​Have You Been Quiet Fired? 

 Story by nsheidlower@insider.com (Noah Sheidlower) 

Stephen Taylor, 51, said he remembers sitting on the train in 2020 on his way to work for the last time before his company went completely remote, wondering what it would mean for his career. 

After a few weeks of isolation and feeling mentally drained, the mechanical engineer and computer architect got approval to move from California, where he worked at a lab, to Orlando, Florida, to be closer to his family. He gave up his office space at the California lab to a local employee in order to work from home. 

For the first few years, remote work went smoothly. But as Taylor inched closer to his five-year mark at the company, he said he got a new supervisor who told him the company was bringing people back for hybrid work. Although Taylor said he could do all his work remotely, his manager wanted him to stop by the Bay Area offices at least once a month. 

He said his company would not help with relocation, nor did anyone follow up about arranging a schedule for his visits. Taylor said that seemed like a sure sign the company was investing in in-person workers. He had also just built a new home in Orlando and couldn't leave behind his daughter, a full-time student, by moving back to the Bay Area.  

"My coworkers who were all out there in California kind of knew I wasn't coming back, so I started getting uninvited from meetings, I got assigned less and less work, and it became hostile to me," Taylor told Insider. "It was good that I left, but at the same time being unemployed, you have children, bills, and everything, which is not the greatest either." 

He decided to quit without another job lined up, though he did find temporary employment a few weeks later. 

After bringing remote workers back to the office, some companies are "quiet firing" employees who either moved away from the office or were hired for an initially remote position. While some companies intentionally make jobs less appealing so employees leave on their own volition, companies sometimes quiet fire employees without even knowing it. At the same time, there appears to be a growing detachment between remote employees and their employers. 

"We find that 'quiet firing' is most often unintentional and a result of negligent managers," Ben Wigert, the director of research and strategy for workplace management at Gallup, told Insider. "Most often, it occurs when managers fail to adequately provide coaching, support, and career development to an employee, which results in pushing the employee out of an organization." 

Some Companies See “Quiet Firing” As Better Alternative to Layoffs!  

Typically, quiet firing happens when managers don't routinely discuss goal progress, don't give performance feedback or recognition to individuals, and don't provide workers with a compelling career path, Wigert said. Because of performance issues, team-cohesion problems, or changing business needs, companies sometimes try to push employees out, so they voluntarily quit. Wigert said this may save them unemployment fees or may let managers off the hook for mistakes.  

Other companies are practicing what some call "quiet cutting," meaning an employee's position gets cut, but instead of being terminated, they are moved to a different — and often lower-paying or unrelated — position.  

This is a situation that remote, hybrid and in-person workers have found themselves in. Being isolated in duties, not being a part of co-workers or employee company conversations. Not being included in company information sometimes happens. These tactics and others are often used in hoping the employees will quietly leave on their own! This can happen even after receiving “glow reviews, evaluations, being the “top” in your department or when you’re most happy with your company or position”! 

"Maybe the most famous use of 'quiet cutting' in the return-to-office era has involved rumors of employers ending remote-work options in hopes of employees quitting before the company is forced to conduct layoffs," Wigert said. 

What to Do? 

“Quiet Firing” can happen to any employee in “any position”!  What to do about it if you find yourself in this position or think this is happening to you? Dust off your resume! Review your skills, strengths and where you have excelled. Start looking before your suspicions are right!