Shhh: Quiet Quitting, Hiring and Firing

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Let’s face it, during the Covid hiring blitz, particularly in the tech sector, some employees became entitled. The story of a Meta middle manager making $500K USD, and now worried that his abbreviated plan to get to $1 million might get derailed is almost laughable. Or the 25 year old, bragging to everyone in the office how they got rich on crypto and really don’t need their day job. At the extreme is the person who had two full time jobs, unbeknownst to either employer. Some managers became irked with the amount of people having side hustles. Hence the evolution of a goofy term: Quiet Quitting.

Now with massive tech layoffs, peoples’ open resistance to clumsy return to work policies, there is an unsubtle “reclaim” of power demanded by many managers, often voiced by chest thumping, high profile CEOs. As a test of misguided loyalty, many of these managers are demanding more than 40 hours, expecting people to take on extra shifts, volunteering for more work, etc. Hence the equally dumb term: Quiet Hiring.

And of course, there is the ever presence of Quiet Firing. This is a fairly accurate term well honed by crappy managers for years: Surreptitiously making people miserable at work so they quit without the need to pay severance.

When the focus is on having a thriving culture, there is a deeply respectful relationship between employees and managers. After all, most people at any level are employees first. It is reasonable for an employer to expect employees to be “all in,” in exchange for fair compensation. However, that does not mean exploitation by either party is acceptable. It is not difficult, when the right values are articulated, for appropriate balanced boundaries to be established.

As is often the case, the key differentiator between thriving and toxic organizations is the effectiveness of formal leadership. When that group is caring and capable (not perfect), most folks happily participate in fully contributing. People figure it out and are proud to do their best work. The “quiet” nonsense is left for imbalanced, dysfunctional organizations and the eventual grousing on platforms that create very little value.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: I wrote about quiet quitting while guest blogging back in Sept. 2022. Since then, “quiet firing,” “quiet hiring,” “rage applying,” and more of these terms have emerged. If you’ve followed these blogs for long enough, you’ve read the words, “you’re worth it.” That’s not meant to be an empty cheer of encouragement, it’s a reminder that you’re supposed to have the confidence and bravery to invest in yourself, and be intentional about how you spend your professional lives. If you find yourself partaking in any of these “quiet” trends, you might want to ask yourself why? If things are so imbalanced or dysfunctional, aren’t you worth making a change in a loud way?

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Shhh: Quiet Quitting, Hiring and Firing

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