Quiet quitters now at risk of being "quietly fired"

IF you have set new boundaries around your working life by refusing to do more than what you are being paid for and suddenly discover your boss is not returning your phone calls or emails, you might have reason to be concerned.

While “quiet quitting” was thrust into the headlines last month, the conversation today is turning to its estranged twin: “quiet firing”.

While “quiet quitting” was thrust into the headlines last month, the conversation today is turning to its estranged twin: “quiet firing”.

Some unreasonable bosses are choosing to quietly fire their quiet quitters – those employees who commit to doing a fair day’s work but reject the idea of having to go above and beyond in the workplace.

Put simply, quiet firing is the practice of employers treating workers so badly they quit themselves and, in doing so, avert the need for bosses to get their hands dirty in a messy “de-recruitment” process.

Rather than taking employees aside to discuss their perceptions of poor performance or ongoing employment prospects, bosses draw from a passive-aggressive assortment of quiet, underhanded and subtle tactics to make targeted staff feel frustrated, unappreciated, incompetent and eventually so demoralised they feel they have no choice but to quit.

Any seasoned worker will know the act of making an employee’s life so miserable they end up throwing in the towel is an old practice with a buzzy new name.

Even so, quiet firing appears to be on the rise and increasingly in the spotlight as those in charge ramp up efforts to rid the workplace of those who have decided to quietly quit.??

And in a nasty twist to an already nasty practice, some bosses are so convinced they will succeed with quiet firing a targeted staff member they launch a clandestine recruitment process to secure a replacement before the worker has announced their departure.

If you are being quietly fired, you will be subject to any number of passive-aggressive strikes.

There is unrelenting criticism, fault-finding and nagging; no ongoing support nor training; and the boss will steer clear of you whenever possible.

There is unrelenting criticism, fault-finding and nagging; no ongoing support nor training; and the boss will steer clear of you whenever possible.

You will not receive new, different or challenging assignments; your supervisor will downplay your achievements and accomplishments; your daily work will be increasingly micro-managed; you might find your job title changes; and there is a good chance the tasks you like doing most will be stripped from you.

It is also possible the promotional position, which once had your name written all over it, will disappear and you will be blocked out of important team meetings and denied pay rises that others are receiving.

As the situation worsens, you might be blamed for errors not of your making, your boss will disagree with just about everything you suggest and you will increasingly find yourself feeling more and more isolated.

In some instances workers are quietly fired by being given so much extra work that they are unable to cope and eventually leave off their own accord to find a more manageable role.?

It is not just those in offices who can be targeted for quiet firing. Those managing frontline workers can force workers to quit by refusing to offer sufficient hours for individuals to make a living or by rostering staff on at times when they are known to be unavailable.?

Apart from seeing quiet firing as the ideal response to quiet quitters, those in charge have a number of other motivations for making employees’ lives so miserable they throw in the towel.Quiet

Many bosses find firing someone too uncomfortable. Some find they do not have the skills to manage performance issues effectively when they arise and others want to avoid blowing a hole in their budgets by paying out termination entitlements.

In some situations, bosses quietly fire high-performing employees because they are threatened by them or simply do not like them.

In some situations, bosses quietly fire high-performing employees because they are threatened by them or simply do not like them.

There are risks for those bosses who choose to quietly fire rather than work with their employees.

Some view quietly firing employees as the equivalent of what is known as “constructive dismissal”, which takes place when a person is forced to resign because of their employer’s conduct. In cases of constructive dismissal, employees might find themselves in a position to claim damages.

Quietly firing a worker might also be seen as a direct assault on the psychological safety of an employee because of the bullying tactics employed to push an employee out of the workplace. Given that scenario, unscrupulous bosses could find themselves in breach of workplace, health and safety laws and subject to severe penalties.

On top of these legalistic risks, having disengaged employees is never good for an organisation’s workplace culture.

Regardless of whether someone has been tagged for quiet firing because they have chosen to be a quiet quitter or are underperforming or embroiled in a clash of personalities, an employee has nothing to lose by trying to reboot the relationship with the employer.

While it might end up a lost cause, sharing your thoughts and perhaps evidence with those in charge in a non-confrontational way can straighten out any communications issues and misunderstandings that might have led to a boss targeting an employee for quiet firing in the first place.

Quiet firing is not the right response to those who choose to quietly quit.?

Those in charge need to accept that the majority of employees who quiet quit their jobs are not disengaged employees but rather workers responding to the pressures of the workplace and seeking a more balanced lifestyle.

The best employers will always adopt a?proactive approach where managers work with employees to??address issues, offer a safe place to air concerns and have balanced conversations that discover how work can be redesigned to become more manageable and rewarding for all.