Grumpy Staying: The Workplace Trend Leaders Can’t Ignore

Grumpy Staying: The Workplace Trend Leaders Can’t Ignore

By: Regina Dyerly, sHRBP, PHR | Partner / Chief Operating Officer (COO)

---

If 'Quiet Quitting' had a cousin, it would be 'Grumpy Staying'. This emerging workplace trend is quickly becoming an issue for leaders, and unlike Quiet Quitting, everyone knows when it is happening.

Grumpy Stayers are unhappy in their jobs but choose to remain. They hit their performance targets and do what is required, but with a simmering undercurrent of dissatisfaction that can dampen morale across entire teams.

What Is 'Grumpy Staying' ?

Grumpy Staying refers to employees who are deeply dissatisfied but choose to remain in their roles. They are frustrated, burned out, or simply over it, yet they are staying put for reasons that often feel practical (or unavoidable):

• Fear of economic instability or a tough job market

• Need to maintain health insurance, retirement vesting, or tenure

• Lack of energy or bandwidth to job hunt

• Belief that a “better option” might not exist

It is the workplace equivalent of staying in a bad relationship because moving out sounds worse.

Why Employers Should Care

At first glance, Grumpy Staying may seem like a “better problem” than turnover. After all, you are not losing headcount or scrambling to fill vacancies. But the hidden costs are real:

Morale erosion: Negativity can spread faster than enthusiasm, dragging down culture and motivation.

Team conflict: Short tempers and cynicism strain relationships.

Customer impact: Disengagement often bleeds into customer interactions.

Lost productivity: Doing the bare minimum rarely leads to innovation or continuous improvement.

Grumpy Staying can be contagious. When employees see their peers unhappy and unaddressed, they may start questioning their own level of engagement. Employee engagement slid to 21% in 2024, and Gallup estimates disengagement drains roughly $8.8 trillion in productivity, proof that “staying but unhappy” is not a harmless status quo.

How to Spot a Grumpy Stayer

Grumpy Stayers do not always shout their unhappiness from the rooftops, but they are not exactly subtle. Common signs include:

• Increased complaining or eye-rolling in meetings

• Withdrawing from social or team activities

• Less willingness to volunteer or take on new projects

• Meeting goals, but with visible resentment or irritability

A key difference from Quiet Quitting? Grumpy Stayers are not trying to fly under the radar. Their discontent is noticeable and, at times, disruptive.

Why Employees Are Staying Despite the Misery

The reasons employees “grumpy stay” are often rational. Health benefits and financial security weigh heavily in decisions. Some employees fear leaving only to find themselves in a similar (or worse) situation elsewhere. Others are simply too burned out to mount a full job search.

What Employers Can Do About It

The goal is not to root out Grumpy Stayers with a heavy hand. It is to re‑engage them if possible and address the underlying causes that got them there in the first place.

Diagnose root causes:

Conduct anonymous pulse surveys or candid one-on-one conversations. Is workload unrealistic? Are employees feeling unrecognized or stuck?

Re-recruit your employees:

Remind your team why your organization is worth staying at. Offer growth opportunities, job crafting, or lateral moves to spark interest again. If you are a smaller organization, perhaps assign a new project to reengage them. Small but meaningful shifts in responsibilities can go a long way in helping employees feel valued and motivated again.

Train managers to intervene early:

Managers should know how to spot disengagement and have conversations before frustration festers. According to the Wall Street Journal, only 27% of managers reported being engaged in 2024. Disengaged managers set the wrong emotional tone, often dragging down their teams unless they are equipped with the right training and support.

Be transparent about career paths:

When employees can see a future with your organization, they are less likely to mentally check out.

Do not tolerate toxicity:

If someone is actively harming the team, address it compassionately but firmly. Letting disengagement spread unchecked is far more damaging than a difficult conversation. One visibly resentful ‘bad apple’ can shift norms and performance for an entire team, addressing behavior early protects everyone else’s engagement.

The Bigger Picture

Grumpy Staying is a trend worth watching because it highlights a larger truth: retention does not equal engagement. Just because employees are staying does not mean they are happy, productive, or contributing at their best.

Organizations that address Grumpy Staying head-on by improving communication, growth opportunities, and workplace culture will be better positioned to re‑energize their teams and retain top talent for the right reasons.

After all, keeping an employee on the roster is not the same as keeping them engaged, and a disengaged team can hold an organization back more than an open position ever could.

---

Grumpy Staying: The Workplace Trend Leaders Can’t Ignore