SINGAPORE: Apparently, there is a new passive-aggressive way to get rid of employees without paying a single cent in severance.
It is called quiet cutting.
According to CBS News, this tactic is gaining popularity as a restructuring tool.
Companies such as Adidas, Adobe, IBM, and Salesforce are among those that have reportedly reshaped their workforces this way over the past year.
A Fortune news report adds that 77 per cent of employees say they have seen it happen in their own workplaces.
Isolation
One of the most common ways quiet cutting begins is by removing your team.
Colleagues play a far bigger role in our work lives than many of us care to admit. As a Medium writer and psychology graduate Erika Borg has pointed out, they can even influence how long someone stays at a company.
They cheer us on, commiserate on bad days, and understand workplace frustrations in ways friends and family often cannot. For many employees, colleagues become a source of stability and motivation.
Employers know this too, which is why they often take that anchor away when they decide they no longer need you.
A leaked internal memo from a major tech firm reportedly called this “managing out the median.”
It works in a similar way to social shunning in a small village, using professional exclusion to trigger your fight-or-flight instincts.
To cite an example, one man shared on Reddit’s r/SGHenry forum that he lost all motivation to go to work after the company wiped out his entire team.
On top of losing his support network, he was forced to report to a difficult manager whose plans did not align with what he believed would be best for Asian markets.
Unsurprisingly, he began to rethink his position. He planned to resign and just live off the passive income from his investments.
The company had won.
Incompetence
In some cases, the company also resorts to gaslighting you into thinking that you’re incompetent at your job.
They might move you to another department where a notoriously difficult manager has a reputation for breaking people’s spirits. Every suggestion you make might be questioned, every decision second-guessed, and every small mistake amplified.
Or, it could be your own boss turning on you suddenly, scrutinising your work in ways that feel unfair or even personal.
Over time, it chips away at your confidence, leaving you second-guessing yourself at every turn.
Demotion
Sometimes, companies take a more obvious approach and quietly demote you.
You might suddenly be reassigned to a role with a less impressive title and a smaller pay cheque. Or, just as awkwardly, you could be moved into a position where there is barely any real work to do.
While that might sound appealing to someone who enjoys doing the bare minimum, for a driven professional, it quickly becomes exhausting.
Stress creeps in, motivation drops, and the brain’s natural need for purpose goes unmet.
Companies are quietly counting on that discomfort to push you out the door.
CBS News has reported that employees placed into these kinds of backhanded demotions often experience a serious toll on their mental health.
As Wall Street Journal careers reporter Ray Smith, who first highlighted the ‘Quiet Cutting’ trend, explained to CBS, many people tie their sense of identity to their job title and the work they do.
And so when they are suddenly told to do something else, especially when it feels like a step down, it can leave them questioning what message the company is really sending and where they stand.
So, if you recognise these patterns, what do you do next?
Career experts say that once it dawns on you that you’re being pushed out, the key is not to panic.
Use that time wisely. Plan your next move, apply for other jobs in your free time, and attend interviews on your days off. Make sure you have something to fall back on before you hand in your resignation.
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