Quiet firing

Quiet firing is when management creates less than ideal working conditions to get an underperforming employee to quit. This concept is a controversial, non-confrontational way to persuade employees to leave a company.

This practice is the opposite of the quiet quitting phenomenon and a symptom of poor management and toxic workplaces.

What is quiet firing?

Quiet firing is when management makes a job unattractive in hopes that an employee will eventually quit. This concept is a passive-aggressive approach to performance management. Rather than confront an employee and fire the team member or develop an improvement plan, employers gradually make the work environment unbearable for that teammate until the team member eventually leaves voluntarily. Supervisors don't necessarily create a hostile work environment, but the job becomes so unsatisfying and hopeless that employees see no other option but to change companies.

Signs of Quiet Firing

The signs of silent termination are often subtle and easy to doubt or overlook. However, there are a few ways to know if you're being quietly fired.

Delayed promotion and promotion

One of the most cited signs of silent firing is a lack of career advancement. Targeted employees can be repeatedly passed over for promotions and opportunities. In healthy workplaces, leaders provide guidelines on what employees need to achieve in order to advance to the next level in their careers. In quiet termination situations, managers keep saying, "You weren't the best choice for this position" or "Maybe next time".

No feedback from managers

Managers often mark employees as a lost cause and see performance reviews as a waste of time. These bosses may skip performance reviews and stop giving positive recognition and praise. Instead, managers may give vague instructions or omit important information. When team members ask for constructive criticism, bosses may say, "You're fine" and refuse to offer suggestions for improvement.

Reasons for Quiet firing

Here are some reasons why managers quit quietly:

Doubtful potential

One of the main reasons for silent layoffs is that management believes an employee has less potential than colleagues. As a result, leaders choose not to invest more time in the employee, believing that those efforts are not yielding worthwhile results. Unfortunately, sometimes an employee doesn't meet expectations because of a lack of passion or skills, but because of a different management style or level of support. Employees often move to other jobs and perform better under the guidance of more capable leaders.

personal conflict

Occasionally, managers initiate silent layoffs because they don't get along with employees. Perhaps working styles or personalities clash. Perhaps the manager sides with other team members who dislike the employee. Leaders are people, and people are subject to prejudice. Good leaders identify or process these perceptions and remain subjective, supportive, and professional.

Although the names quiet quitting and quiet firing are new, these practices have existed in some form for decades. This tactic avoids open conflict and uses manipulation to get employees to resign. However, this practice can damage an employer's reputation, distress employees and waste potential.