As companies face tightening budgets, many may be considering trimming their workforce. But of course, outright layoffs are expensive and risky. That’s why some have turned to a subtler strategy: quiet firing, or intentionally creating a hostile work environment that encourages people to leave “voluntarily.” Here are the signs.

Changes related to work responsibilities:
• Reassigning important job responsibilities to other employees
• Demoting an employee, or changing their job description
• Not assigning promising new opportunities
• Setting up unreasonable performance targets
• Giving an employee responsibilities that are undesirable or misaligned with their role
• Preventing an employee from receiving a well-deserved promotion

Changes related to compensation:
• Pay cuts
• Preventing an employee from earning more by taking on extra work or overtime
• Not providing expected yearly bonuses or raises

Changes related to working conditions:
• Changing work hours or regular shifts
• Increasing workloads to unreasonable or unmanageable levels
• Forcing an employee to relocate
• Taking away “perks” such as an office or parking spot

Changes related to supervisor communication:
• Not discussing career trajectories or providing performance feedback
• Evaluating an employee unfairly, providing excessively harsh feedback, or constantly criticizing their work
• “Ghosting,” or repeatedly cancelling meetings
• Not providing critical information related to an employee’s work and responsibilities
• Not giving an employee credit for their work, or even worse, giving the credit to others