You might not be fired outright − but your employer could be quietly pushing you out. Quiet firing isn’t a myth; it’s a real and common phenomenon. A 2025 HRTech survey of more than 1,000 U.S. managers revealed that 53% of employers acknowledge using quiet-firing tactics, and nearly half of 20,000 people surveyed on LinkedIn in 2022 had seen quiet firing in action or experienced it themselves.
Quiet firing is when an employer deliberately makes a job so unrewarding, isolating or stagnant that the employee feels pressured to quit rather than being formally terminated.
“Quiet firing is not new; it’s just getting more attention,” says Edwin Aiwazian, managing attorney at Lawyers for Justice.
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We spoke with six HR and career experts to break down the five most common signs of quiet firing and how to protect your career if it’s happening to you.
5 clear signs of quiet firing
Quiet firing might start as being excluded from meetings you were once a key member of, cutting responsibilities or stalling promotions with no explanation.
“You will have responsibilities pulled back, the support that may have been there disappears, your career growth will stall, and the hope is that you will eventually quit,” says Jason Walker, program director and an associate professor of Industrial-Organizational and Applied Psychology at Adler University in Chicago.
Exclusion from meetings
Have you been suddenly uninvited from meetings? This is one of the most common signs of quiet firing, and one many of our experts report as a serious red flag that you are being passively let go.
This may be as obvious as being excluded from meetings, but you may also notice projects being carried out without you or abandoned communication threads.
“It’s avoidance masked as management,” Walker explains.
Shifting responsibilities
If your workload suddenly changes − whether you’re overloaded with unrealistic goals or sidelined with meaningless projects − it could be a sign of quiet firing.
“Similar to bullying behaviors, you may be assigned unreasonable workloads or left with unclear expectations that feel like a setup,” Walker says. “While this is a more aggressive form of quiet firing, it does happen.”
Wende Smith, head of people operations at BambooHR, agrees: “Shifting responsibilities isn’t always a sign of quiet firing, but how your manager goes about it can be telling.” She says that if you ask for the reason behind the shift and get vague or no answers, that’s a red flag.
Support diminishes
A quieter tactic is pulling back on support. This diminished support may leave you feeling abandoned or alone, making it more challenging to complete your projects.
“It can feel like whiplash for the employee who is suddenly left with the weight of an unreasonable workload and feeling like they just can’t hack it in their role,” Smith says. When that environment becomes unbearable, the employee leaves.
Development stops
Did your one-on-ones once discuss your future at the company but are now quick and pointless? A pause or change in your career development is a clear sign of quiet firing. You may receive vague responses or no response at all when inquiring about career growth or promotion timelines.
”Your career growth comes to a standstill, and you are passed over for promotions and raises for no apparent reason,” Walker says. Sometimes, this can drag on for years.
Policy-driven quiet firing
Return to office (RTO) has been used as a form of quiet firing. As employees are expected to return to the office, many decide to leave the company instead. Though many believe this was an unexpected result, it may have been more targeted than not.
When looking into quiet firing, “a troubling trend that our research uncovered is using RTO as a quiet-firing tactic.” The data that Smith’s team at BambooHR uncovered showed that 37% of managers, directors and executives believe that layoffs occurred because fewer employees than expected quit during the RTO process, and 25% of VP and C-suite executives and 18% of HR professionals hoped for voluntary turnover during RTO.
“The danger here, like any other quiet-firing trend, is that it can have a bad ripple effect, damaging morale and culture, which is key to retaining your top talent,” Smith says. Further research showed that nearly 45% of employees who have been through an RTO report losing valuable colleagues.
Why quiet firing happens
Quiet firing often stems from a desire to avoid costs and risks. “It’s either small in an attempt to weed out low performers or larger to avoid layoffs,” Wende Smith says. “It’s gained more prominence lately due to the rise in quiet quitting.”
Avoiding formal termination also helps companies sidestep severance packages and legal risk. “Because employers operate under increased legal and reputational scrutiny, they take the easy way and push employees out,” adds Arianny Mercedes, founder of the career and workplace strategy firm Revamped.
Remote and hybrid work have also made quiet firing easier to execute. Joe Galvin, chief research officer at CEO peer network Vistage Worldwide Inc., says, “Managers can now avoid direct interaction with employees, making disengagement and subtle exclusion simpler to execute.” Without daily in-person contact, it’s easier for employees to fade into the background.
Not all quiet firing is malicious. Some managers simply lack the training or resources to have honest performance evaluations. Mercedes notes that many leaders “feel uncomfortable initiating honest conversations” and are unsure of the best way to address performance or strategic fit − so they default to letting employees drift out.
I’m being quiet fired, what can I do?
Quiet firing doesn’t always mean your job is over, but it’s a clear sign to reassess your situation. “Employees need to advocate for themselves,” attorney Aiwazian says. “You are always within your right to ask questions and open that channel of communication with your leaders.”
Start by voicing your concerns directly. Ask for clear expectations, define your goals with your manager, and align on what success looks like. “It’s only over if you choose to stay silent,” says Brandon Dawson, chairman and co-founder of 10X Health System. “If you’re sensing signs of quiet firing, don’t retreat. Lean in.”
At the same time, protect yourself. Quiet firing isn’t always illegal, but it can be − especially if tied to discrimination or retaliation. Keep detailed records, save emails, track changes to your role, and request feedback in writing. Store all documentation on your personal computer so you have access if you need to take further action.
Final thoughts: Quiet firing is not a result of your performance
“Quiet firing speaks more to a failure of leadership and toxic workplace culture − not performance,” Walker says.
Quiet firing is a well-known phenomenon but not one that is well studied, Walker says. With more stories and shared experiences, more researchers will begin to study the trend and find a worthy solution. Until then, our experts advise, the best defense is to identify the signs early and take action before your options become limited.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are you being ‘quiet fired’? Here’s how to spot the signs