In the American workplace of 2023, a new labor market trend has taken over where "quiet quitting" left off.
Quiet cutting.
"Quiet cutting is what some people consider a subcategory of quiet firing," said Nadia De Ala, a leadership and negotiation coach. "It's a way for companies to avoid layoffs and potentially save money on expenses they would incur with severance packages. This involves reorganizing existing employees, not laying them off or firing them, but reassigning them to different roles."
The emergence of these new workplace trends often reflects the state of the job market and the economy. Despite the overall strength of the U.S. job market, some companies are apprehensive about the future, leading them to adopt the "quiet cutting" approach to change in the workplace.
"For the past few years, we've witnessed quiet quitting and the great resignation, signs of a robust economy and a tight labor market where employees held the upper hand," said Yale University lecturer and bestselling author Joanne Lipman. "Quiet cutting suggests that the balance is shifting, with employers gaining more control."
Watch the video above to learn more about quiet cutting and what this workplace trend tells us about the U.S. job market and the overall economy.
