The Year of Quiet Hiring: 2023 Looks Different Already

The Career Project is reader-supported. We may earn a commission on products purchased through links on this page. Learn more here.

While 2022 marked the year of quiet quitting, 2023 sees a new trend of quiet hiring. Now, what does that even mean? Internal hiring? Not exactly. External hiring? A short-term contractor strategy? Yes. New responsibilities to cover long-term leaves (without an increase in salary!) and layoffs from the previous year? Also yes. This HR trend is occuring both internally and externally.

Most often, it’s having a company pile on more work for a current employee and give responsibilities outside of their job description without a raise. So, basically an internal promotion without the change in job title or salary. More work, same pay will likely result in a decrease in productivity. High achievers can deliver up to a whopping 400% more output than the average employee.

Companies are hiring quietly by storm in 2023 to cut costs even more by assigning top performers more tasks. The people who go above and beyond to take on extra work? The ones who stand out to top executives? Their reward: more requirements to secure their current role. Google’s already been doing this for a while under the radar. Because times are tough, right?

Now, is that a form of hush-hush workplace bullying or control when it comes internally? It can very well resemble so. We’ll explore the various reasons and statistics on why quiet hiring is becoming the next big thing of 2023.

Quiet Hiring Infographic: The Trend, in Pictures

Quiet Hiring Infographic

Quiet Hiring Statistics & Numbers

These are estimated numbers from quiet hiring were hidden throughout the web as this remains a relatively new hiring trend. Here’s what we at The Career Project could find:

  • 68% of companies are sourcing their candidates directly
  • 89% of hiring executives say that bad hires often lack soft skills (communication, empathy, etc.)
  • 52% of recruitment professionals prioritized improving the quality of their hires in 2021
  • 8 in 10 quiet quitters are burned out and less satisfied than overachievers
  • 18% of US employees are actively disengaged at work, and 50%+ are not engaged

What Social Media’s Saying about Quiet Hiring

The trend is far from being enclosed in an HR bubble. People around the world have a lot to say about how quiet hiring has been affecting their workplaces. For example (paraphrased for anonymity):

Quiet hiring is downright unethical and takes away the trust between an employee and their company.

It’s about pinching pennies and paying people peanuts overseas at my place. Is it working? Not really.

I’ve gotten so much more work since the beginning of 2023. I understand it “should” be a good thing because that means I’m a top performer, right? Well…all I sense is burnout if I keep going on like this. Please help me.

The back-and-forth passive-aggressive mind games between employees and employers fuel the “quiet” trends of the 21st century. Remote work plays a role in the boom of these trends, but Gen Z may be onto a large mindset shift when it comes to separating their professional and personal lives.

Final Thoughts on Quiet Hiring

As a response to inflation and a surge of quiet quitting from the previous year, companies are adding more responsibilities to star performers. Other times, an organization will hire a team of part-time contractors to forgo paying any overtime or benefits, and save money.

Why is this happening? 2023 marks a year of conservation, because if our collective spending becomes out of control, we may very likely see a dramatic recession.

Quiet hiring may provide opportunities of advancement for some, but will fail to motivate other employees to work more effectively. Picking and choosing corporate favorites sends a strong message that not all employees are equal. Worse case scenario is to coerce an existing employee to stay put in their role or face being laid off. However, these hidden agendas are unspoken.

The solution? Employers and employees must learn the power of empathy and how they can communicate their boundaries freely and with respect. Work will always be there at the end of the day—but motivated employees may not. Honesty, transparency, and trust are vital to any relationship—professional ones too.

References

Google secretly uses the quiet hiring method. it’s a backward—yet brilliant—recruiting strategy (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://www.inc.com/kelly-main/google-quiet-hiring-employee-retention.html.

Google’s ‘quiet hiring’ method is excellent for employers, but dangerous for employees who ‘quiet quit’. MSN. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/googles-quiet-hiring-method-is-excellent-for-employers-but-dangerous-for-employees-who-quiet-quit/ar-AA11Enly.

Guerin, C. (2023, January 5). What is ‘quiet hiring’? latest HR trend prefers part-time, contract workers. International Business Times. Retrieved January 11, 2023, from https://www.ibtimes.com/what-quiet-hiring-latest-hr-trend-prefers-part-time-contract-workers-3653877.

Piñon, N. (2023, January 4). ‘quiet hiring’ will dominate the U.S. in 2023, says HR expert-and you need to prepare for it. CNBC. Retrieved January 11, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/04/gartner-hr-expert-quiet-hiring-will-dominate-us-workplaces-in-2023.html.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Table of Contents

Share this post: