Quiet firing: the other side of quiet quitting

Even those with high levels of emotional IQ may find it hard to believe that managers want them out. As quiet quitting is called out, so is the opposite movement from leaders.

 

Quiet firing is when employers want staff to leave but are not willing to give them the sack. The phenomenon happens across most workplaces, including those in the non-profit sector.

 

Here, the other side of the story emerges.

 

 

What’s quiet firing?

 

Firing is when staff are formally asked to leave. What happens in quiet firing is when people aren’t ask overtly or slated to leave. Instead, situations are created which make a person so unhappy they leave of their own accord.

 

Team Building, the events co-ordinator explains. They see it as: “Quiet firing is when management creates non-ideal work conditions to make an underperforming employee quit…This concept is a controversial, non-confrontational way to convince employees to leave a company, yet it is not an advisable approach due to many downsides.”

 

Quiet firing signals are often symptoms of a wider problem. The workplace culture itself may be toxic.

 

 

Signs of quiet firing

 

 

Being passed up for promotions

 

Being overlooked for a promotion may be a sign that it’s time to leave. HR Magazine says employers might be trying to force staff out: “This can include passing employees over for promotions, raises, or supplying them with vague feedback which doesn’t help their development.”

 

 

Being left out of the loop

 

Don’t assume that quiet firing only happens in the IRL workplace. It can happen over digital media. Staff are iced out of virtual meetings and left off of relevant emails. This makes it difficult to get the job done and may leave victims unprepared for meetings.

 

 

The assignment changes

 

Sudden changes to your workload are common signs of quiet firing. Forbes Magazine says this can come in a variety of fashions. They note that your responsibilities might take a turn for the worse. Having a project taken away, reassigned, or a sudden massive workload are all signs of quiet firing.

 

 

Learning opportunities are withdrawn

 

Progression within a role is challenging when you don’t have the tools to succeed. For those experiencing quiet firing, this may include having training withdrawn. Being denied courses or time off for study on purpose may be a sign quiet firing is happening, says HRD Connect.  

 

 

Management avoidance

 

When there’s a problem, healthy workplace managers try to sort it out by having honest and open conversations. When quiet firing is happening, toxic work cultures practice avoidance. Leaders side-step the problem and may even avoid scheduling meetings to address the issue.

 

 

Consequences of quiet firing can be far reaching

 

For both managers and disengaged staff, quiet firing comes with risks. In legal terms, quiet firing may be termed ‘constructive dismissal’ in some cases.

 

The UK Government outlines what this means: “Constructive dismissal is when you’re forced to leave your job against your will because of your employer’s conduct.”

 

Behaviours like sudden demotions for no reason, unacceptable working conditions, and harassment are all included in constructive dismissal cases.

 

Ultimately quiet firing may be part of constructive dismissal arguments from disgruntled staff against an employer.

 

 

Where to turn to for help

 

For workers experiencing quiet firing, there’s help at hand. The first thing to recognise is that it’s about burn-out. Between the pressures of illness and charity demands, staff can feel overwhelmed.

 

Don’t ignore mental health at work. The mentalhealthatwork.org.uk gateway provides resources, digital toolkits, and tips on how to develop policies. The resources there can help workers navigate away from negative quiet firing behaviours.

 

 

A change in culture

 

For employers, kick quiet firing with a cultural change. The source of quiet firing is often that managers don’t have the tools to address under performance.

 

Lou Campbell from Wellbeing Partners says: “Ignorance of the wider issues affecting staff engagement is often at the root of quiet firing and there is a clear answer to this – communication, communication, communication! If a manager is not happy with the effort or output from an employee, they need to address the issue head on to identify the underlying causes.”

 

What’s needed is empathy and training. To get started, ask managers to listen with empathy while tackling the root cause of underperformance. Management may need to eliminate proximity bias, encourage face-to-face interactions, and create new forums to discuss issues.

 

The aim is to build an environment where staff and management feel safe to speak openly.

 

The HR platform Ceridian says it best: “Using in-office time as an opportunity to create an environment of camaraderie and psychological safety can go a long way toward mitigating both quiet quitting and quiet firing.”