158. Quiet Cracking at Work: How to Spot It and Take Back Ownership of Your Career

Are you showing up to work but secretly running on fumes? You’re not alone. According to a 2025 TalentLMS report, 54% of employees admit they’re unhappy at work, and Gallup estimates this disengagement is costing the global economy $438 billion. But this isn’t laziness—it’s a breakdown of purpose, clarity, and connection.

In this episode, we dive into the rise of quiet cracking—a silent form of burnout that looks like coasting, disengaging, and daydreaming of something better. I’ll share how to recognize the warning signs and what practical steps you can take to reignite your purpose and reclaim ownership of your career.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The difference between quiet quitting, burnout, and quiet cracking
• Four key signs you’re quietly cracking at work
• Why leadership, training, and clarity matter more than ever
• Three practical steps to shift from disengagement to ownership
• Simple action items to start regaining energy and direction this week

If you’ve been feeling stuck, invisible, or overwhelmed at work, this episode is your reminder: you are not broken—you’re ready for a shift.

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Transcript

Laura: 0:02

hello and welcome to money and career mastery from overwhelmed to ownership. I'm Laura Sexton, your abundance and legacy coach here to help you navigate the world of money, debt payoff, and career growth with confidence and clarity. In this podcast, we'll tackle the financial and career challenges, holding you back, optimize your income and build the freedom that comes with true ownership. If you're ready to break free from overwhelm, create a budget that aligns with your values and design a legacy that empowers future generations. You're in the right place. If you are feeling checked out at work, you're not alone. Over half of employees are unhappy and it's costing all of us. Hey accelerators, according to a 2025 report from Talent LMS, 54% of employees say that they're unhappy at work. That's astounding. They say they're unhappy either occasionally or constantly. I can definitely relate to this in a former life, there were days where I would find myself just doing my job and emotionally I was dreaming about what my business would look like. And let me tell you, there's still some times where I'm doing things like helping out my daughter's Girl Scout troop. I love all of the girls in that troop. They make me so happy. Yet. Every once in a while I start daydreaming about something else. I'm not always a hundred percent emotionally present in that moment. I'm just doing the bare minimum and I have a constant stream of clients coming in saying they're coasting through their work. They're in survival mode at work. This is so common, especially for parents or post pandemic career pivots or those carrying their invisible burnout. But what if it didn't have to stay that way? What if you didn't have to stay stuck in a quiet disengagement? What if the rest of this year could be the start of your ownership season? Okay, so people you may be asking, I've heard of quiet, quitting, but what in the world is quiet, quacking? Not quacking, not like a duck. Quiet cracking. And why does it matter? Employees are showing up, but they are silently burning out and Gallup reports, their 2025 report. They say that global engagement drop from 23 to 21%. It's a dip similar to the COVID lockdown levels and it's costing the world economy. By us dropping our engagement 2%, we have a loss in productivity of$438 billion billion with a B. Because our productivity has dropped, because our engagement has dropped. We are losing as an economy$438 billion. But guys, this is not laziness. It's a breakdown of purpose, a breakdown in connection, and a breakdown in sustainable systems. This matters and you matter, my friend, in case I didn't say that earlier. It's not just about the numbers. It is about you as a whole person and you engagement in your purpose. Do you feel like you're fulfilling your purpose? If you don't feel like you are fulfilling your purpose, it is very easy for you to start to crack under the pressure and the weight because it's not what you are meant to hold. One of the things with taking ownership means that we recognize where we're at and we start to change things. So here are your signs. Here are your signs that you are quiet cracking, you feel invisible or unheard at work. This is the worst. I did a skit with my Bible study a couple months ago, and yes, that does sound silly. I understand that. But we were doing something for making people feel welcome. So we did the skit and I felt like. I had a lot to offer. Since I was an actor for a decade and I've directed movies and I've been on the stage more times than I can count. I felt like this was the perfect time for me to step ahead and do something, and yet I was constantly pushed to the wayside and somebody else's opinion was louder than mine, and I felt invisible, and I felt unheard. I felt unworthy, which is crazy because I'm the one with the most stage experience, but that's okay. I had to let my ego go and I had to just walk it through because it was just one tiny little piece of a bigger puzzle. If it work, you were feeling invisible or unheard. Is it constant or is it just. One person, is it something that we can change? Because if we can change it, let's change it, but if not, we may need to make the biggest change of all. Second sign, you're quiet cracking. You do the bare minimum because that's all you've got left in the tank. I've been there. I've been there. I probably am there most evenings. As a mother, we can very often be running on fumes. That is not any way to conduct your entire life. If it's occasionally, that's fine. If you have a partner in crime that's gonna pick you up on those bad days, that's fine. But if you were just doing the bare minimum, because that's all you have left all day long, eight hours a day at work, that is a sign for burnout, my friends. Sign number three of quietly cracking. You're overwhelmed, but you cannot pinpoint why. Yep, yep. Sign number four, you stop trying to advance, not because you don't care, but because you're tired. The difference between this and burnout. Is that it very much has to do with the culture of where you are working. Burnout can be from a myriad of things. Burnout happens when you're misaligned in your purpose, which also has to do with quiet cracking. But burnout has a lot to do with over work, mentally, overstimulation, quietly cracking has to do with under work because you feel undervalued. What's gonna make the biggest difference in this? What's going to make the biggest difference for you is leadership, training and clarity. The talent LMS found 47% of quiet crackers state that their manager doesn't listen to their concerns. Ugh. Employees very seldom leave companies. They almost always leave a bad manager. 62% of non crackers receive training, but only 44% of those frequently cracking did so. Non crackers. They're getting the training. They're getting what they need. Those that feel like they're cracking, they're not getting the support that they needed. They needed extra training. They needed their leaders to be engaged, and they needed to be trained up so that they had the tools that they needed to move forward. Training isn't just about skill building. It's an antidote to disengagement and a catalyst for connection. Even if your manager isn't initiating change, you can. Okay. You can go and ask for the training that you need. You can ask for clarity in your job description. If you feel like you don't always have a firm grasp on what your KPIs are, your key performance indicators are, you need clarity on that, and that's going to help you feel like you're doing things. Because let me tell you, nothing, nothing is worse than being an employee that does the same thing day in and day out, and you have no idea why. You have no idea if you're even doing it right.'cause nobody gives you any kind of feedback. You need the feedback. And if you're not getting it, go ask for it. I personally think that there are great ways to do this, ways for you to take ownership even before January comes. January is the great time for people to change up their jobs. They wanna stick around for their Christmas bonus and then January's here and they're like, I'm out. Maybe the company that you're with aligns with you on many different things and you're just cracking in the one position that you're in. Here are three practical steps for you to shift out of the fog and into your purpose. The first one's reignite your purpose. We're gonna reignite that spark inside your soul, reconnect with why you started working at this place and what it is that you care about. As you were focused and reignited inside of your purpose, reconnected to why you are doing the work that you are doing, you are going to have a better chance of sustaining regardless of where you're at. Take ownership by advocating for yourself. Ask for a conversation. Ask for the resources you need. Ask for clarity if you don't get it, that in and of itself is data for you. Behavior is a language. Listen to it. The third step to shift is to make a micro move. Go. Update your LinkedIn. Apply to one job. Research a new field block one hour for career, creativity and clarity. Take the time to decide, do I wanna stay in this company long term? Do I want to change? Do I want to make a move? Take tiny steps. Sometimes those tiny steps end up being a step off a cliff into the perfect spot for you, and you would've never known had you not made that first move. Friends, it's very easy to burn out when you don't know why it is you're doing the work that you're doing. It's very easily to crack under the pressure. So what I want you to do is take ownership of your career. Take ownership of your future. Here are your three action steps for the week. Rate your current engagement at work on a scale of one to 10. If you were anything seven and below, we need to make a change. Write down three things that would make your job more sustainable or fulfilling. And take one brave action towards reclaiming your ownership this week. Speak up, reflect or explore more options. If you have been quietly cracking, you are not broken, you're just ready for a shift, come join us over the free Facebook group. We're gonna prepare for a seven day money mindset shift challenge in October. It is your chance to align your mindset with your life and the work that you actually wanna do, or you can reach out to me and we can have a one-on-one conversation about what it feels like to shift into your purpose. The link for the Facebook group and for a call with me are down in the show notes. Come on over guys. I'm ready for you to come join the party. You know what it is? Accelerators go out and make a difference. thank you for spending time with us today on Money and Career Mastery from Overwhelm to Ownership. Remember, your legacy isn't just about financial freedom. It's about living with purpose, taking action, and building a foundation that lasts for generations. Don't just listen, implement what you've learned and share it with someone who could use a financial or career breakthrough. If you found value in today's episode, help us grow by rating, reviewing, and sharing the podcast. I'll be back next week with more strategies to help you master your money and career. Until then take ownership of your future and build your legacy with intention.