Why “Quiet Hiring” May Set Back Your DEI Efforts
Nika White • February 20, 2023
Since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,
the trend of quiet quitting had begun to circulate in the news and social media outlets. The phenomenon of quiet quitting is defined as employees who will no longer go above and beyond at work and will instead do exactly what’s being asked of them and nothing more.
I’ve talked about how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can help end quiet quitting but still, quiet quitting caused an uproar in the business world as some organizations saw it as a decline in “hardworking values.” In my view, quiet quitting was less about employees not working hard enough and more about workers turning their focus toward work-life balance (or work-life blend as I call it).
Quiet quitting was the predecessor to the Great Resignation of 2020 and 2021. This time, the workers didn’t just coast at their jobs–they acted on their personal and professional ambitions and resigned in droves. This led to an empowering period for workers all over the country who were finally ready to have a healthy work-life blend, ask for increased compensation, and enjoy more flexibility.
What is quiet hiring?
According to CNBC, quiet hiring is when a business hires temporary workers (or contractors) to fill permanent positions or asks existing employees to fill in-demand roles and acquire new responsibilities without increasing their compensation.
Quiet hiring may cause contract labors to miss DEI training
Quiet hiring may widen pay and benefits gaps
Quiet hiring may increase burnout among workers
Quiet hiring may give international candidates more opportunities
One upside to quiet hiring is that international candidates may be given more opportunities for professional advancement than ever before. In industries like healthcare, where a labor shortage has been prevalent since the pandemic began, skilled workers from overseas are now filling roles that have long been in demand but remain vacant. In this sense, quiet hiring may advantage international candidates and open up more opportunities for skilled immigrants from abroad to find new economic opportunities in the U.S. and to do so legally at a time when they’re most needed.
Final thoughts
As organizations continue to hire at rapid rates to fill full-time vacancies, keeping DEI at the forefront of hiring and onboarding decisions can help your company stay on track with its initiatives while still adapting to this economic period. Don’t lose sight of your DEI goals as your organization transitions into this new phase of employee-employer relations.
I’ve talked about how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can help end quiet quitting but still, quiet quitting caused an uproar in the business world as some organizations saw it as a decline in “hardworking values.” In my view, quiet quitting was less about employees not working hard enough and more about workers turning their focus toward work-life balance (or work-life blend as I call it).
Quiet quitting was the predecessor to the Great Resignation of 2020 and 2021. This time, the workers didn’t just coast at their jobs–they acted on their personal and professional ambitions and resigned in droves. This led to an empowering period for workers all over the country who were finally ready to have a healthy work-life blend, ask for increased compensation, and enjoy more flexibility.
Fast forward to today: 2023 is bringing a new workplace phenomenon, but this time businesses are the ones calling the shots with “quiet hiring.” This article will explore what quiet hiring is and how it can hinder or derail your business’ DEI initiatives.
According to CNBC, quiet hiring is when a business hires temporary workers (or contractors) to fill permanent positions or asks existing employees to fill in-demand roles and acquire new responsibilities without increasing their compensation.
Essentially, quiet hiring is how companies are dealing with major labor shortages without increasing wages or benefits for workers. So, how does this new phenomenon affect DEI and why should businesses be cautious about the consequences of quiet hiring?
Most companies who have DEI training on workplace bias, cultural sensitivity, and building a culture of belonging offer that training to full-time employees–not temporary workers. As more and more businesses use contractors, freelancers, and non-employee labor, those workers are often left out of mandatory DEI training. This can cause businesses with good intentions for DEI to lose track of their progress and implementation across all departments. When one full-time employee is tasked to do bias training and a newly hired contractor is not, it creates inconsistency for DEI in the workplace. With contract laborers taking up more and more roles within organizations, the lasting results of missed or skipped DEI training for temporary workers may cause a gap in progress that is yet to be seen.
Some businesses are choosing to quiet hire because of rising demand for employee wages and a recession looming on the horizon. Hiring temporary workers or asking existing employees to take on new roles without additional compensation will inevitably lead to a widening pay gap between contractors and employees as well as between employees in stable roles versus newly reassigned roles. A recent study showed a huge pay gap between temporary workers and full-time employees–not just in the United States but around the world.
With women, minorities, and immigrants already experiencing large pay gaps in the general U.S. economy, hiring those same workers temporarily or asking existing workers to work harder without increased compensation makes the DEI goal to close the wage gap and slow pay inequality that much further out of reach. In fact, asking employees to do more work for the same pay could even be considered “wage theft”.
Plus, 1099 contractors and temporary workers likely won’t receive the full benefits packages usually afforded to full-time employees like paid time off, parental leave, or equity stakes. Thus, creating an even larger disadvantage for temporary workers who are performing full-time work without full-time benefits.
With potentially no paid time off for temporary workers and no increase in compensation for existing employees, the opportunity for burnout grows. Burnout is exacerbated when workers are unable to find a work-life blend or get the downtime needed to recover from the heavy demands of work. When employers strip that away from workers or don’t compensate them for their additional responsibilities, burnout is the inevitable result.
In DEI, we advocate for businesses to promote greater work-life blend opportunities to lower or mitigate the effects of burnout. I often advise companies to be generous with benefits like paid time off, parental leave, and bereavement. I also advise employers to have greater respect for the boundaries employees set around their private time. Whether a worker is temporary or full-time, having the space to rest, relax, and return to work feeling rejuvenated should not be rare or the exception. It should be the standard.
One upside to quiet hiring is that international candidates may be given more opportunities for professional advancement than ever before. In industries like healthcare, where a labor shortage has been prevalent since the pandemic began, skilled workers from overseas are now filling roles that have long been in demand but remain vacant. In this sense, quiet hiring may advantage international candidates and open up more opportunities for skilled immigrants from abroad to find new economic opportunities in the U.S. and to do so legally at a time when they’re most needed.
Final thoughts
Quiet hiring shouldn’t derail your DEI initiatives when policies and practices are applied evenly amongst temporary and full-time workers. If your company is choosing to hire temporary workers in this current economic climate, be mindful of what opportunities temporary workers are being afforded or deprived of. Are they being included in DEI training like their full-time counterparts? How can your business include temporary workers in the typical employee training and protocols to ensure they don’t get left behind economically, psychologically, or professionally?
For current employees who are being asked to do more, how can your organization compensate them fairly for their increased responsibilities or provide other benefits like additional paid time off or longer parental leave? What else can you do to show existing employees that your organization cares about their well-being and that you want them to experience increased workplace satisfaction?
High-capacity leaders often step in before others struggle. They refine the message. They fix the slide. They solve the problem before it fully forms. The intention is almost always supportive. But the impact accumulates differently. When leaders consistently intervene early, teams stop developing judgment. Initiative declines. And the leader’s workload increases—not because the team lacks ability, but because the team lacks ownership. Control rarely announces itself as control. It appears helpful. Earlier in The Human Shift, Capacity Is Not Infinite , we discussed capacity as information. Control is often a response to leaders sensing the system might falter and unconsciously compensating. The leader becomes the stabilizer. And stabilizers eventually become exhausted. Reframe Support strengthens capability. Preemption weakens it. One Grounded Practice The next time a team member brings you a solvable problem, pause before offering a solution and ask: “What options are you considering?” Then wait. Do not refine immediately. Do not redirect quickly. Allow their thinking to complete before yours begins. Leadership capacity grows when others experience themselves as capable. Closing Reflection Where might your helpfulness be preventing someone else’s development? Contextual Depth Signal In organizational advisory work, many leadership bottlenecks are not skill issues but ownership issues. When leaders shift from solving to supporting thinking, both performance and energy improve. In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Where do you feel most necessary right now—and is it because of structure or habit?
Many leaders live in a state of readiness they no longer notice. They check messages before standing up in the morning. They anticipate disagreement before a conversation begins. They prepare responses before anyone finishes speaking. At first, this feels like responsibility. Over time, it becomes physiology. The body learns to expect interruption, so it stops settling. Attention shortens. Everything begins to feel slightly time-sensitive—even when it isn’t. This isn’t only about workload. It’s about nervous system posture. Earlier in The Human Shift, The Shift from Bracing to Grounding , we explored bracing—the body preparing to endure pressure. Constant readiness is a quieter version of the same pattern. Leaders aren’t reacting to the present demand. They’re reacting to a predicted one. And prediction changes perception. When leaders remain perpetually ready, they begin interpreting more situations as urgent than they actually are. Conversations compress. Listening becomes strategic instead of receptive. Discernment narrows. Reframe Urgency is not always information. Sometimes it is anticipation that the body hasn’t updated yet. One Grounded Practice Today, before responding to a non-emergency message or request, pause for one full breath cycle. Not to delay action. To confirm necessity. Notice: • Did the situation actually require speed? • Or did your body simply expect it? Grounding begins by distinguishing immediacy from importance. Closing Reflection Where in your leadership are you responding to expectation rather than reality? Contextual Depth Signal In my coaching work, leaders often discover their decision fatigue is less about volume and more about constant readiness. When urgency is recalibrated, clarity returns quickly—without reducing responsibility. In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What in your work currently feels urgent—and what might simply be asking for your presence?
Inclusion Isn’t Exhausting—Disconnection Is: Why fatigue around inclusion often signals something deeper than disagreement When people say they’re tired of inclusion work, they are rarely describing values. They are describing an experience. Often it sounds like resistance on the surface. But beneath it, something more specific is happening: Disconnection from meaning. From impact. From each other. Sometimes from themselves. Inclusion becomes exhausting when it is treated as an initiative rather than an environment. When language expands but daily experience doesn’t change. When expectations increase faster than people’s capacity to understand or embody them. The effort then feels performative instead of relational. Earlier in The Human Shift, Culture Is What People Carry Home We explored how inclusion fatigue often emerges when people cannot locate inclusion in lived interactions—only in messaging. Without experience, even well-intended work begins to feel like compliance. The fatigue isn’t coming from caring too much. It’s coming from not knowing where caring actually lands. Reframe Fatigue is not a failure of values. It is a signal of misalignment. And misalignment does not ask for abandonment. It asks for reconnection. One Grounded Practice Instead of asking, “How do we do inclusion better?” ask: “Where are people most disconnected right now?” Listen specifically for: moments people feel unseen moments people feel cautious speaking moments effort does not match impact This shifts the conversation from strategy to experience—and experience is where inclusion either exists or does not. Closing Reflection If inclusion were measured by everyday interactions instead of organizational intention, what would you notice first? Contextual Depth Signal In my equity and leadership advisory work, organizations often regain momentum not by adding new initiatives but by reconnecting daily behavior with stated purpose. When inclusion becomes experiential rather than instructional, energy returns quickly. In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Where in your environment right now does inclusion feel most like a requirement—and where does it feel like belonging?
Under pressure, leaders tell stories quickly. About intent. About risk. About who can be trusted. About what’s possible. These stories shape behavior long before policies or plans do. Often, they go unexamined solidifying into assumptions that guide decisions and culture quietly. Reframe Stories don’t just explain reality. They create it. Especially in moments of uncertainty. One Grounded Practice The next time tension rises, ask: “What story am I telling myself right now—and what story might someone else be telling?” This question opens space for curiosity instead of certainty. Closing Reflection What story is guiding your leadership right now—and does it still serve? Contextual Depth Signal Working with leadership narratives (especially under pressure) is a core part of my coaching and facilitation work. When stories shift, behavior often follows. In the shift, Dr. Nika White
Many leaders associate accountability with discomfort—and assume that discomfort is necessary for change. But there’s a difference between discomfort that leads to growth and shame that leads to withdrawal. Shame narrows attention. It triggers defensiveness. It interrupts learning. And yet, many accountability practices rely on it—often unintentionally. True accountability doesn’t require humiliation or fear. It requires clarity, dignity, and repair. Reframe Accountability is not about control. It’s about alignment. And alignment happens best when people feel safe enough to stay present. One Grounded Practice Before offering feedback, pause and ask: “Is my goal correction, or connection that allows correction to land?” This shift often changes: Tone Timing Impact Accountability rooted in dignity sustains trust rather than eroding it. Closing Reflection Where might accountability become more effective if shame were removed from the equation? Contextual Depth Signal This distinction is foundational in how I support leaders navigating performance and culture. Accountability without shame strengthens trust and resilience—especially in moments that matter most. In the shift, Dr. Nika White
Culture doesn’t end when the meeting does. It lingers in the body long after the workday is over showing up in dinner conversations, sleep patterns, patience levels, and the quiet exhaustion people struggle to name. We often talk about culture in abstract terms: values, engagement, and belonging. But culture is experienced somatically. It’s how it feels to speak up. How it feels to make a mistake. How it feels to be seen—or overlooked. When work consistently requires people to brace, perform, or self-monitor, the cost doesn’t stay at work. It travels home with them. Reframe Culture is not what organizations intend. It’s what people absorb. And what people absorb shapes how they show up everywhere else. One Grounded Practice Ask yourself: “How do people likely feel at the end of a typical workday with me?” Not how you hope they feel. Not what the values statement says. What their nervous system might carry. This question alone can shift how leaders present themselves in small but meaningful ways. Closing Reflection What might change if culture was measured by what people carry home, not what’s written on the wall? Contextual Depth Signal This lens (culture as lived experience) is central to my work with organizations. When leaders begin here, culture change becomes less performative and far more honest. In the shift, Dr. Nika White
Before leaders articulate misalignment, the body often registers it first. Sleep disruptions. Tightness before meetings. A low-grade fatigue that doesn’t resolve with rest. These are not failures of resilience. They are signals of adaptation. The nervous system is constantly scanning for safety, threat, and load. When demands exceed capacity, the body adjusts—sometimes through tension, sometimes through withdrawal, sometimes through control. Leadership cultures that reward composure often train people to override these signals. But ignoring the body doesn’t eliminate its intelligence. It just delays the cost. Reframe The body is not an obstacle to leadership. It’s an early warning system. Leaders who learn to listen sooner tend to retain more choices later. One Grounded Practice Once a day, pause and ask: “What sensation is most present in my body right now?” No analysis. No fixing. Just notice. This simple practice builds the muscle of attunement, allowing leaders to respond to strain before it hardens into burnout or reactivity. Closing Reflection What has your body been signaling that your mind has been negotiating with? Contextual Depth Signal This work (helping leaders recognize and respond to bodily signals) is central to how I support sustainable leadership. When leaders trust this form of intelligence, decision-making becomes clearer and cultures become more humane. In the shift, Dr. Nika White
High-capacity leaders are often rewarded for stretching. Carrying more responsibility. Absorbing more tension. Operating as the stabilizer when systems feel strained. Over time, this becomes identity: I ’m the one who can handle it. But capacity is not limitless and treating it as such eventually erodes judgment, creativity, and relational presence. Honoring capacity is not about doing less; it's about doing more. It’s about leading sustainably. When leaders ignore capacity signals, they don’t just risk burnout; they lose access to discernment. Decisions become reactive. Boundaries blur. The work begins to feel heavier than it should. Reframe Capacity is not a measure of worth. It’s information. And leaders who listen to it lead longer and better. One Grounded Practice This week, experiment with this question: “If I were stewarding my capacity—not spending it—what would change here?” Notice: • Where you’re saying yes by default • Where rest is postponed rather than planned • Where responsibility has quietly become self-abandonment Stewardship is a leadership practice, not a personal failure. Closing Reflection What is your capacity asking of you right now? Contextual Depth Signal In my leadership programs and advisory work, capacity stewardship is treated as a strategic skill—not a personal preference. Leaders who learn to work with capacity create more resilient teams and more humane outcomes. In the shift, Dr. Nika White
Bracing is one of the most common and least discussed leadership patterns I see. It shows up quietly: A tightening in the chest before a meeting... A subtle urgency in decision-making... A readiness to withstand rather than to engage... Most leaders don’t recognize bracing as something they’re doing. They experience it as who they need to be in order to perform. Bracing becomes synonymous with responsibility, strength, and composure. And yet, bracing is not a leadership trait. It’s a nervous system response. Bracing is what happens when the body senses pressure and prepares to endure it. It’s adaptive. Intelligent. Protective. Especially for leaders who operate in high-stakes environments where mistakes feel costly and steadiness is expected. The problem isn’t bracing itself. The problem is living there. Grounding is the shift that allows leaders to remain connected to themselves while meeting the moment. It doesn’t reduce standards or urgency. It changes how those standards are held. When leaders are grounded: Authority feels embodied, not force Decisions include more discernment and less reactivity Others experience safety without the leader having to perform calm Reframe Bracing narrows leadership capacity. Grounding expands it. This isn’t about eliminating stress. It’s about not allowing stress to hijack presence. One Grounded Practice This week, notice when you brace—not why. Pay attention to: The moment just before a difficult interaction The impulse to speed up or tighten control Physical cues like shallow breath or jaw tension Instead of correcting it, try this: Place one hand on your body (chest, stomach, or thigh) and slow your exhale by two counts. That’s it. Grounding often begins with the body, not the mind. Closing Reflection Where might grounding serve you better than bracing right now? Contextual Depth Signal This shift—from bracing to grounding—is foundational in my coaching and leadership work. It’s where leaders begin learning how to stay present and authoritative under real pressure, rather than relying on endurance alone. In the shift, Dr. Nika White
Introductory Issue: A New Chapter (Formerly Inclusion Insider) For several years, Inclusion Insider held space for conversations that needed to happen—about equity, access, belonging, and accountability at work. That work mattered.
And the world kept moving. What I’ve observed—across boardrooms, leadership teams, workplaces, and communities—is that the challenges leaders are facing now require more than language, policies, or frameworks alone. They require presence. Regulation. Discernment. A deeper understanding of what it means to remain human amidst accelerating change and frequent disruption. The Human Shift reflects the work I’m committed to now. This is not a departure from inclusion.
It is an evolution of it. What This Shift Is About We are living through an era of relentless technological acceleration, heightened expectations, increased pace, and mounting pressure. Strategy is abundant. Information is endless. What’s often missing is the capacity to move through change without bracing, numbing, or losing ourselves. The Human Shift exists to slow the moment just enough to ask better questions. Here, we explore: Leadership through the nervous system Culture through lived experience, not slogans Storytelling as a force for meaning, trust, and change The future of work through a human—not extractive—lens This is a space for sense-making, not soundbites.
For integration, not urgency.
For intentional shifts that actually endure. The Human Shift: A Manifesto We are not short on ambition.
We are short on regulation. We are not lacking tools.
We are lacking the capacity to use them wisely under pressure. The Human Shift is for leaders who understand that performance without presence is unsustainable. That culture without connection is brittle. That progress without humanity costs more than it gives. Here, emotional regulation is treated as leadership capacity.
Storytelling is treated as infrastructure.
Humanity is treated as a strategic advantage—not a soft add-on. This work honors the truth that the future will not be shaped by those who move the fastest. It will be shaped by those who can remain human while everything moves. That is the shift. What to Expect Here Each issue will offer: A grounded reflection on leadership, culture, or change Insight rooted in lived experience, not performance Language for what many feel but haven’t named Space to reflect—without pressure to “fix” or optimize Some weeks will feel reflective. Others will feel challenging. All are intended to support intentional movement rather than reactive motion. A Closing Reflection If you’ve felt the tension between who you’re expected to be and who you actually are at work…
If you’ve sensed that the next level of leadership requires less force and more presence…
If you’re curious about what becomes possible when we stop bracing and start grounding— You’re in the right place. This shift doesn’t happen all at once.
It happens one intentional shift at a time. In the shift,
Dr. Nika White
