💥Every Company Does This Behind Your Back (most people miss it)

Here’s how to spot the biggest corporate mind game and flip it to your advantage.

May 29, 2025

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Happy Friday Eve, Legends!

Remember when we thought "synergy" was the worst thing they could throw at us? Sweet summer children, we were. Because now we've got a shiny new term that's about as subtle as a brick to the face: "quiet cutting."

Yep, Corporate America has once again found a fancy way to describe screwing over employees while pretending it's some kind of innovative business strategy.

Today we're breaking down this latest addition to the corporate fuckery playbook so you can spot it, dodge it, and most importantly – protect yourself from it.

🧨 THE RANT - Running With Scissors

I'm so tired of watching companies dress up their shitty behavior with cutesy buzzwords.

Quiet cutting is the workplace version of running with a sharp object. It’s fine until you are the one getting nicked.

You’re not laid off — You’re “reassigned.”

You’re not demoted — You’re “right-sized.”

You’re not being pushed out — You’re being “offered a new opportunity.”

The new role is usually:

  • Below your skill level

  • Misaligned with your goals

  • Disconnected from your team or projects

  • Overseen by someone who doesn’t know (or care) what you’re good at

In short? It’s not random. It’s corporate eviction - without the severance.

Let’s look at the data behind the cut.

📊 REALITY CHECK

In 2024, 27 percent of large employers reported using role reassignment as an alternative to layoffs.

Of those employees, 41 percent said the new role felt like a punishment, not a pivot.

And 56 percent said they quit within six months of the “reassignment.”


(Sources: Gartner, SHRM, CNBC reporting, 2024)

Quiet cutting is designed to save face and lower costs without triggering a WARN Act violation or unemployment claims.

It protects their brand. It buries the trail.

It puts the pressure on you to make the move - so they don’t have to.

💡 TIP OF THE WEEK

 â™Śď¸Master The Clarification Pause♦️ 

Situation:
Your manager says something that sounds suspiciously like quiet cutting, a “role evolution,” “new direction,” or any vague statement that leaves you guessing.

Steal This Line:
“I want to make sure I understand this correctly. Are you saying [repeat their statement]?”

Why It Works:

  • Forces explicit communication and prevents gaslighting

  • Makes them spell out their intentions clearly - no more silent sabotage

  • Shows you’re paying attention and won’t be quietly sidelined

Want to know why this works so well? 

👉 [Download: Clarification Pause Deep Dive] - We break down the psychology behind this boss-level move so you can use it like a scalpel, and start doing some cutting of your own.

Clarification Pause - Deep Dive.pdfClarification Pause1.71 MB • PDF File

Seeing the signs? Grab the free guide below.

👉 [Download: The Quiet Cutting Strategy Guide] - Your full survival playbook for calling out the nonsense, protecting your position, and forcing them to say the quiet part out loud.

The-Quiet-Cutting-Strategy-Guide.pdfStrategy Guide 4.12 MB • PDF File

Stay sharp. More insider gold coming your way next week.

🔦 Subscriber Story Spotlight

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💬 Real Talk

Thanks for sharing this. And during Covid, what a hag move!

She must’ve been guzzling jello shots of corporate Kool-Aid.

Quiet cutting at its finest - take your job, shred it like expired printer paper, then call it a “growth opportunity” while they’re busy updating the seating chart.

You saw the charade, gave them the finger (metaphorically), and waltzed right into a better job.

Love to see it.

Out of curiosity… is this her?

I can only imagine her clicking her pen, smirking like a Disney villain, and saying “But it’s a growth opportunity”

image of cartoon laugh

🗣️ Want to tell your story?

We feature real ones every week, yours could be next.

💩 You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up

JOB TITLE: Flatulist

In 12th-century England, Roland the Farter or Roland le Petour, depending on how fancy you wanted to get, had one job: jump, whistle, and fart all at once every Christmas to entertain King Henry II and his guests.

That’s it. And guess what?

He got a whole manor and 30 acres for that performance. Job security by way of comedic flatulence. Beans for dinner, a manor for life.

The Twist:
Fast forward to today. Roland’s over there cutting the cheese and getting historical accolades like a medieval landlord - they’re still talking about his farts some 900 years later.

Meanwhile, we’re stuck with corporate boardrooms that smell like stale coffee and HR memos, quietly cutting our jobs while they pat themselves on the back for “cost-saving initiatives.”

Roland’s job security was built on beans and bravado. Ours? It’s built on someone else’s bonus.

Lesson:
Roland turned his talent into fame and fortune. If he can get a medieval manor out of some well-timed toots, you sure as hell deserve better than a corporate reshuffle.

Historical figure Roland the Farter performing at a medieval court

🎯 FINAL WORD

Quiet cutting is about making you question your worth but it doesn’t take away the fact that you still have it. Their budget might shift, but your value stays the same.

We’re not here to settle for polite cuts and silent compliance. We’re here to have a plan ready, just in case.

Reposition. Reframe. And if necessary, prepare your exit on your terms, because you’re not waiting to be told where you belong. You’re taking charge of it.

🔮 Next Week: Office Politics

How to get seen at work without selling your soul. Because let’s be real, office politics suck, but being invisible is even worse.

⚡️ Before you go, Your voice matters.

At least here, it does.

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That’s all for this week, legends. 👋 

📝 P.S.

If nobody’s told you today -
You’re doing better than the system deserves.
You’re surviving something that wasn’t designed to sustain you.
And that’s not failure.
That’s power.

📣 Know someone who’s been "quiet cut" right out of the loop?

Forward this like you’re the friend who just dropped a, “Heads up - your job might be getting downsized… quietly.”