A poor performance review can lead to several issues at your job. You could lose out on a bonus and raise because of the review. You may even be put on a performance improvement plan (PIP) to fix your issues so that you can be a better employee. This may be troubling, especially since it may not be clear why you received a poor performance review. It’s also important to keep in mind that a poor performance review may be your employer’s attempt to make you quit your job.
An employer may give an employee a poor performance review as an attempt to “quiet fire” them. Quiet firing is the act of making a workplace inhospitable for an employee in the hopes that they will quit. There are several other tactics of quiet firing your employer may use, including the following.
Your employer is overloading you with work
You may receive so much work that it all seems impossible to complete. As a result, you may miss deadlines and your work may be of lower quality. This could be an attempt from your employer to overwhelm you and make you look like you are performing poorly in your role.
Your job responsibilities have suddenly changed
You may have had certain job responsibilities removed. You may have been told this was to improve the quality of your work or because you are no longer trusted to do your job. This may make you feel as if your role at your job is useless.
You are no longer invited to group discussions
Another tactic employers may use to create a toxic work environment is by isolating employees. You may have recently been removed from group discussions and excluded from meetings. This could severely affect your work and enjoyment at your job.
Quiet firing may be a form of wrongful termination. When you learn about your legal options, you can be better equipped to fight this kind of mistreatment.