Bad Boss? Let's Deal With Quiet Firing In The Workplace

Heard of quiet firing?

Quiet firing is a new word for an old practice unethical managers use in the workplace, and this is becoming a new workplace trend that some employer use against their direct reports who are quiet quitters.

But in truth, quiet firing is simply poor management, and people’s managers who use this passive-aggressive approach often create a toxic work environment that can have irreversible damage to the organization.

What is Quiet Firing In A Nutshell?

Quiet firing is when a boss, manager, or employer treats an employee in a way that encourages the worker to leave the workplace at their own discretion rather than telling them “you’re fired”.

Quiet firer creates an unpleasant workplace culture that makes your work life horribly uncomfortable, it is a passive-aggressive approach. Quiet firing in the workplace is an act of workplace bullying that some employers are using to terminate employees by creating a hostile work environment for the employee.

This toxic company culture makes the employee feel disengaged and unvalued, and eventually, the employee will walk out the door and quit their job.

How Common Is Quiet Firing At Workplace?

Quiet firing happens on a daily basis, more than 80 percent of surveyed employees have experienced quiet firing in some form or another.

35% have experienced quiet firing at some time in their career
48% have seen quiet firing happening in the workplace.

Only 17% don’t think quiet firing is real and have never experienced it.

Quiet firing is in fact very real in the workplace, and it is more common than we think.

In the past, quiet firing is called a passive-aggressive approach displayed by someone with higher authority. A form of workplace bullying that makes work life so unpleasant that encourages the victim to leave.

Some employers, demand workers work extra hours without any form of compensation, and if they refused, these employers quiet fire them.

Quiet quitting is just a form of retaliation to these demanding bosses, but some employers justified quiet firing to become a legitimate response to employees who is quiet quit.

Is Quiet Firing The Right Response To Quiet Quitting?

No, quiet firing is essentially workplace bullying and should never be encouraged.

Seeking understanding often leads to resolving an issue, but the act of quiet firing is an act of abusing power, which often leads to overall disengagement of the team and a decrease in productivity.

If an employer needs the employee to improve on something, an honest conversation should be initiated, during these conversations, the managers should give feedback and work together on the changes. Conversation can also be done during the performance review or ad-hoc one-to-one communication.

It is important to understand the underlying reasons why the employees’ quiet quit. Employees often choose to quiet quit their job because they deserve to have a work-life balance and get compensated according to their work.

A clear separation of a work-life and personal life is what leads to a happier and more fulfilling life.

Essentially, quiet quitters are employees who respect both their professional time and personal time.

Respect should be given to the employees for their personal time so that employees can perform well during work.

How To Deal With Quiet Firing At The Workplace

When a boss decides to fire you in a quiet and subtle way, you’ll know it even if they don’t outright say anything in regards to you leaving. They will pile on work, reduce your workload, change your assignments, keep you out of the loop and encourage other employees to engage in mob mentality against you, to name a few.

Their blatant behavior in this regard will make you feel negative and it will feel as if they are putting a target on you, which they are. But, it’s important that you do not show them it bothers you by appearing aloof.

Here are a few things you can do to try and stop this, the following tactics will include:

Prevention Is Best
Make Honesty Your Ultimate Policy
Use of Diplomacy

Getting Coworkers on Your Side
Documenting Your Boss
Find a Job in another Department

Find Work Elsewhere

1. Prevention Is Best

The best way to stop quiet firing in its tracks is to prevent it from the get-go. This means that during the interview process, it’s imperative you evaluate your boss and see if the company is right for you. Far too many people go into a job with a subjugated mindset.

Value Yourself

Not only should you be right for the job, but the job should also be right for you. Be realistic about your potential boss’s demeanor, character, and the manner in which they speak to you. If anything irks or rubs you the wrong way, do not take the job and move on to something else.

You might be an underling, but that doesn’t mean you should have to endure inhumane treatment. Sure, you need a paycheck, but at what cost?

Then, once a company hires you, ensure you build positive relationships with all your coworkers including your boss. Treat everyone equally and with respect. It’s imperative you personally make people feel warm and welcome. This is important regardless of your position, status, or financial bracket.

2. Make Honesty Your Ultimate Policy

Even if you’re already part of an organization and you notice quiet firing underway, honesty is going to be your best defense. Ergo, honesty should be part of your daily dealings with clients, customers, coworkers, and your boss. So, when your boss wants to quietly fire you, you will have the truth on your side.

Do not try to be deceptive, underhanded, or attempt to get away with something your boss will frown upon. Always be upfront about your thoughts and feelings but don’t be confrontational, threatening, or aggressive in your displays. As the old adage goes, you attract more bees with honey than with vinegar.

Unfortunately, however, many people perceive honesty as some kind of weakness. Therefore, you are going to have to have thick skin, a solid backbone, and guts made of iron to handle this and stay strong in the face of adversity. But, if you know you’re right and sitting in truth, nothing can break your resolve; not even your boss.

3. Use of Diplomacy

If you notice any major sign of quiet firing in progress, use diplomacy with your boss. Ask him or her if you two can sit down and talk about recent events. This is good for those cases where your supervisor has changed your workload or if they alter your job description without notice.

When you go in for the meeting, approach your boss with the mentality that this person is a human being. As such, they are prone to making the same mistakes and missteps as you are. Make eye contact but do not be aggressive in your speech. However, you should be honest about how their behavior makes you feel.

If you have to, call your boss out on their quiet firing signs. List and detail all the ways in which they make your life difficult at work every day. Evaluate their attitude, body language, and general reaction to what you have to say. It will tell you if your diplomacy is working or making things worse.

4. Getting Coworkers on Your Side

If your supervisor is hell-bent on leather against you, you must collect reinforcements. Now, do not encourage bullying or a mob mentality against this person. However, you want to bring it to the attention of as many people around you as possible.

This will be particularly useful if your supervisor shifts your workload, keeps you out of the loop, changes your job description, or has certain employees engage in retaliatory tactics. If you’ve been deliberate in creating good relationships with your coworkers, they should notice the boss’s treatment of you at the outset.

For those who are oblivious to the situation, don’t be a gossip or a tattletale. Simply bring the treatment to their attention and ask if they notice it. You could be wrong about your boss and sometimes getting a third-party perspective will help clarify things for you.

5. Documenting Your Boss

If your boss’s quiet firing is coming to a serious degree, it’s imperative you document everything they do. This means keeping a ledger with dates, times, and notes of what happened along with photos, videos, and other such evidence. When this quiet firing accompanies discrimination, they are breaking the law.

It is against federal law as well as most state laws to discriminate against anyone based on things like singling you out due to age, race, gender, or disability. If you feel this is the case for your situation, contact a lawyer and read up on the law, you may have a lawsuit on your hands. Also, present these laws to your boss.

Otherwise, documenting your boss in such a way will only be useful if there are others higher on the totem pole than they are. When there’s no one else to go to and your boss isn’t necessarily breaking the law, there really is no recourse other than finding another job.

6. Find a Job in another Department

If you work at a large corporation, you could simply be in a department or matched with a manager that doesn’t suit you. Look for advertisements for jobs in other areas, go to a higher-up to ask about other departments, or visit the human resources department to request a lateral transfer to somewhere else in the company.

In some cases, you may end up at a completely different location altogether. This means your options open up with the potential to flourish within the organization. Doing so is quite effective and many people find this to be one of the best solutions. However, if your job doesn’t have this available, you will have to find other effective means of dealing with quiet firing from your manager.

7. Find Work Elsewhere

When you know you’re a valuable team player and have the experience to back up your position, it may be best to find work somewhere else. In the event you catch the signs of quiet firing from your boss, start looking for a new job. Not that you have to pursue or be proactive with this, but it’s imperative to keep all your options open.

First, exhaust all the possibilities listed above during the time you’re hunting around for a new line of work. Truly make a great effort to extinguish the quiet firing you see occurring. But if the situation doesn’t change even after all your attempts, then you have to find somewhere else for employment.

Even though you may rue the idea of letting your manager, supervisor, or boss win out over you, there’s really not much more you can do at this point. You are a valuable person and have a lot to offer the company. Surely, there’s someone else out there who will treat you better and give you the credit you deserve.

What If You Experience Quiet Firing At Workplace?

If you are a victim of quiet firing at the workplace, it can be quite unbearable, ultimately you cannot control other people. So, when all else fails and you’ve tried everything to make it work with your boss, accept the fact that you may have to find a job somewhere else.

Signs of quiet firing at work.

While you might be wondering if leaving your job is the right move, understanding your workplace can help you make better decisions for your professional career.

Of course, you want to exhaust every avenue before you engage in resignation. But, you might want to start looking around once you notice it’s happening.

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Bad Boss? Let’s Deal With Quiet Firing In The Workplace

What is Quiet Firing In A Nutshell?

How Common Is Quiet Firing At Workplace?

Is Quiet Firing The Right Response To Quiet Quitting?