Quiet firing is spreading, but there are business risks to tactics to push workers out

As more companies demand employees spend more days in their workplaces each week, some critics claim that tightening return to office (RTO) rules in part aim to provoke resignations from employees unwilling to give up their remote or hybrid work arrangements. Data now suggests employer use of that indirect quiet-firing manner of reducing head count is far more widespread than previously suspected — and often involves tactics that go beyond ordering people back to their desks.

Reinforced RTO mandates, especially by large companies like Amazon and Starbucks, sparked accusations that management’s tighter in-office requirements are a cover for pushing flexibility-loving workers to quit. It turns out, businesses are also using other methods to trim head count, including cutting worker benefits