The risk of being fired is the biggest axe a company or a manager holds over an employee’s head. It’s a well-known fact that if an employee gets too far out of line, they will be fired. We have tacitly accepted as fact the idea that being fired is a terrible thing which should be avoided at all costs. For this reason, many of us will accept untenable conditions at work and go to extraordinary lengths to keep our jobs.
Steps
- Refuse to live under the threat of being fired. Fear is oppressive and threatening, and it may cause one anxiety over every action or thought. Anxious employees are less productive, because they fear making the wrong decision or saying the wrong thing. They are less productive because they avoid complaining about any problems they encounter. Make a resolution that being scared at work is unacceptable.
- Learn not to feel as if being fired is such a horrible or embarrassing situation. Do not walk around with your head hanging down, fearful that someone will find you sitting in the park instead of being on the job. Many are fired for reasons other than their job performance or ability to function in the office environment. Often being fired is a blessing, as it actually enables you to get out of a rut and find a job more to your liking and better suited to your abilities.
- Understand that the most common reasons people get fired are not solely the employee's fault. The only exceptions are people fired for harassing or abusive behavior, or people who have a history of being fired for reasons that are never their fault. If you get fired for one of the following reasons, would any of them reflect badly on you?
- Personality mismatch - You remained because of the money, but actually you were not happy with the surroundings. The attitudes of the people around you were not compatible with yours. The work was repetitious and became boring, the staff were not friendly and the entire environment was not comfortable. Being fired is probably a blessing, as it frees you to search for employment that is a better match for your experience and personality.
- Skill mismatch - When you applied for the job, you were not aware of the full responsibilities of the job, or the person who hired you did not accurately judge whether your skills and experience would match the job description. It did not work out, but at least you tried.
- Refusing to go along - Standing up for your beliefs, refusing to be dishonest or to overlook faulty business practices and being fired for it is not a slur on you; you should be proud for standing up for what is right.
- Downsizing - Thousands of people are downsized every day. It's not their fault.
- Unreasonable - If you became pregnant or needed to take time off to tend to a sick child, and if you put in a request for a short leave of absence and were fired, it had nothing to do with you. Do not blame yourself. You might even be able to sue the company in this case for job discrimination.
- Make being fired less of a problem even though it creates problems. Economic uncertainty is the most difficult result of being fired. Not knowing how you will pay the bills or how to tell the kids you cannot buy them the new computer they wanted can cause many sleepless nights. Suddenly your mortgage payment seems even larger, and you are concerned about your kids' college savings.
- Increase your employability by keeping your personal and professional skills up to date and cultivating a solid network.
- Keep your private expenses as low as you possibly can, so that you’re not 100% dependent on that pay check every month. That means not eating out or going to the movies for awhile. You may even have to give up smoking. That probably would be the best thing that could come out of being fired.
Tips
- Explaining to a prospective employer that you were fired is always a concern. If you are ashamed of losing your job or believe that having been fired reflects badly on you, it will come out in in your job interviews. Hold your head up high and explain the circumstances exactly. Convey an attitude of: “Yeah, I was fired. So what?” Some employers will care, some won’t - provided you explain it correctly.
- It is not smart to be willing to spend your work life going along with just about anything simply to hang on to a job that isn’t good for you in the first place.
Warnings
- If you're miserable at work, don't wait to be fired. Do yourself a favor and quit! There is a better job out there for you. Free yourself to find it.
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