Quiet Hiring

Quiet seems to be the buzzword in the workplace of late.

Last year, we had ‘Quiet Quitting’ which was the phenomenon of doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary. It’s a misnomer as the employee is not quitting but quitting the idea of going above and beyond. The rejection of the hustle culture.

Now ‘Quiet Firing’ and ‘Quiet Hiring’ have now entered the workplace lexicon.

What is ‘Quiet Firing’? I only learnt of this concept this week. Its when management creates a non-idea work environment to make an employee quit. This is very similar to constructive dismissal. The employee is usually an underperforming employee (vis a vis other employees) or no longer wanted perhaps due to cultural fit. Examples of quite firing are when a manager gives the employee unmanageable workloads, no proper support, the worst tasks, left out of significant communications etc. In other words, it is just passive aggressive tactics by management to force the employee to quit.

But what is ‘Quiet Hiring’? Its a workplace phrase that is increasingly gaining momentum in 2023. Whereas quite quitting was employees doing the bare minimum, quiet hiring is where employers attempt to get the most of their existing employees, increasing productivity without expanding the team and without increases in pay. The employee’s workload and responsibility increase without their salary reflecting their new role. Some would go as far as calling it exploitation. Others would argue that it helps employees learn new skills, get better roles and become better team players.

Quiet hiring isn’t a new workplace practice. The name is just new. In difficult economic conditions, employers have always tightened the purse strings, paused hiring and cut costs. Remaining employees have always picked up the slack because the alternative would be no job. Obviously, employers are the immediate beneficiaries of quite hiring but in tough economic times, employees benefit by getting to keep their job when others are losing theirs. Employees can also benefit by being upskilled which can lead to better promotion prospects at the existing company or elsewhere. In some cases of quiet hiring, the employee becomes invaluable to their current organization and definitely more marketable to other employers, and when economic conditions improve, they can command much more in the marketplace.

When done ethically, quite hiring can be a win win situation, and employers starting to are using it as a long-term strategy to win the talent war and boost employee retention. Not just in tough economic times. The strategy works by the employer identifying the over achievers in the company and ‘hiring’ them for new roles within the company rather than looking externally. This should lead to pay increases and/or additional benefits (i.e., extra time off, one-off bonuses, flexible hours) as it’s cheaper to give an existing employee a pay rise than to hire a new one.

If a balance can be struck between building an employee’s skill set and protecting their well-being, employers may well be on their way to gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Have you heard of quiet hiring? Have you been quiet hired? What do you think of quiet hiring? Do you think it's a dangerous workplace tactic?

E: marianna.tuccia@empiregroup.com.au

M: 0422 671 673