A study in the International Journal of Business Information Systems found that quiet firing by employers leads to more quiet quitting among staff. When bosses create bad environments, workers limit their efforts. However, strong workplace relationships helped. The research showed that management practices often cause this withdrawal, not just employees.
A study of the oil, gas and petroleum industry has found that "quiet firing" by employers is associated with higher levels of "quiet quitting" among employees, while strong workplace relationships can weaken that effect. The research appears in the International Journal of Business Information Systems.
Quiet quitting, a term that has gained prominence in recent years, describes employees limiting their work to their formal responsibilities rather than taking on additional work. Quiet firing refers to employers indirectly encouraging workers to leave by creating an undesirable working environment or withholding opportunities and support.
The research showed that there is a positive relationship between the two practices: As quiet firing increased, so did quiet quitting. But the relationship was weaker where workplaces had greater social capital—the networks, trust, shared norms and relationships that enable people to cooperate and communicate with each other more effectively.
The findings have implications for human resource management, as attention might shift from individual disengagement and its impact on turnover to broader organizational behavior. Rather than treating quiet quitting solely as a problem of employee motivation, the research suggests that management practices can contribute to withdrawal and should be considered too.