When the group has no soul: cultural deficits, emptiness and quiet quitting

Purpose This study investigates the psychological associations linking meaningful group culture to quiet quitting, proposing that a deficient culture fosters a sense of emptiness that is associated with behavioral withdrawal. We reframe quiet quitting as a theoretically conceptualized coping response to cultural and existential deficits, identifying two distinct antecedents – meaningful group culture and sense of emptiness – that independently predict withdrawal behavior. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in an integrated job demands-resources and self-determination theory framework, a model with a hypothesized mediating pathway was tested. Data were collected via a cross-sectional survey from 420 working adults across Kazakhstan. Hypotheses were examined using regression and structural equation modeling analyses, with bootstrapping for testing indirect effects. Due to the cross-sectional design, findings reflect associations rather than causal relationships. Findings Results indicate that meaningful group culture and sense of emptiness are two distinct, independent predictors of quiet quitting. Meaningful group culture shows a significant negative association with quiet quitting, while sense of emptiness shows a significant positive association. Exploratory supplementary analyses suggest that sense of emptiness may play an indirect role in this relationship, though causal interpretation requires longitudinal designs. Notably, meaningful group culture retains a significant direct association with quiet quitting, suggesting that cultural enrichment and emptiness reduction represent complementary pathways for intervention. Originality/value This research moves beyond descriptive accounts by proposing a psychological model of disengagement and testing associations consistent with the theoretical possibility that quiet quitting may reflect an existential void stemming from organizational culture. It identifies the multidimensional sense of emptiness as a candidate psychological pathway while also demonstrating the independent predictive power of meaningful group culture. The study integrates psychological and sociological perspectives, offering theoretical advancement and practical implications for systemic intervention in the Kazakhstan context and beyond.