Job market buzzwords: definition of relationship trends between employees and companies

Employment jargon: why are HR movements and trends all English words?

In the world of employment, major trends very often come from the US. They generally spread to Europe after 6 months to 1 year. The names of these trends are therefore mostly in English. 

The majority of European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, etc.) do not translate these terms into their own languages, but use the English terms instead. This is the case, for example, with Ghosting. 

Quiet "something": quitting, hiring, promotion...

Why is the term "Quiet" used so often to talk about HR trends?

Because, by definition, trends don't just appear out of nowhere. They are behaviors that are gradually established, without ever really becoming official. So the term ''quiet'' is well suited to these more or less established movements, depending on the country, the sector, and so on.

The concepts associated with this idea of silence can be initiated by employees, employers and/or HR.

Quiet quitting: silent resignation

This concept does not refer to a real resignation, but rather to the fact of limiting yourself to what is written on your job description. The idea goes even further: it's about not trying to push yourself and no longer taking initiative. It's a way for employees to let the company know that they don't want to invest more than they have to.

Act your wage: the other Quiet quitting?

Quiet quitting can be distinguished from the TikTok concept of "Act your wage". The idea is quite similar, but Act Your Wage has a less negative side, because the idea is not to disengage, but rather to make people aware that if employees are to do more, they will also need to be paid more.

Quiet promotion: the fake promotion?

This concept is not a very positive one for the employees affected by it. It is a sign of confidence from the employer in the case of :

• a colleague's absence (either an unreplaced resignation or a long period of sick leave)
• a request from an employee to take on new responsibilities.

So far, so good. But beware: this confidence and the new tasks and responsibilities associated with it are not followed by the promotion (new title, new salary, new benefits) that goes with it!

Quiet thriving: focus on interesting missions for greater happiness

This concept is a position (conscious or unconscious) that some employees may take: they give priority to the tasks they like in their job, and do everything to make them a bigger part of their daily routine. By doing this, they take back control of their professional well-being and make the changes they think necessary to their job.

When it comes to less interesting tasks, they learn to let them slip out of their control so that they can concentrate on the tasks they prefer.

The concepts of Quiet hiring and Quiet firing also exist, but we will deal with them later in this article.

Trends in sourcing, recruitment and applications

Quiet hiring: the new internal mobility?

Quiet hiring refers to two phenomena that existed long before the term was introduced. Faced with a tight employment market, the idea is to make up for the shortage of talent by... not recruiting (or at least not right away)!

The idea? Capitalize on temporary "internal mobility" (internal Quiet Hiring) by assigning all - or some - of the tasks of the position not yet filled to employees already in place.

Another option is to outsource tasks to external suppliers to make up for the absence of new employees (external Quiet Hiring).

This concept illustrates perfectly that some trends are just new ways of calling up ideas that already exist.

Panic hiring: recruitment in a hurry... and failed?

Urgency is a very important concept when it comes to panic hiring. In an unfavorable environment for recruiters ( talent shortage, candidates with new requirements, etc.), they may tend to rush things.

With so many vacancies to fill, recruiters may be tempted to hurry some recruitment by jumping at the first available opportunity, for example. This rush is based on the fear of missing an opportunity, getting left behind or losing out to competitors. This fear of missing out is also known as "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out).

As you can see, if you're a recruiter, this trend should be avoided!

Ghosting: when a candidate no longer responds

Emerging in the world of relationships, this trend means ending a relationship without explanation, simply by stopping responding to messages, calls or other solicitations from the other party.

The same process is applied by candidates to recruiters and by recruiters to candidates. The recruiters were the ones who started things off, as this was a practice that had been regularly experienced by candidates for many years. Lack of time, job vacancy cancellations... There are many reasons for this.

But as we have seen, market control is increasingly in the hands of candidates. This concept is therefore increasingly affecting recruiters. They sometimes hear nothing more from a candidate, either after he or she has applied, or following interviews or even a contract offer.

Street sourcing: recruiting people directly in public areas

Here's a trend that's not very common, but which may inspire recruiters and Talent Acquisition experts. The idea is to approach potential candidates in the street (or in another public area)!

This concept is far from new. In fact, it's more a throwback to past decades' practices, when face-to-face meetings as part of the recruitment process were much more popular ; before the digital age.

Door-to-door canvassing (yes, that's what it is) can support the recruitment of some roles and can also help companies to renew their image with a recruitment “channel” that also promotes the employer brand.

Trends concerning the employee-company relationship

Job crafting: create a job tailored to the employee

This fairly positive trend may be similar to the Quiet thriving we saw earlier in this article. It is in fact a way for employees to reshape their working perimeter to suit their desires and skills.

This concept is an alternative to radical career transition, but it also allows employees to adopt a professional lifestyle that is better suited to their aspirations.

The difference with Quiet Thriving is that Job Crafting also involves the company, especially through the employee's direct manager, who can work with the employee to develop their job description.

Quiet firing: the muted dismissal

This concept is not as new as it sounds.

The idea behind the term 'quiet' is particularly real here: it's a procedure that is borderline legitimate, even if it's difficult for the employee to prove anything.

However, it is possible to differentiate between Quiet firing and "placing on the backburner": while placing on the backburner is more a question of being sidelined from the company's life and objectives, Quiet firing is more similar to harassment. The aim is simple: the employer creates difficult working conditions to force the employee to resign to avoid dismissal.

Love bombing: big promises without a clear professional plan

Born out of relationships, this concept is simple: a person uses compliments and recurring demonstrations of love as their only seduction method, in order to convince their "soulmate" to start a relationship. This type of relationship quickly becomes empty, even though it may be intense at first.

Obviously, if we're talking about this trend on the recruitment side, it's more a question of blowing smoke in the eyes of the talent you're trying to convince to apply. This can be done by highlighting their profile, explaining that the company desperately needs them, making offers before you even know if they're interested, and so on.

This can happen when a recruiter, faced with a lack of candidates, spots a talent that seems suitable and wants to do everything possible to "seduce" him or her. However, candidates don't want to hear the big words, they want an interesting career plan and a company that can build a relationship of trust with them, not just give them huge smiles until they are recruited.

Great flattening: the “elimination” of middle management

This fairly recent trend is being introduced mainly in the United States in 2023. Already starting in 2022, these are redundancies of mid-level managers with the aim of making companies more efficient, by reducing the number of hierarchical layers. The aim behind all this is above all to make savings, particularly within companies in financial difficulty.

This trend is already beginning to divide employment specialists: is it really a solution for saving companies?

In any case, it is still difficult to say whether this concept will also affect Europe and, above all, whether it will be the case in all sectors or not. We'll find out in the coming months!

How are these trends affecting the world of employment?

It's worth asking the question: do these terms - and what they suggest - have a real impact on HR, candidates and employees? Yes... and no!

There's no doubt that the trends behind these words are a reality for some people... but it's already necessary to qualify them according to sectors and professions. For example: going beyond your job description (or not) is not necessarily a topic for everyone in the workforce! In the end, it's a concept that might better be attributed to executives, who have greater freedom over how they organize their day.

In addition to these nuances, some of the terms mentioned in this article seem more like ''passing fads'' than well-established trends. The proof: some of these words were born on social networks, as could be other concepts or 'challenges' that we regularly see grow and then die on platforms such as TikTok.

The main thing to remember about all these concepts, sometimes a little out of sync with the reality of the working world, is that candidates/employees really need to take back control of their working lives: whether in terms of missions, work-life balance or even their quest for purpose.

It's up to HR and companies to grasp the importance of taking into account these candidates' and employees' new expectations!

👉 Take your recruitment strategy up to the next level with our Talent Acquisition platform