Experts call on bosses to ditch revenge tactics against employees

Aussie workers are covertly seeking “revenge” on their bosses – but there’s an alarming reason why the latest career fad could end up backfiring.

Quiet-quitting has been the buzz term of the last month in office circles, as a TikTok trend spurred overworked and underappreciated employees to rethink their performance.

Now, quiet-firing has taken centre stage as human resource experts draw attention to the way employers are avoiding their own responsibilities at work.

Some examples include blocking certain employees from promotions, neglecting to offer feedback and denying raises for years.

“If this is happening to you, your company’s taking advantage of you – and you need to loudly quit,” Gen Z corporate TikToker DeAndre Brown said in a recent video.

@imdrebrown

Quiet firing? Not elite! #quietquitting#quietfiring

♬ original sound - DeAndre Brown

FCW Lawyers’ Senior Associate Workplace Relations, Nina Hoang, told NCA NewsWire that quiet-firing “never works”.

“Instead of doing their jobs and letting employees know what they’re doing wrong, managers start to do underhand things, hoping they will get the message and leave,” she said.

“It’s the lazy option and it leads to costly consequences.”

Ms Hoang said at least 90 per cent of employees who are subjected to this behaviour would have a very successful claim under employment law, such as workers compensation for psychological damage.

FCW Layers’ Senior Associate Workplace Relations, Nina Hoang, said bosses should avoid ‘quiet-firing’ because they leave themselves open to potential compensation claims. Picture: Supplied

FCW Lawyers advises its clients against this action, but Ms Hoang said it’s rare employees are aware of their rights in these situations.

“I’m sure there’s been numerous times where this is unreported and they’ve kind of copped it on the chin and just said ‘I’ll leave’,” she said.

Employment Hero’s people and culture manager, Lauren Berry, agreed, saying “quiet firing isn’t it”.

Many employees don’t know their rights when it comes to ‘quiet-firing’ behaviour. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“It takes the dignity and respect out of dealing with a problem,” she said.

Ms Berry said the best results often emerge from productive conversations between managers and employees.

“As a people and culture leader, when a manager comes to me about underperformance, my first questions are always, ‘what conversations have you had with them?’

Employment Hero’s people and culture manager, Lauren Berry, said it can be hard to have the tough conversations. Picture: Supplied

“Have you set expectations and have you given the individual an opportunity to improve and the support to do so?”

Ms Hoang said she thinks many employers just “put it in the too hard basket”.

“It‘s very confronting; it’s very awkward. Oftentimes, it will get very emotional and usually, they just decide, look, I don’t want to do it,” she said.

“Although it is very frustrating that you have to have this conversation, it will save you in the long run.”

“Quiet “firing” tactics can lead to a culture of distrust and disengagement, not only with the individual, but also with the broader team, according to Employment Hero.

Employees should raise their concerns with their boss if they feel they are subject to ‘quiet firing’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

This can have flow-on effects including absenteeism and reduced productivity.

Ms Hoang’s advice to employees who feel like they are being “quiet-fired” is to raise the concern with their manager.

“I think you do need to just have a conversation with your manager, because they might not be seeing it in the same way,” she said.

“I always think the best way with any kind of workplace issue is to have the conversation first, because it normally can lead to some kind of resolution.”