In the last few weeks, social media has seen a range of arguments about ‘quiet quitting’. As UNLEASH has previously noted, the theory behind the term is that employees do the minimum and don’t go above and beyond in their roles.
This led to outrage from some, and understanding from others who believe that work should be transactional and that employees shouldn’t be expected to do more than their pay dictates.
Others noted that employees should feel comfortable setting boundaries in their roles.
As the fiery argument comes to an end, there is now a new term resting in the ashes, ‘quiet firing’.
What is quiet firing?
Sonya Barlow, the founder of the LMFNETWORK, tells UNLEASH: “Quiet firing is a company lessening progression, promotion, face time, supports efforts with an individual, and making them feel like they’re not wanted.
“It’s making employees feel it’s time for them to leave either to resign or to look for a new job, quiet firing is denying raises blocking opportunities for employees, neglecting to give them direct and timely feedback.”
Naturally, no one wants to feel undervalued, and whether ‘quiet firing’ is being done deliberately or not, it is essential that the wellbeing of employees is considered.
What’s more concerning is how many people felt that they had been treated this way, and were resentful of their managers and employers for ignoring their contributions.
Quiet firing discourse
Bonnie Dilber, recruiting manager at Zapier, was one of the first people to share their thoughts on ‘quiet firing’.
In a viral post, Dilber wrote that ‘quiet firing’ “works great for companies…eventually you’ll either feel so incompetent, isolated, and unappreciated that you’ll go find a new job, and they never have to deal with a development plan or offer severance. Or your performance will slip enough due to the lack of support that they’ll be able to let you go.
“Instead of worrying about ‘quiet quitting’, I’d encourage companies to look at their management practices and identify places where people are being ‘quiet fired’ by poor managers who don’t want to do the work to support, train, and coach their teams.”
Adding his thoughts on the cause of this situation, Ivan Harding co-founder and CEO of Applaud told UNLEASH: “Ultimately, this new trend is down to time-poor managers not having the resources and time to fully commit to the career progression of their team.
“They spend their time on the core parts of their job role, leaving little time to meet regularly and nurture those that they manage.”
Harding believes that no business wants to ‘quiet fire’ staff, instead, they need to ensure that talent is supported by managers. To do this, managers need tools and systems that allow them to recognize employees and see their shortcomings.
Amanda Coulson, CEO of SVC Solutions, believes that ‘quiet firing’ should never occur: “‘Quiet firing’ is unacceptable and not best practice when it comes to leading a team and managing a business.
“Any employer allowing this to happen in their business needs leadership training in order to understand the benefits of ensuring team members feel valued at work and how to communicate the requirements of an organization amongst its staff.
“Quiet firing can be seen as a diversion away from the real issues which are underlying within a business.”
Coulson concludes: “So, stop quiet firing to stop ‘quiet quitting’.”
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