Some Employers Must Improve Performance Management Processes To Avoid Costly Dangers

Almost a third of surveyed employees working in hospitality and retail claim they’ve been forced to leave their job due to their manager making their work life uncomfortable and encouraging them to leave, according to a new survey.

Leading law firm, Irwin Mitchell, recently conducted a nationally representative study into the issue of ‘quiet firing’ - the behaviour or actions by an employer that make employees feel like they’re no longer wanted, forcing them to quit.

Irwin Mitchell wants to raise awareness of the impact such poor behaviour can have on employee engagement and retention and the important measures managers should put in place to avoid ‘quiet firing’.

After surveying 200 people working in hospitality and retail, Irwin Mitchell found:

• 87% of people don’t know what quiet firing is.
• 28% of workers in hospitality and retail have been actively ignored by their manager.
• 34% of workers in hospitality and 31% in retail have been in roles where they’ve not received feedback.
• 31% of workers in hospitality and 19% in retail have purposely had information withheld from them making them want to leave their roles.
• 38% of workers in hospitality have experienced workplace bullying “disguised” as banter. The figure is much higher in retail with the proportion standing at 47%.

  Expert Opinion

  “Generally, the issue boils down to performance management and embedding a culture whereby continuous evaluation and feedback is normal. Often managers need support and training on how to effectively performance manage their teams. Sometimes the impact of failing to deal with performance issues in the right way is underestimated.
  
  “A lack of feedback was the predominant gripe that workers in the retail and hospitality sectors had with their current or previous place of work. Other management failings for employees include being ignored by their manager; being passed over for promotion; and being undermined in a meeting.
  
  “This type of behaviour can form grounds for constructive dismissal if it breaches the implied term of trust and confidence in the employment relationship and the employee has more than two years’ service and can lead to allegations of discrimination. Perhaps as important is that it can result it teams becoming disengaged and a lack of respect in line management.”
  Charlotte Rees-John, Head of Irwin Mitchell’s Consumer sector team, said: