The phenomenon of quiet quitting—where employees do only the minimum required to fulfill their job responsibilities without going beyond their basic duties—has become a growing challenge for the business and industrial sectors. At the same time, the dynamics of today’s modern workplace have become increasingly vulnerable to the absence of genuine engagement among employees.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chandra Lukita, Rector of Catur Insan Cendekia University (UCIC) Cirebon, said that many employees are now physically present at work but lack the enthusiasm and professional commitment needed to help advance their organizations.
“Their work rhythm and spirit are gone. They simply fulfill their required hours and assigned tasks without any willingness to provide added value,” Chandra said during a webinar hosted by Sevima on Thursday, July 16, 2026.
Chandra explained that the issue becomes even more complex when viewed alongside the characteristics and challenges associated with Generation Z (Gen Z). He noted that many young people today tend to develop a mindset that expects everything to be achieved instantly.
The desire to work as little as possible while expecting the greatest possible rewards, he said, has become an emerging paradigm.
“An efficiency-oriented mindset is perfectly valid in certain contexts. However, making it a permanent way of thinking in the workplace and in business is highly dangerous because it can undermine an individual’s professional resilience,” Chandra said.
Chandra outlines his adaptive leadership approach in his book, Mature Leadership: Life Lessons of Leadership. The ideas presented in the book are not merely academic theories but are drawn from more than 42 years of professional experience.
Chandra is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of digitalization in the Cirebon region. His journey began on January 13, 1984, when he established the CIC Computer Education Institute (LPK CIC), which has since evolved into UCIC. At the time, limited technological infrastructure in Indonesia forced him to collaborate with partners in Australia to import Commodore computers.
According to Chandra, the primary solution to addressing passive employees and the phenomenon of quiet quitting is to build a workplace ecosystem that encourages staff to remain actively engaged through initiative and responsiveness.
Employees should be encouraged to think several steps ahead in order to anticipate the implications of every decision and policy implemented by the organization.
“Leadership is not a means of satisfying one’s ego through influence and ultimate power. True leadership is about creating a real impact based on maturity and sound judgment,” he said.***
