdrawn becoming apathetic towards their work," Forrester VP Principal Analyst Jeff Pollard said.

Pollard added that the feeling of "anger and resentment" could also be the indicators of why insider risks are higher. More likely, they later lead to data sabotage, as a result, per Venturebeat.

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Understanding the Sentiments of Employees

For companies to mitigate the risk of having an insider threat, there's a need to consider the employees' feelings carefully.

It's not enough to acknowledge the work-life balance in a company. It's more important to prioritize how they describe working in the organization.

According to Jon France of CISO, quiet quitting still falls as workforce disengagement despite being a new-age term for this period.

However, he said that it's harder to spot the differences between quiet quitters this time because of the setup. It's getting more difficult to distinguish quiet quitting among employees, especially with the work-from-home culture.

France suggests that companies should regularly monitor their employees to strengthen the work ties within a team. It's also recommended to conduct engaging social activities for everyone to be more engaged.

Read Also: AirTag Helps Australian Police Apprehend Two Teenager Theft Suspects

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Written by Joseph Henry