What is silent shooting? The latest shift in corporate culture that is gaining ground

Silent shooting: In recent years, the business landscape has been shaped by trends such as ‘great resignation’, ‘quietly quit’, ‘moonlighting’ and ‘applying anger’. According to reports, a new trend called ‘quiet shooting’ now seems poised to reshape the employment sector. Experts suggest this practice is linked to rising fears among employees that artificial intelligence (AI) will soon take over their roles, a shift that some say has already begun.

The New York Post reports that “silent layoffs” involve employers making positions so challenging or conditions so unfavorable that employees voluntarily quit, paving the way for AI-powered replacements. In particular, Amazon’s emphasis on returning to a five-day workweek in the office, despite significant pushback from employees, is an example of this trend, according to George Kailas, CEO of Prospero.Ai and a Fast Company contributor. A survey cited by the Post found that 73 percent of Amazon employees are considering leaving the company because of these policies.

Kailas said that despite evidence supporting productivity gains from remote work, Amazon’s policy appears to be aimed at reducing its workforce without severance costs by discouraging remote work options. “The best way to reduce headcount while saving on severance payments would be to eliminate remote work,” Kailas wrote, noting that the shift to AI is only in its early stages.

However, economist and MIT professor Daron Acemoglu warns against overestimating AI’s short-term impact. In an interview with Bloomberg, he claimed that over the next decade, only 5 percent of jobs will realistically be replaced or supported by AI. “A lot of money is going to be lost,” Acemoglu said. ‘You won’t get an economic revolution from those 5 percent.’ He noted the limitations of AI in replicating complex human tasks, adding: “In most cases that is not possible.”

This tension over AI-powered job replacement is coupled with another trend among Gen Z workers: the “Great Detachment,” which refers to declining engagement among younger workers. Gallup data shows that engagement among Generation Z and younger millennials has declined by 5 percent, while Richard Wahlquist, CEO of the American Staffing Association, reports that roughly 30 percent of employees feel disengaged overall.

As these workplace trends collide, companies face increasing challenges in balancing productivity and employee satisfaction amid rapid technological change.