We keep hearing this term "quiet quitting" which is when you don't quit your job, you just stop going above and beyond your duties. Some would call that work/life balance. Or acting your wage. Naturally, that has many CEOs and corporate executives enraged that their employees are no longer overworking themselves for free.
I simply can't bring myself to care about the feelings of people making 6 or more figures while their employees can't pay their utilities. So let's talk about the reverse of this: quiet firing.
Quiet firing is when the employee diligently does their job, consistently meets expectations, and yet is granted no raise for multiple years. And yes, you are entitled to raises. Inflation makes them necessary. If you're doing all the same work and not getting a raise whilst inflation continues to increase? That's a pay cut. You're doing the same work for a lesser value.
Let's not even get started on wage theft. You know, when you work overtime and yet don't get paid for it. Or work off the clock. Fun fact, if you take money from your boss, they can call the police and have you immediately arrested. If your boss doesn't pay you? Good luck trying to get the police to care. Take it up in court. Good luck affording a lawyer without the money your boss is withholding.
We live in a society that consistently benefits the richest of us at the expense of the poor for exactly the reasons above. CEOs who lay off their workforces the same year they give themselves millions of dollars in bonuses are telling us we need to do more for less. For once, we're just saying no.