You’ve heard of quiet quitting. Now companies are quiet cutting!
Workers are waking up to emails and team-meeting requests with a jolting message: They aren’t fired, but their jobs are no more.
Employees on the receiving end of these emails are somewhat relieved to hear they still have a job. Or does this simply mean they have a job for now? Perhaps their boss secretly wants them to leave.
Companies like Adidas, IBM, and Salesforce are shuffling the deck and reassigning employees left and right as they look to restructure. This whole reassignment has been going on for years, so why is this suddenly a thing?
Over the past several years, companies have spent a significant amount of time, energy, and money hiring top talent. Moving workers into new roles can be a way for companies to hang onto the talent that will be needed in the near future.
Reasons employees are being given for a reassignment include:
- A slowdown in one part of the business.
- Company reorganization.
- A “growth opportunity.” Meaning, you’ll gain valuable work experience working in a new job or in a different department/division.
- “I was able to save you from being laid off.”
But is this merely a game of cat and mouse?
Are employers hoping employees will quit after being reassigned, thereby saving the company from paying out expensive severance packages and paying unemployment insurance? Are these organizations trying to avoid the damage company layoffs can do to their employer brand or the mental health of those still employed?
In a recent television appearance on NewsNation Morning in America show, I shared the following warning signs of “Quiet Cutting.”
- Reassignment to a position far below your pay or skill level.
- Being offered a role that requires you to relocate, even though the company knows relocation is not an option for you.
- Being reassigned to a department that’s on the chopping block.
What to do if you’ve been reassigned?
I tell my coaching clients that it’s always better to have a job when looking for one. It puts you in a much stronger position to negotiate. Therefore, if you can, take the reassignment. However, at the same time, get your resume and your LinkedIn profile updated ASAP and start looking for a new opportunity.
See if you can get your manager to explain what this reassignment means to your career path. The new course you may be on could be better than the path you’ve just left.
People who feel they are being discriminated against may want to chat with a lawyer.
Whatever you decide to do, go forth and give it your all. Nothing is forever, especially when it comes to the world of work.
