Victoria Wells: Remote work has made communication more difficult, fueling a ‘silent’ confrontation between employees and employers
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You’ve probably heard of silent quits, in which workers refuse to do much more than meet the expectations set out in their job descriptions. That sounds reasonable enough to most employees – and many have argued that the term simply means doing your job – but bosses aren’t too happy with it.
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Managers worry about what an office full of quiet quits means for productivity, and for some, that means taking on some of their employees’ workload to make up for the loss. According to a recent survey by recruiter Robert Walters Canada, four in 10 managers in Toronto say they put in more time and effort because employees under 30 do less.
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Young professionals who retire from work say it’s mainly because they aren’t paid enough. As high inflation and the rising cost of living eat into paychecks, many employees assume that their employer can and should make up the difference with a big raise. But this is only a chimera. Most companies would find it impossible to match the rate of inflation, which stood at 6.9% in September, with wage increases.
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As a result, we are witnessing a silent war between employees and their managers, some of whom are fighting back in their passive-aggressive ways by “silently firing” silent quitters.
Silent dismissal subtly freezes an employee by avoiding one-on-one conversations, refusing to provide feedback, neglecting to share critical information needed to do a job, passing them off for a promotion, or subjecting them to stingy raises – or no raise at all – while colleagues receive more.
It might sound pretty extreme, but the practice seems to be more common than you might think. Most workers say they have experienced it or seen it happen in their workplace, according to a recent survey by LinkedIn News. Meanwhile, one in three managers in the United States say they have chosen the “silent firing” path, according to a survey by Resumebuilder.com.
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The effect can be demoralizing for an employee, which is exactly the point. “Eventually, you’ll feel so incompetent, isolated, and unappreciated that you’ll go looking for a new job, and they’ll never have to deal with a development plan or offer severance,” says Bonnie Dilper, recruiter for the working software company Zapier. Inc., in an article on LinkedIn.
Even if silent quitters aren’t in the silent firing line, they’re more likely to end up on the chopping block anyway. According to the Resumebuilder.com survey, three-quarters of managers think it’s okay to fire employees who don’t put their all into their work. Workers spending the bare minimum may want to take this to heart if they plan to keep their jobs through a recession and possible layoffs. “(Quitting quietly) will just make it easier to determine which head will roll,” warn labor attorneys Howard Levitt and Peter Carey.
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This “quiet” war could be a direct consequence of working from home. Remote work seems to have broken something fundamental in the employee-employer relationship: good communication. Much of the workforce seems to have forgotten how to talk to each other, and even approaching a colleague for a quick chat during workdays has become frowned upon. There’s another buzzword for it: “desk bombing.” For some, being greeted unexpectedly by a colleague has become as stressful as having to speak to someone on the phone.
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Employers are missing out on this pool of potential employees willing to work
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When returning to the office, workers won’t give up life-changing flexibility without a fight
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“Hybrid work is here to stay”: Canadians are more productive, happier and wealthier working part-time from home
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Meanwhile, managers say remote and hybrid working have made it very easy for employees to fly under the radar, and that working from home is “breeding ground” for quiet dropouts, according to Robert Walters Canada. But the recruiter says the solution is quite simple: get people back to the office more often.
“If quiet dropouts benefit from being ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ then employers shouldn’t hesitate to mandate more office contact time,” said Martin Fox, chief executive of Robert Walters. Canada, in a press release.
Employees continue to postpone their presence in the office more often, but the additional time of face-to-face communication could help reduce the expectations of employers and employees regarding work effort. And then quiet quitters won’t have to worry about being quietly fired.
• Email: [email protected] | Twitter: vwells80
This story was first published in the FP Work Newsletter, an organized look at the evolution of the world of work. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday.
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