Why “Quiet Hiring” May Set Back Your DEI Efforts

Since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend of quiet quitting had begun to circulate in the news and social media outlets. The phenomenon of quiet quitting is defined as employees who will no longer go above and beyond at work and will instead do exactly what’s being asked of them and nothing more.

I’ve talked about how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can help end quiet quitting but still, quiet quitting caused an uproar in the business world as some organizations saw it as a decline in “hardworking values.” In my view, quiet quitting was less about employees not working hard enough and more about workers turning their focus toward work-life balance (or work-life blend as I call it).

Quiet quitting was the predecessor to the Great Resignation of 2020 and 2021. This time, the workers didn’t just coast at their jobs–they acted on their personal and professional ambitions and resigned in droves. This led to an empowering period for workers all over the country who were finally ready to have a healthy work-life blend, ask for increased compensation, and enjoy more flexibility.

Fast forward to today: 2023 is bringing a new workplace phenomenon, but this time businesses are the ones calling the shots with “quiet hiring.” This article will explore what quiet hiring is and how it can hinder or derail your business’ DEI initiatives.

What is quiet hiring?

According to CNBC, quiet hiring is when a business hires temporary workers (or contractors) to fill permanent positions or asks existing employees to fill in-demand roles and acquire new responsibilities without increasing their compensation.

Essentially, quiet hiring is how companies are dealing with major labor shortages without increasing wages or benefits for workers. So, how does this new phenomenon affect DEI and why should businesses be cautious about the consequences of quiet hiring?

Quiet hiring may cause contract labors to miss DEI training

Most companies who have DEI training on workplace bias, cultural sensitivity, and building a culture of belonging offer that training to full-time employees–not temporary workers. As more and more businesses use contractors, freelancers, and non-employee labor, those workers are often left out of mandatory DEI training. This can cause businesses with good intentions for DEI to lose track of their progress and implementation across all departments. When one full-time employee is tasked to do bias training and a newly hired contractor is not, it creates inconsistency for DEI in the workplace. With contract laborers taking up more and more roles within organizations, the lasting results of missed or skipped DEI training for temporary workers may cause a gap in progress that is yet to be seen.

Quiet hiring may widen pay and benefits gaps

Some businesses are choosing to quiet hire because of rising demand for employee wages and a recession looming on the horizon. Hiring temporary workers or asking existing employees to take on new roles without additional compensation will inevitably lead to a widening pay gap between contractors and employees as well as between employees in stable roles versus newly reassigned roles. A recent study showed a huge pay gap between temporary workers and full-time employees–not just in the United States but around the world.

With women, minorities, and immigrants already experiencing large pay gaps in the general U.S. economy, hiring those same workers temporarily or asking existing workers to work harder without increased compensation makes the DEI goal to close the wage gap and slow pay inequality that much further out of reach. In fact, asking employees to do more work for the same pay could even be considered “wage theft”.

Plus, 1099 contractors and temporary workers likely won’t receive the full benefits packages usually afforded to full-time employees like paid time off, parental leave, or equity stakes. Thus, creating an even larger disadvantage for temporary workers who are performing full-time work without full-time benefits.

Quiet hiring may increase burnout among workers

With potentially no paid time off for temporary workers and no increase in compensation for existing employees, the opportunity for burnout grows. Burnout is exacerbated when workers are unable to find a work-life blend or get the downtime needed to recover from the heavy demands of work. When employers strip that away from workers or don’t compensate them for their additional responsibilities, burnout is the inevitable result.

In DEI, we advocate for businesses to promote greater work-life blend opportunities to lower or mitigate the effects of burnout. I often advise companies to be generous with benefits like paid time off, parental leave, and bereavement. I also advise employers to have greater respect for the boundaries employees set around their private time. Whether a worker is temporary or full-time, having the space to rest, relax, and return to work feeling rejuvenated should not be rare or the exception. It should be the standard.?

Quiet hiring may give international candidates more opportunities

One upside to quiet hiring is that international candidates may be given more opportunities for professional advancement than ever before. In industries like healthcare, where a labor shortage has been prevalent since the pandemic began, skilled workers from overseas are now filling roles that have long been in demand but remain vacant. In this sense, quiet hiring may advantage international candidates and open up more opportunities for skilled immigrants from abroad to find new economic opportunities in the U.S. and to do so legally at a time when they’re most needed.

Final thoughts

Quiet hiring shouldn’t derail your DEI initiatives when policies and practices are applied evenly amongst temporary and full-time workers. If your company is choosing to hire temporary workers in this current economic climate, be mindful of what opportunities temporary workers are being afforded or deprived of. Are they being included in DEI training like their full-time counterparts? How can your business include temporary workers in the typical employee training and protocols to ensure they don’t get left behind economically, psychologically, or professionally?

For current employees who are being asked to do more, how can your organization compensate them fairly for their increased responsibilities or provide other benefits like additional paid time off or longer parental leave? What else can you do to show existing employees that your organization cares about their well-being and that you want them to experience increased workplace satisfaction?

As organizations continue to hire at rapid rates to fill full-time vacancies, keeping DEI at the forefront of hiring and onboarding decisions can help your company stay on track with its initiatives while still adapting to this economic period. Don’t lose sight of your DEI goals as your organization transitions into this new phase of employee-employer relations.