People are saying 'quiet firing' is worse than 'quiet quitting' as new trend causes controversy among companies

The term ‘quiet quitting’ will have been seen being bandied around the web recently by anyone with an internet connection. 

The new workplace trend refers to employees only doing the work they’re paid for - i.e. not checking emails late at night or taking on mountains of extra duties - and it’s in keeping with Gen Z’s prioritisation of mental health over burnout. 

But you might not have heard of ‘quiet firing’, a sneaky tactic that’s becoming more and more prominent amongst workplaces, and one that, quite frankly, totally stinks. 

Anna Berkut/Alamy Stock Photo

‘Quiet firing’ is when an employer intentionally treats their staff poorly in the hopes they’ll leave their job. 

According to Linkedin, examples of employers ‘quiet firing’ staff include: “Going years without a raise or promotion, shifting responsibilities toward tasks that require less experience, or a deliberate withdrawal of development and leadership opportunities.”

Linkedin also published an accompanying poll asking how many of the platform’s users had experienced ‘quiet firing’ in the past.

48 percent of people said they’d seen it take place in their workplace, while 35 percent said it had happened to them directly.

Only 13 percent of people who took part in the poll said ‘quiet firing is not a thing’.

Beneath the post, one person penned: “It’s disappointing that this is a norm. I experienced quiet firing first hand. I began to believe I was crazy and I truly wasn’t performing as I should. 

“My mum raised me to work hard, be respectful and communicate to resolve issues but not every person/company behaves in that same manner.”

Artur Marciniec/Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking to Buzzfeed last month, workers gave examples of times they’d been ‘quiet fired’, and some of them are frustratingly relatable. 

One person said: “At the pool where I worked, my manager had a habit of slowly reducing hours of the people he didn’t like until they were eventually just never scheduled."

Another revealed: “I worked at a law firm as an assistant controller. The controller made some mistakes and blamed them on me. I was moved from a personal office to a corner of the copy room while my intern was given my office.”

“I worked for a retail chain. I was only scheduled 10-15 hours a week and was making just above minimum wage at the time. I was searching for a second job because having one job wasn't cutting it. My boss found out and drastically cut my hours. When I asked her about it, she said, 'Well, it's pretty clear you don't want to be here,” shared someone else. 

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