Quiet Firing: Consequence of Employee Disengagement

Most are familiar with the concept of quiet quitting, which became a widespread notion during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, quiet firing is a trend that has existed within companies for years, according to experts. 

LinkedIn defines quiet firing as a trend where employers create hindrances for employees so that they would eventually quit, rather than fire them: “The phenomenon is described as the act of intentionally treating workers badly so that they eventually leave their jobs.”

Often a consequence of employee disengagement, quiet firing can cause someone to quit due to a variety of factors, such as a lack of purpose, recognition and career advancement opportunities. Arturo Cororminas, Director of Learning and Transformation, L'Oréal, told MBN “Apart from salary and compensations, employees need a comprehensive well-being-oriented environment to refrain the talent from isolating mentally.” It emphasizes the importance of connecting employees to a larger organizational purpose and providing them with meaningful work that contributes to that purpose. It also emphasizes managers’ critical role in creating a positive work environment and engaging their employees.

Some common signs of quiet firing include being constantly overlooked for promotions despite good performance, having more senior responsibilities shifted to less experienced colleagues, being continuously excluded from high-profile projects as well as having learning and development opportunities deliberately withdrawn, being placed on an unfair or unreasonable performance improvement plan, having goals or workload changed without input, lacking direct and timely feedback, receiving unexpected negative feedback and constantly avoiding open and honest conversations about performance, career development or work relationships.

Quiet firing is undoubtedly a harmful practice that can lead to a toxic work environment. Therefore, HR needs to create trust between managers and employees by facilitating open and honest communication through regular team retrospectives and daily check-ins. 

By fostering a positive work culture that values people, customers and the planet, organizations can create a workplace that promotes employee engagement, productivity and satisfaction. "The company should have open communication with employees to combat such trends,” said Lupita García, Regional HR Leader, Dell Technologies.