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September 9, 2022

Forget ‘quiet quitting.’ Workplaces should focus on ‘quiet firing’

Story at a glance Now that the term “quiet quitting” has buzzed around the internet, a new phrase — “quiet firing” — is shifting the focus around workplace culture on to how employers treat their staff.   While quiet quitting is a misnomer — the expression does not refer to employees leaving their job — the meaning […]

Story at a glance


  •  After “quiet quitting,” the term “quiet firing” is the latest buzzword to make the rounds on social media. 

  • The term refers to when an employer purposefully treats a worker badly to try to get them to quit.

  • Employers can choose to do this if they don’t know how to manage a poor performer and want to save on severance.

Now that the term “quiet quitting” has buzzed around the internet, a new phrase — “quiet firing” — is shifting the focus around workplace culture on to how employers treat their staff.  

While quiet quitting is a misnomer — the expression does not refer to employees leaving their job — the meaning of “quiet firing” is a little more on the nose.  

Quiet firing, also known as constructive dismissal, is not a new practice and refers to when an employer purposely treats workers badly to get them to quit and avoid directly laying them off.  

It’s not an unusual tactic, as more than 80 percent of respondents say they have either seen or experienced quiet firing, according to a recent LinkedIn News poll.  

Some examples of quiet firing are refusing to give an employee a raise for years, skipping a deserving employee for promotion or overburdening workers with unimportant busy work, according to Victoria Pelletier, managing director and global CEO of transformation at the special information technology servicing and consulting company Accenture. 

“It’s an incredibly passive-aggressive way to manage poor performers,” Pelletier told Changing America.

Other examples of quiet firing include giving an employee a poor performance review without clear reason, purposefully assigning a worker to tasks that they do not like, or abruptly changing a worker’s role.  

“Let’s say that you’ve got [someone] in a leadership position, managing people, and they are not a good leader so you put them back into being an individual contributor. That’s a substantial change in role so that person could potentially say it’s constructive dismissal,” Pelletier said. “Even if their salary hasn’t changed.”  

Pelletier explained that employers might choose to quietly fire someone as a way of saving on severance or avoid a lengthy performance improvement process that usually last at least 90 days.

If you've been fired because of a workplace injury, you should know that workers compensation laws protects employees who sustain injuries or illnesses in the course of their work. You may consult a personal injury lawyer for this. Injured in Palm Bay, FL? The personal injury lawyers from Kogan & DiSalvo law firm can help.

If you have been seriously injured or someone you love has been killed due to the negligence of others, you need a compassionate, experienced personal injury attorney who knows how to take care of their clients and get them the results they deserve.

Seeking legal assistance from solicitors in Manchester would be a great help to give you advice and the rightful action to get what you deserve. Hire experienced workplace injury attorneys for professional legal assistance. And in cases of employment discrimination, make sure to consult Chicago employment discrimination attorneys for professional legal assistance.

“It opens employers to constructive dismissal lawsuits and, observed by other employees, can create a toxic environment and unwanted turnover,” she said.  

Article written by:  Orville Lynch, Jr.
Mr. Lynch, a member of the legendary two-time Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame Award winning Lynch Family. Mr. Lynch is a nationally recognized urban media executive with over 20+ years of diversity recruitment and serial entrepreneur with numerous multi-million dollar exits.
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