In the world of hiring and firing it seems that things move quickly.

Quiet quitting was the ‘career trend’ everyone was talking about, but now, quiet firing has emerged as a significant trend, as searches for it are estimated to have increased by over 3,200% worldwide compared to previous periods.

What is ‘quiet firing’ and why should anyone care?

Quiet firing is a tactic that employers may take to try and force quiet quitters to actually quit.

That tactic may involve some questionable tactics, such as:

• Refusing pay raises indefinitely
• Providing the bare minimum of perks and benefits
• Rejecting holiday requests
• Assigning difficult projects with vague instructions

And other generally unfavourable and potentially illegal tactics that might make the employee want to quit.

Why are these trends happening?

While we can’t blame everything on Covid, it does establish several work trends that are the catalyst for these kinds of trends.

According to Grace Windsor, product marketing manager at SocialTalent: “No one was untouched by the pandemic and it has left an indelible mark on the landscape of work. Organisations need to account for this change in attitude if they want to both retain and attract the talent they need to succeed. It’s also difficult for any company to address all of the above in one fell swoop.”

Firstly, working from home gave people more freedom and more importantly, more options for work than they ever had before. This has led to employees feeling less reliant on their current job.

Secondly, the pandemic provided many people with a breather and an opportunity to discover just how important a better work-life balance really is.

Combined, these two elements are making employees much more discerning about where they are spending their work time, and employers may be struggling to keep up with the change in attitude and expectations of their employees.

Should you ‘quiet quit’ or ‘quiet fire’?

Whichever side you are on, employer or employee, the career experts at SocialTalent seriously warn against both of these trends.

“The aim should always be employee retention and employee engagement; this always delivers the best results for both parties in the long run. Always resolve issues through the proper, legal procedures.”

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