Quiet Cracking: The New Workplace Funk

Every year a new buzzword sneaks into our work vocabulary. Right now, it’s quiet cracking.

Coined by TalentLMS, it’s the phrase being used to describe the slow but steady erosion of workplace satisfaction. Not a dramatic resignation or a headline-grabbing walkout—just the grind of disengagement. A funk. The feeling of being stuck, uninspired, edging closer to the door without even realising it.

And I can’t help but wonder if there’s a parallel in agency–client relationships. That same slow drift can creep in if we’re not careful. If conversations become transactional. If emails replace human connection. If work turns into output rather than ideas. Quiet cracking happens when we get complacent, when the energy between people dulls instead of sharpens.

The truth is, good work doesn’t just appear out of nowhere—it comes from tension, collaboration, conversation. Sometimes uncomfortable ones. Picking up the phone instead of sending another bullet-pointed email. Meeting in person to thrash out what’s working and what’s not. Being transparent, even when it’s hard.

“Quiet cracking happens when we get complacent, when the energy between people dulls instead of sharpens.”

Agencies, like workplaces, aren’t immune to quiet cracking. Which is why we need to catch it early. Push harder. Ask more questions. Refuse to coast. Because the moment we stop trying to stretch and surprise, the erosion begins.

Maybe that’s the bigger lesson here: it’s not enough to avoid the obvious cracks. We need to notice the quiet ones too.