Quiet Quitting: Separating the Symptom from the Cause

Many times growing up, I remember my parents saying, "Don’t be a quitter. If you start something, you need to finish it." Those times helped me learn patience and perseverance and were sometimes painful, but they were valuable lessons in life.

Think about sitting on the end of the bench while your friends were out playing on the field or court; taking a class where you and the teacher just didn’t hit it off from day one; or accepting a job and knowing quickly it was not what you thought it was going to be. All of these scenarios may bring quitting to mind, but learning to stick with it and not quitting can often bring long-term rewards that we may not see at the time.

Since the beginning of creation, work is a gift we are to engage in to receive blessings of many kinds. Each of us has unique God-given talents and skills specifically designed to do certain things well. Our reward may be monetary, or it may be a hug from a toddler with a

clean diaper. Wherever we are in life, it is important to learn and understand what our gifts are. Not using our talents or trying to do what someone else thinks we should do will lead to frustration and failure. We simply cannot be someone we are not.

Life itself is a marathon; sometimes the path gets hard, and we want to quit. But we cannot quit; we must strive to finish the race strong. As we run along life’s path, we ask ourselves, "Do I live to work or work to live?” If you live only to work, you may be at risk of getting bored or burned out. If you only work to live and go to a J-O-B to get m-o-n-e-y, you risk simply going through the motions in life and not engaging the talents God has given you. Either way, balancing out the use of your talents to do something you enjoy is critical and will make the marathon much more enjoyable.

Life truly needs that balance. To endure the constant challenges we all face, keeping things in balance is critical no matter what our calling in life is. To learn more about life and work balance and helping yourself or others overcome the temptation to "quit", see "Quiet Quitting: Separating the Symptom from the Cause" elsewhere in this newsletter.

3928 Agricultural Cooperative CEO - Western Michigan

Respected and financially sound multi-location agronomy, energy, feed, and grain cooperative in Western Michigan is seeking a CEO who is a motivated and committed leader. This individual will bring multi-location and / or multi-department agribusiness leadership, unquestionable integrity, and a vision for leading an existing team of talented professionals to the next level of success.

3921 Sales Agronomist - US West and Southwest

A "Road Warrior Sales Entrepreneur" is needed to represent a company that manufactures and sells soil amendments. The company will hire an individual who has a very strong agronomic background with a passion for soil fertility and who enjoys working and managing a territory. You must enjoy sales, be able to work alone and be a self-starter. A BS degree in an agriculture-related field is necessary.

6207 International Grain & Feed Ingredient Trader

An international agriculture trading company is seeking a Trader for their Southeastern US-based business. This is a great opportunity for someone with 3 to 7 years of trading grains and feed ingredient exposure or an experienced trader.

4116 Ag Processing Company CFO - Wisconsin

Successful and expanding agricultural processing company is seeking a top-notch CFO to strengthen and bring additional talents and structure to their leadership team. This individual will have a strong accounting and finance background and will assist and challenge the board and CEO as they continue to explore and carry out key growth initiatives.

1064 Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Tennessee

A leading supplier of watering, ventilation, and conveying systems to the poultry industry is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer. Building on its 79 years of success, the company is expanding into the indoor farming industry by introducing a line of revolutionary products. This new venture along with serving existing business has created a need for the expansion of its design team.

5776 Location Manager - Indiana

A highly successful grain company is seeking a Location Manager to guide merchandising, operations, and profitability of a large rail terminal in Indiana. The ideal candidate will be a seasoned grain professional with experience in both Operations and Merchandising. Located within a larger metropolitan commuting range, you will have great options for living in a rural or suburban setting.

1065 Customer Service Rep/Grain Equipment Sales - Northern Illinois (Hybrid)

Respected and expanding northern Illinois grain equipment company is seeking a dedicated Customer Service Representative / Grain Equipment Sales professional to strengthen their team in this hybrid position. Approximately 10% travel; you will work primarily from your home office.

3925 Agronomy Sales Representative - Pacific Northwest

A talented Wholesale Fertilizer salesperson is needed for a territory in the western United States. Based in Spokane, Washington, the territory includes most agricultural states west of The Rockies. You will be calling upon independent agronomy retail customers and buying groups selling primarily ammonium sulfate and UAN. There is an existing customer base and ample opportunities to identify new customers in a variety of agricultural settings including vegetables, small grains, and legumes.

6245 Education and Market Research Manager - Chicago

Midwest-based agriculture risk management company is seeking a new associate for their Education and Market Research Team. This position is ideal for a motivated, team-oriented person with excellent problem-solving and communication skills. The primary responsibilities will include delivering educational content to groups around the country in a live format as well as research projects.

5765 Grain Location Manager Trainee - Illinois

Attention new or recent grads looking for a great career opportunity in the grain industry! Successful and growing grain company is seeking a Grain Location Manager Trainee for one of their modern and well-maintained facilities. The successful candidate will be able to come into one of their locations and train to ultimately step into a Location Manager role.

2068 Project Manager - Indiana

One of the country's premier construction companies in agriculture is seeking team members who are the best of the best in the construction industry. Our food production industry is being re-engineered and rebuilt. The need to provide quality food on a safe, reliable, and least-cost basis is providing an extreme opportunity for the construction industry. With over six decades of history of building the highest quality, innovative, and affordable food production facilities is looking to expand exponentially to meet the explosion in demand for new facilities.

5777 Operations Manager - Nationwide

Highly successful grain company is seeking Operations Managers at several locations Nationwide. The right candidate will have experience in grain facility management or a similar industry. Experience should include managing employees and solid mechanical knowledge. You will also be responsible for blending, inventory, minor projects, and safety. The successful candidate should be a self-starter and highly motivated.

When we ask, "What is your why?" to the next generation of leaders for your company, I can assure you the answer is different from that of "Baby Boomers" like myself.

When we entered the work force, our reasons for wanting a particular job were things like, "I want to provide the best for my family", or "I want to be successful and build my career". Our job often defined who we were, and we stayed with the same company for decades. Past generations would accept an offer as is for a position that really interested them. They had the attitude, "I will prove myself first, and the money and benefits will follow." I had a client tell me the other day that hiring used to be the easy part, now even interns want to counter offer.

In dealing with Millennials and GenX, we see they want their rewards on the front end rather than the back end, and their desire to stay with the same company is often short term. While they are motivated by money and frequently earning top salaries, that is not usually the driver. They are more concerned with work-life balance. PTO and flexible work hours are very important to them so they, too, can provide the best for themselves and / or their family. More and more often we are seeing requests to work remotely, and the days of earning one week vacation only after your first year are gone.

I know it is hard; however, we need to realize that these are bright young people who will bring a lot of value to our companies. They are not going to think like we did or do, and they are not going to work like we did either. This can become challenging, even somewhat frustrating, in the seasonal work required in most areas of agriculture, but we need to adapt and understand the new workforce. Finding managers that will work a 70-hour, or even 60-hour, week is going to be tough and 6-day work weeks are becoming a thing of the past.

As the business manager, you might want to rethink your business model and relearn how to motivate and reward your employees. Agriculture will always be a stable and viable industry, and we have adapted to change for centuries; we will continue to do so for generations to come

Quiet quitting. What began as a viral video has become one of the most talked about (and written about) topics this year. Is it a valid phenomenon, or is it nothing more than catchy clickbait? To a certain degree, the answer to that question does not matter. Rather than debating the significance of the symptoms, this is an opportunity for leaders to proactively address the more important matter: the cause. While many organizations excel in the areas of employee engagement and retention, the tenor in the marketplace (and perhaps why the original video gained so much traction) is that this is the exception - not the rule. The symptoms indicate that something has shifted; the cause of that shift deserves a discussion.

What’s New?
In the video – which has over 3.5 million views – 24-year-old TikToker Zaid Khan (@zaidlepplin) states that "work is not your life." This is not a new concept. But assuming that work is a requisite part of life, to view the act of employment simply as a means to an end overlooks the opportunity that purposeful, gratifying, challenging work can provide. When given a choice to do the bare minimum necessary to stay employed, or proactively construct a professional environment that provides meaning, which would most choose? The latter is the obvious choice but is easier said than done. And although the need for professional fulfillment is nothing new, the external factors have changed.

Do you have the grit to not give up and stay true to the course, no matter how difficult it may be? Are you competitive and possess a strong sales mentality where every “no” is just one step closer to a “yes”?

If so, and you have a passion for connecting with and helping people, plus a strong agricultural industry background in agronomy, grain, or other areas, please contact Dave Allen. We would enjoy having a discussion with you about how a recruiting career may be a great fit for you.

Founded in 1995, AGRI-SEARCH is a professional recruiting firm providing clients with customized recruiting solutions in various niches within the agricultural industry. Our success results from our industry focus, our specialized approach to recruiting, and our staff's lifelong roots in, dedication to, and vast understanding and knowledge of the agricultural industry.

At AGRI-SEARCH, our mission states that we “are committed to serving the agricultural industry with integrity, passion and excellence by assisting our candidates to reach their career goals and helping our client companies build successful teams.”