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The modern workplace has evolved dramatically, and with it, new management challenges have emerged.
One concerning trend that’s gained significant attention is “quiet firing” – a practice that’s silently damaging organizations and careers alike.
As workplace dynamics shift in 2025, understanding and addressing this issue has become crucial for both leaders and employees.
Quiet firing refers to the practice where managers gradually reduce an employee’s responsibilities, exclude them from important meetings, limit growth opportunities, or create an unwelcoming environment to encourage voluntary resignation.
Unlike traditional employee termination, this approach operates in the shadows, making employees feel undervalued until they choose to leave.
Recent workplace studies indicate that 67% of employees have experienced some form of quiet firing, with 41% of managers admitting to using these tactics to manage underperforming team members. This silent epidemic is reshaping how we think about employee retention and management effectiveness.
While quiet firing and quiet quitting sound similar, they represent two opposite behaviors in the workplace—one initiated by employers, the other by employees. Both, however, share a common root cause: poor communication, lack of trust, and weak performance management systems.
Quiet firing occurs when a manager or organization deliberately—or sometimes unintentionally—disengages an employee to push them out. Instead of terminating them directly, the employer reduces responsibilities, withdraws growth opportunities, withholds recognition, and offers minimal support or feedback. This passive-aggressive tactic often makes the employee feel undervalued and alienated, eventually forcing them to quit.
Examples of quiet firing behaviors include:
According to leadership experts, quiet firing is often disguised as poor management, but its impact on employee morale and organizational culture can be severe.
On the flip side, quiet quitting is an employee-driven phenomenon. It occurs when employees stop going “above and beyond” and instead stick to the bare minimum required by their job description. They avoid extra responsibilities, limit overtime, and disengage emotionally from their work.
Key drivers of quiet quitting include:
Quiet quitting doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the job; it means mentally checking out while physically staying on payroll.
Quiet firing is initiated by employers, whereas quiet quitting is a response from employees. Interestingly, these two behaviors often feed into each other.
For example:
As Pavel Turner, a business performance advisor at HR tech company Insperity, puts it:
“Quiet firing is the beginning of quiet quitting. They go hand in hand.”
Not really. Both terms gained popularity post-pandemic during the Great Resignation era, when remote work shifted the employer-employee dynamic. However, these behaviors have existed for decades—just under different names.
The new labels simply reflect the changing language of workplace culture.
Some common signs of quiet firing include being excluded from important projects, receiving little to no feedback, and experiencing reduced communication or recognition. These subtle actions can indicate that an employer is trying to push an employee out without formal termination.
Recognizing these signs early is essential for leaders to prevent job dissatisfaction and employee disengagement. For employees, recognizing it is crucial to take proactive steps before their career is impacted.
Leaders play a critical role in spotting signs of quiet firing before they damage team morale or lead to unwanted attrition. Patterns like reduced communication, limited growth opportunities, and intentional isolation often signal that employees are being pushed out silently.
Identifying these behaviors early helps leaders foster transparency, maintain trust, and create a healthy workplace culture.
Reduced Communication Patterns
Limited Growth Opportunities
Isolation Tactics
Employees should stay alert to signs of quiet firing that may indicate their role is being sidelined. Warning signals include professional stagnation, lack of challenging work, exclusion from key conversations, and a noticeable communication breakdown with managers.
Recognizing these early can help employees address concerns proactively or explore new opportunities before their career growth is impacted.
Professional Stagnation
Communication Breakdown
Quiet firing might seem like a low-conflict way to manage underperformers, but its hidden costs are significant. In 2025’s competitive talent market, silently pushing employees out can lead to disengagement, reduced productivity, higher turnover, and damaging employer branding efforts on platforms like Glassdoor or LinkedIn.
The financial impact of quiet firing extends far beyond individual resignations. Organizations practicing quiet firing face:
Beyond financial loss, it erodes trust and psychological safety, making it harder to attract and retain top talent. Leaders who ignore these risks may face long-term cultural and business setbacks.
Quiet firing happens when managers avoid direct conversations about performance or fit, opting instead for subtle tactics that push employees to leave voluntarily. This often stems from poor leadership communication, conflict avoidance, lack of clear expectations, or budget pressures that make layoffs difficult.
Understanding the root causes of quiet firing is critical for organizations to prevent disengagement and maintain a transparent, healthy work culture.
Leadership challenges like conflict avoidance, lack of performance management skills, and fear of legal repercussions often push managers to avoid direct conversations with employees.
Instead of addressing performance gaps openly, they reduce responsibilities, communication, and opportunities— classic signs of quiet firing. Time constraints also make managers choose the “silent exit” approach rather than investing in coaching and feedback.
Organizational issues such as weak HR policies, lack of manager training, and unclear performance expectations create an environment where quiet firing becomes a default strategy.
When a company does not prioritize employee development or provide structured improvement plans, managers resort to sidelining employees rather than resolving issues through formal processes.
Leaders can eliminate quiet firing by promoting open communication, setting clear performance expectations, and offering structured feedback. Training managers in conflict resolution and implementing fair HR policies like Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) ensures issues are addressed transparently, creating a supportive and trust-driven workplace.
Implement Regular Check-ins Establish weekly or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings with clear agendas. Use this time to discuss performance, career goals, and provide specific feedback. Consistency builds trust and prevents issues from festering.
Create Clear Performance Standards Develop measurable performance indicators and share them openly. When employees understand expectations, they can work toward meeting them rather than guessing what success looks like.
Invest in Communication Training Provide managers with skills for having difficult conversations, giving constructive feedback, and addressing performance issues directly. Companies with trained managers see 23% better employee retention.
Establish Performance Improvement Processes Create structured programs that give struggling employees clear paths to improvement, complete with timelines, resources, and support systems.
Transparent Project Allocation Develop clear criteria for assigning projects and opportunities. When decisions appear fair and merit-based, employees trust the process.
Regular Team Engagement Surveys Conduct quarterly pulse surveys to identify potential quiet firing situations before they escalate. Anonymous feedback helps surface issues managers might miss.
Employees can tackle quiet firing by staying proactive and engaged. Start by seeking clarity on expectations and requesting regular feedback to identify improvement areas. Document achievements and maintain open communication with your manager to showcase value.
If signs like being excluded from projects persists, initiate a constructive conversation to address concerns. Building strong workplace relationships and continuously upgrading skills also helps reduce vulnerability to quiet firing.
Document Everything Keep detailed records of your contributions, feedback received, and professional interactions. This creates a clear picture of your performance and can be valuable if situations escalate.
Seek Direct Feedback Don’t wait for annual reviews. Regularly ask your manager for specific feedback on your performance and areas for improvement. Frame these conversations positively around growth.
Expand Your Network Cultivate relationships beyond your direct manager. Having advocates across the organization provides multiple perspectives on your contributions and potential opportunities.
Find Internal Mentors Connect with senior leaders who can provide guidance and potentially advocate for your career advancement. Mentorship relationships often illuminate blind spots in professional development.
Identify Skill Gaps Conduct honest self-assessments and seek external training opportunities. Staying ahead of industry trends makes you more valuable to any organization.
Communicate Your Ambitions Clearly articulate your career goals and ask for specific steps to achieve them. When managers understand your aspirations, they’re more likely to provide relevant opportunities.
The most effective antidote to quiet firing is building psychologically safe environments where both managers and employees can communicate openly about challenges and expectations.
For Leaders:
For Employees:
As we progress through 2025, successful organizations are moving away from adversarial management practices toward collaborative approaches that benefit both parties. Companies practicing transparent performance management report 34% higher employee satisfaction and 19% better financial performance.
The shift toward hybrid work environments has actually made quiet firing easier to implement but also easier to identify. Remote work transparency tools and digital communication patterns make exclusionary behavior more visible to HR teams and senior leadership.
Quiet firing ultimately damages everyone involved – employees lose confidence and career momentum while organizations lose talent and credibility. The solution requires commitment from both leaders and employees to build more transparent, communicative workplace cultures.
For Leaders: Invest in manager development, create clear performance systems, and foster open communication. The short-term discomfort of direct conversations prevents long-term organizational damage.
For Employees: Take ownership of your career development, seek regular feedback, and build broad professional networks. Don’t wait for problems to resolve themselves.
For Organizations: Recognize that employee retention and development are competitive advantages that require intentional strategies and ongoing investment.
By addressing quiet firing head-on, we create workplaces where both individual careers and organizational success can flourish. The choice is clear: build transparent, supportive environments or watch valuable talent quietly disappear into the competition.
What is quiet firing?
Quiet firing is a passive-aggressive management practice where employers gradually push employees out without directly firing them. This includes cutting responsibilities, excluding them from important meetings, withholding promotions, and limiting professional growth opportunities. It’s a subtle tactic to encourage voluntary resignation rather than direct termination.
How common is quiet firing?
Quiet firing is surprisingly common in modern workplaces. Recent workplace studies show that 67% of employees report experiencing quiet firing behaviors, and 41% of managers admit to using these tactics to deal with underperformance. Hybrid and remote setups have made it easier for such practices to go unnoticed.
Is quiet firing unethical?
Yes, quiet firing is generally considered unethical. It avoids transparency, damages employee trust, and creates a toxic work culture. Instead of addressing performance issues through honest feedback and structured improvement plans, it silently disengages employees, leading to stress and burnout.
What are the signs of quiet firing?
Common signs include:
How to respond to quiet firing?
If you suspect quiet firing, stay proactive. Seek clarity from your manager, ask for regular feedback, and document your achievements. If exclusion continues, escalate the issue to HR or consider alternative career opportunities. Being silent only worsens the situation—communication is key.
What are examples of quiet firing?
Examples include:
What is the difference between quiet firing and quiet quitting?
Quiet firing is employer-driven, where managers disengage employees to make them leave voluntarily. Quiet quitting is employee-driven, where workers only do the minimum required work and disengage from extra responsibilities. Both stem from poor communication and broken trust, but one is initiated by leadership, the other by employees.
Why does quiet firing happen?
Quiet firing often happens because managers avoid difficult conversations about performance. Other reasons include fear of legal repercussions, lack of proper HR policies, conflict avoidance, and time constraints. Instead of investing in feedback and improvement, leaders take the “silent exit” approach.
What are the consequences of quiet firing?
Quiet firing leads to disengagement, high turnover costs (30–200% of salary), loss of productivity, poor team morale, and reputational damage on platforms like Glassdoor.
How to stop quiet firing your employees?
Leaders can prevent quiet firing by:
At Taggd, we help organizations eliminate quiet firing by building transparent hiring and talent management strategies. Our AI-powered recruitment solutions and structured performance processes empower leaders to engage, retain, and grow talent effectively.
Connect with Taggd today and create a workplace where people thrive.
