{"id":925,"date":"2024-02-07T20:07:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mo.work\/uncategorized\/quiet-firing-needs-a-positive-solution\/"},"modified":"2025-03-04T14:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T14:06:16","slug":"quiet-firing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mo.work\/insights\/quiet-firing\/","title":{"rendered":"Quiet Firing Needs a Positive Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If quiet quitting<\/a> your job defined the workplace during the pandemic years, then quiet firing is signalling a new development in the workplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we discuss the factors that lead to quiet quitting and why it needs a positive solution. Quiet quitting was defined by workers opting out of hustle culture, deliberately doing the bare minimum at work. It became popular with some younger millennials and Gen Z.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, organisations have come to reckon with poor strategy decisions made during the pandemic. The beginning of the decade was defined by an unusual economic situation, leading many companies to hire beyond their needs. As the market corrects itself, many hard-working employees find themselves being fired, with surviving workers struggling to rescue morale after company layoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firing employees is never easy. A viral video<\/a> filmed by a worker being let go after three months in a new role is an extreme example of how this delicate process can go wrong. Companies are reducing numbers, but few are going about it positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like quiet quitting, quiet firing results from a deliberate avoidance of transparency and communication; bad management of redundancies can quickly become endemic when not addressed. What exactly is quiet quitting and how do we ensure that redundancies are handled with a human-focused approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is quiet firing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quiet firing is a method of attrition that some managers use to freeze out their employees in the hope that they will quit. It is a way of avoiding firing them. Harvard Business Review<\/a> blames legal, psychological and financial costs as a central reason for the rise in quiet firing. Forcing someone out of a company can be expensive. For bad managers, quiet firing may seem like a more appealing option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quiet quitting and quiet firing can destabilise a company, leaving teams feeling alienated and confused. We know the value of building trust in the workplace. Without a positive company culture, productivity and engagement quickly deteriorates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quiet undermining of company values<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What type of managers are prone to quiet firing? Those who aren\u2019t confident with conflict resolution or their ability to help improve employee performance. And it is a problem that can affect all companies. Some have pointed to companies including Meta<\/a> and Tesla<\/a> as examples of quiet firing being used as a workforce reduction strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gallup<\/a> reports that work actively engages only 13% of European employees, while 15% actively disengages. The 72% in the middle cite stress as a key factor in their lack of engagement. What can be more stressful than watching your colleagues being frozen out? Experiencing it yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After breaking down demographics, there is little difference between generations or genders. Any employee can be affected by quiet firing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to do if you suspect quiet firing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quiet firing can be a subtle problem. That\u2019s why it\u2019s best to support managers and team leaders in developing ways to ensure their teams are thriving. Here are a few ways to turn things around:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Identify the issue: look for common signs of quiet firing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Quiet firing might look like many things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n