What is quiet cutting?
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Welcome to the Talent takeover.
Unfiltered coming to you with another Hot Topic.
Taylor, how you doing?
Good, how are you? Good.
I'm jamming.
So we got another trend.
I feel like, I don't know, sometimes I
feel a little exhausted with trends just because
it's like hard to keep up.
It's like we got all these things to do,
but luckily you are on top of these trends.
All right, so we've got quiet cutting.
Is it the next quiet trend?
What in the world is quiet cutting?
Yeah, so quiet cutting, which I really am
not sure how this translates, but it's when
you remain employed, but your responsibilities change significantly.
So I don't know where the name quiet cutting came from.
Cutting job responsibilities and adding
more, I don't know.
But it's a new trend and so
a couple of schools of thought.
So when this could be a good thing, I think the
very obvious is when you have a say in the decision.
So we know that this is your responsibilities changing.
That's what quiet cutting means.
So when you have a say in those responsibilities versus
it's just like this is what you got to do
and it's completely different from the job that you were
hired to do and you absolutely hate it.
But if your employer brings it to you and
it's more of a conversation and it's more around
solutions and also helping you stay employed during difficult
times for the company or difficult times in the
market, having to pivot and do something else.
So there's positives.
So quiet cutting I think gives a negative
connotation, but do you think there's some positives?
Yeah.
So question on this, though, because the way I read
it or interpret it is that quiet cutting is kind
of like before they're about to let you go.
So it seems like the company is not
telling you, we don't need your position anymore.
We're going to have you do other things and
then maybe kind of push you out to quit.
Instead of laying off, we're going to
kind of pushing you to quit.
Is this not that?
Maybe it is that, but I think that's where kind of like
the pros and cons we're going into come into play, where it's
like I think maybe it depends on how it's done.
Like if it's a conversation and it's like,
is this something you want to do?
We had to cut our sales team, but we
really still could use some help in sales.
I think that's one that I've seen a lot with
the quiet cutting, like, where people still need they've had
to cut those teams, but they still need that support.
Recruiting.
It happens all the time too, in recruiting, where they
cut recruiting teams, but they still need that support.
So I think as long as it's a conversation
about like, you have to do this, I think
that obviously changes the way it feels to the
employee and then when it helps you grow.
I think that's the other thing to look at, too.
This could be a good thing.
When it helps you grow, it helps you learn a
new skill, helps you get out of your comfort zone.
I think the caveat to this and a disclaimer that
I should have put once we started the episode is,
I think, for me, and I know for you, it
depends on the environment that you're working in.
If you're working in a startup, it's to be expected.
You're going to have to take on
different responsibilities outside of the scope of
maybe what was originally discussed.
I feel like that comes with the territory.
You should know that going into it, and
you shouldn't perceive that as a negative thing,
and you should perceive that as like they're
trying to expand upon your skills.
They're trying to have you learn new things.
To be a super versatile employee.
It's a positive to me, in those scenarios. Yeah.
To me, it looks like we're upskilling you.
But also we do this here.
It's just we're not quiet about it.
I think it's the quiet that triggers me.
It's like nothing should be quiet.
It should be very clear.
This is why we're doing it.
This is why we need it.
Do you like this? Are you interested?
Are you not interested?
But at the same time, this is what the business needs.
So if you're not interested, unfortunately, I'm going to
have to find someone that is exactly that's.
That conversation, I think, and you've
outlined it perfectly, like how I
would think that conversation should go.
That would feel good to everybody.
When it's not good or when the red flags
is it happens to you, not with you.
That goes back to what we were saying.
Like, you're just told one day that this
is what you're doing, or you're told one
day it's not even about maybe the responsibilities,
but hey, your position has been eliminated.
Now you're in this role.
We don't have a recruiting team lead anymore.
We have a recruiter role.
That's what you're in.
Although there may not be too many between the two.
Like a demotion.
Yeah, it's like your job just changed.
There's a demotion and I think which lends
nicely towards what you were saying about that
could be them trying to phase you out.
So I think there's that one.
You're suddenly being paid less, your titles changed.
Obviously, those are big fuck yous to someone.
It's not going to feel good.
Yeah, I almost wonder because I typically
look at things from the employer's mindset. Right.
Been a CEO for so long.
So I look at quiet cutting as a company's response to
quiet quitting, where it's like, I see you're going to quiet
quit me, so I'm going to quiet cut you.
Now we're going into battle.
Which is so ridiculous for
both trends are so ridiculous.
Nothing should be quiet.
We talk about a lot with layoffs,
like, you should not be surprised.
The company should have told you we're having
issues here, or this project didn't happen or
our Pivot didn't work or whatever. Right.
Those have to be conversations.
I think it seems to be more and just from
my experience alone, it seems to be more like these
are conversations in the smaller companies, but in the larger
companies that you get in, it's not it's not uncommon
for it to not be a conversation.
It's like you're just in this job and
you have lesser pay and your title has
changed or everybody's blindsided with layout.
It's not open for discussion.
I would actually say this is probably the first
place that I've ever worked where we operate with
such transparency that you should absolutely know what to
expect and plan accordingly and do what you need
to do for yourself and take care of yourself.
And we're very big on that here.
But in some of the larger corporations that
I've worked at, and we see it all
over the news too, people are blindsided.
Not everybody's checking the Warren Report every day.
I mean, you can be blindsided in some
of those larger corporations by what's going on.
And I know that happened to a
lot of people in COVID times.
People were absolutely yeah.
And if you guys have not seen that episode and our
post about the Warren Act, please do because you are supposed
to be notified 60 days before those layoffs happen if you
have a certain amount of people in your company.
So we won't get into that.
Definitely check that out and listen.
But yeah, so it's definitely interesting.
So I think what for our listeners, they should just
think about and be mindful on is if your job
is changing significantly or maybe even just a little bit,
just be open and saying, hey, can you talk me
through why this is doing it?
Hey, I'm all for that, but can you talk me through it?
Or, hey, how's the company doing?
Hey, how's my organization doing?
How's our team doing?
I think this is one of those moments
where you got to really, as an employee,
really keep your eyes and ears open.
And if something is changing, ask why.
It doesn't mean that you're fighting change.
It just means you want to know why.
And I think just like we teach our kids,
why matters and it should matter your whole life.
And there's a different scenario that I have that
is actually somebody that I know that I want
to outline where I think that it can be
a great thing, what we're talking about.
And it's something we do here internally and everybody wears
many hats, but I do have somebody that I know
who if it's a situation where you're doing a job
because you've had two people leave, one was fired, one
quit, it was not a layoff.
It's not due to company budget, nothing like
that, but you've stepped in to cover those
gaps and they're not backfilling those people.
That's a different scenario that's you're being taken
advantage of because if you're doing the job,
then I can outline for you.
This individual is doing the job of a VP who left
and is doing the job of a recruiting team lead who
was let go, and they're having to do so.
That was two additional headcount that they
don't have, plus this person's own job.
And so they're like, hey, can you help?
Which is supposed to be HR, but is recruiting. Got it.
Okay. Yeah.
And then the VP of HR left, and
so she's having to do that too.
So two big jobs, big responsibilities, and you've been
doing it, but it's not because of budget.
These people left on their own or were terminated.
You know, the company has the budget, but you've taken
on that work thinking that you're going to do it
just to get the company through that time till they
hire somebody, like, just get us over the hump.
But you're doing such a good job at it while running
yourself into the ground that they're in no hurry to backfill
these jobs and may not even backfill these jobs.
And one of those being a higher level job that you are
not getting paid to do, nor do you get that title.
That's where I think it's different.
Can we say this trend is quiet promoting?
I don't know if it's quiet promoting or demoting, because
I don't know if it's like if you don't get
the title and you don't get the that's the thing.
The company is being quiet about it.
The company is promoting you, not giving you
the title, not giving you the pay.
They're just overworking you.
So it's like quiet promoting, quiet overworking,
whatever you want to call it.
Quiet overworking.
I like better because promoting sounds too
positive for that scenario, but overworking.
Okay, quiet overworking.
Yes, that is exactly what it is.
And I feel so bad for this individual because
I'm like, I think sometimes these companies are waiting
to see when you say enough is enough.
You know what I mean?
And I think that's where for listeners, you
need to know when enough is enough. Yeah.
And hopefully it's before you're at your wits end.
But I have a good friend of mine that is
a director of marketing, and she has had this issue
for probably her whole career, which again, kind of puts
it on her because there's always coincidences, right?
But she is an overachiever.
She fights really hard, works really hard.
She, in my opinion, is the
employee you want to have, right.
But corporate tends to take advantage of her on how
fast she moves, on how decisive she is, how she'll
never raise her hand when she needs help.
So those are all issues that she should fix.
And so companies naturally are like, cool, so
they have taken people away from her team.
They have taken away her higher up, and they just kind
of assume that she's going to handle it, and she does.
And then eventually, finally, she had had enough,
but her had enough meant she went elsewhere.
She didn't speak up internally.
She just left.
So I also want to caution companies to be careful.
You might lose your star employee because you didn't
take care of them and you didn't say enough,
because it should be on the employer as well.
Enough is enough.
Well, and it's also very telling of the employer,
if you're okay, just piling more and more and
more on somebody and not compensating that.
Let's see how long they'll do this for. That's not okay.
Who wants to work in a company environment like that?
And I think to your point with your friend,
once that light bulb goes off of, like, they
actually don't give a shit about me.
They're just trying to see how much they can get out
of me, then it's like, you don't even want the promotion
or the pay at that point, you know what I mean?
You just want to be out the door because you've
had this light bulb moment of like, this is not
aligned with my values and where I want to be.
I've had to be in those spots
before where you've taken on too much.
We could save that for a whole nother conversation,
but where you raise your hand, you do more.
When I'm thinking about how I got my start
into management, all of that stuff, and I had
to go and do very extreme things, go out.
I had another offer, show them the offer letter.
And it was like, give me this or I'm gone.
And that's exactly what I got.
But I did it for, like, a year.
I did it for a lot longer than
I'd ever be willing to do it now.
But it was one of those things that had
I not said anything, and I even expressed to
my manager that I was not happy.
Like, hey, it's becoming a lot because mine
also included travel at the time, too.
And it was like driving back and
forth to Houston every single week. It was a lot.
And so I was, you know, and having
those conversations, and it wasn't being taken seriously.
And so then I started looking
elsewhere and then got that offer.
And ultimately, I hate when people do that.
So I kind of had some pause with even
telling this story because I don't think you should
go and shop another offer just to get what
you want at your current company.
However, I was going to leave.
If I didn't get it, I was going to leave.
So it was like, you either give
me this or I'm going to leave.
And the reality is, I loved the client that I worked for,
and in RPO World, do you feel like you work more for
your clients than the own company that you work for.
So I didn't want to leave my clients is ultimately
what it boiled down to, and was really happy there.
But I took an offer.
That's what it took for me to get
the job that I had already been doing
and the compensation that went with it. It's crazy.
Well, you know what this leads to, I think, something
we really need to talk about, which is negotiating.
Let's have a completely different episode on that.
And it's the goods, the bads, the
ugly when it comes to negotiating.
But you were put into that
situation technically by your employer.
So you did something that you didn't want to do.
You didn't want to lead on another company, and you did,
in your heart, think, like, hey, I'm going to leave.
But at the same time, you were still wanting to stay.
And it's like, it's so sad that you had to
go through that process and then in return that that
company that wanted you had to also kind of get
let down and go through that process, when really if
the company would have just given you what you asked
for or at least worked with you.
Because, look, there's lots of times that people go
to companies and it's like an outrageous ask, right?
Yeah.
Or that's their negotiating tactic is they're
going to ask for something outrageous in
hopes to get something smaller.
But yeah, we should talk about all of those things because
it's really important, and we can talk about shameful moments that
we have in life, but in the end of the day,
it's like you still have to show up for yourself.
And those are also negotiating tactics.
That when your backs against the wall,
you have to do it well.
And here's the crazy thing about it too, is
that I know they didn't like it, but I
know they respected me more after it.
It was like, oh, shit, okay.
Because I do think, again, having been there before, I
think companies will take advantage of you, especially the larger
ones, sometimes for as long as you let them.
And so I think putting your foot down, I think as
long as I mean, there's no cursing, there's no yelling.
It was very respectful.
It was like, hey, I want to follow up on
that conversation I've been having with you about formally moving
into this role and the timeline of that to happen.
And I'd been strung along for about six months.
And then it was like, oh yeah, working on it.
Working on it was like, okay,
well, I gave them this timeline.
Well, they gave me the timeline.
I honored that timeline.
And then it still wasn't going to happen.
I still was kind of getting the
runaround by the end of the timeline.
And so that's when I was like, okay, I have this offer.
I was ready to resign right there,
I was like, I'm going to resign.
And it was like a whole conversation
about resigning, and it had to happen.
And it was like it was an ugly situation.
I would never want to have to go through that again.
But I know it completely changed the dynamic.
I was with that company for another three years
after that, and they respected me for it, for
standing up for myself and like, okay, I've been
doing this, and I did it the tactful way.
I feel like you can't just go in demanding something.
You have to be having those conversations.
If they give you a timeline based on budget or
whatever it is, okay, I can work with your timeline.
But once that timeline gets there, and if they don't
honor it, then you do what you got to do. Yeah.
I got to tell you, and I know we'll get back
to the actual subject of this, but if I were your
recruiter for the other company, you wouldn't have gone back.
I would have milked that puppy.
Oh, my God, I could totally tell you what I
would have said because I've had these situations where it's
like this guy had asked for he was underpaid by,
like, 30, so he went and got it, and then
we almost lost him to his current company because it
is easier to stay than it is to leave.
Yeah, but at the same, I would have really
dug deep into your emotions on that one, which
is okay, I'll save that for another time.
No, again, probably another episode is closing.
Closing strategies.
Yeah, closing and negotiating.
I mean, wow, okay.
And we should tell our own stories with regards
to stuff like that because I feel like our
listeners really, like, of course, that they like to
hear these different stories that we've had.
And that one, guys, I'll save it for another day.
But that one has layers and levels, like when the
client found out and oh, it gets some good teeth.
Yes, Harry, but I think going into our broke to
boss tip, because I know we're at time, is that
if I'm going to keep it short and sweet, no
workplace trend that starts with the word quiet is good.
That's a tip.
If you're hearing quiet, anything that's
just not a good look.
But also and that goes both sides. Both.
That's what I'm talking about. Like, both sides.
It's like if you're seeing these trends, if
you're hearing about these things, be really mindful
of what's happening within your organization.
If you're an employer, check in with your employees.
All of these like, we talked about
the lazy girl jobs, quiet quitting, quiet
cutting, we've talked about all of it.
But anything that starts with quiet, as a
good rule of thumb, not a good look.
And then also, I think flexibility is needed at
work, and it should be expected to some extent,
like flexibility within the scope of your role.
But if it's these drastic changes that occurred
that we've outlined here, it's trouble like that's.
Trouble.
So you've got to also see the signs.
So I think for everybody listening, quiet.
Be on the lookout for that and see the signs.
If your job is drastically changing and you're
having no input in it yes, have conversations.
We're always saying it's not a confrontation.
It's a conversation.
You have to be a big girl
and boy and have a conversation.
That's what it's about.
Love the transparency.
All right, well, this is another fun episode.
So thank you all so much.
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