A popular term that has been used in the last few years is “quiet firing.” Quiet firing is when an employer makes a workplace unsuitable with the intent of making an employee quit.
This is often done when an employer no longer wishes to employ someone but does not want to offer them a severance package or pay their unemployment. Or because the employer knows there is no valid reason to fire the employer, but they just don’t like them because of their race, gender or some other such factor. They know that firing them could lead to an accusation of wrongful termination.
Ways to make an employee want to quit
Here are some ways an employer might try to encourage an employee to leave:
- Reduced workload: Reducing an employee’s workload can be an attempt to make them look and feel useless. An employee may begin to look for more prosperous opportunities that allow them to use their skills and knowledge.
- Too much work: An employer may give an employee too much work with very short deadlines. This is often done to overwhelm an employee and make them look like they are doing a poor job when they miss deadlines and create sloppy work.
- Sudden role change: An employee may have had their role suddenly changed. This new role may not suit their skills and experiences.
- Exclusion from meetings: An employer may purposefully remove an employee from group meetings and work conversations. This may be an attempt to alienate an employee from their coworkers.
Employees may need to learn about their legal rights when they suspect they are a target of quiet firing.
