Amid an uncertain economy, US companies are turning to “silent hiring” to replace laid-off workers, reported Resume Builder, the online resume-building site.
“Silent hiring” is the newly coined term for the practice of hiring contract workers or asking existing employees to take on new or additional tasks, which affects the quality of jobs.
In January, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 1,000 US business leaders at companies with at least 50 employees to find out how many are currently on “silent hires” or will be soon.
Key survey results:
– One in 5 companies is practicing “silent hiring”
– 57% of companies have had layoffs in the last 3 months
– 56% say they plan to lay off employees in the next 6 months
– 37% of companies with recent layoffs are hiring contractors to replace those
laid off workers
– 62% of companies recently asked employees to take on new roles within the organization; 10% say employees received no additional training
– 66% asked employees to take on additional work
– 5% of companies doubled the workload of employees
– 53% asked full-time employees to move to a contract position
– 34% have cut wages in the last 3 months; almost 1 in 10 reduced the wages of all employees
“While it may be better than being fired, asking employees to work harder, especially without additional compensation, can lead to dissatisfaction and burnout,” says Stacie Haller, senior careers consultant at ResumeBuilder.com.
According to Haller, “In the past, companies may have been able to retain workers even if they asked them to do more without additional pay, but today that is not the case. Employees will surely see this as mistreatment and will take steps to seek better opportunities, where they are valued and can maintain a work-life balance.”
For the specialist, if the additional work is offset and can even provide additional skills and experience for the employee, it may be a benefit for some.
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