What is wrong with bad workers being fired?
In modern company life getting hired into a good position is pretty hard. On the other hand getting fired is even harder. Why does this happen? Let us examine three ways a job can go: up, down and nowhere (yeah I know it is just two ways).
1) If you want to progress in your work environment you need to be able to do several things correctly. Deliver results, by doing this you clearly show your capability at work and how you increase your companies value. Get along with everybody, it is hard and harsh words are going to fly from time to time, but in essence you do need to be able to work with everybody in your team. Have a sense of dress code and office behavior, some people just don’t get that if you want to advance you just can’t be seen passed out drunk at the office party. You are not a college student anymore, you represent your company 24/7. Be politically astute, this is a silent rule that people who don’t advance hate and people who are good at it love. When you know how to navigate your direct political surroundings you will be able to advance much faster.
2) If you are inclined to stay put, you should use a different tactical plan. Come to work on time is I guess the most important thing you can do and the easiest one. Being on time at work will signal everybody that you are here day in and day out to do your job. Do not screw up! When I say this, I definitely am telling you that if you are unsure of something just tell your teammate, someone more skilled than you or your manager, someone else will do the job or show you how to do the job. You will not be blamed if something goes wrong as you gave heads up about your lack of skill or experience in the problem. When big decisions come up, just hide. No I am not joking, just run! This will take us at one moment to another article about the “runners” but enough about it for now.
3) How to get fired or degraded. It is much harder than you think!
Not interested in the job you do? Sorry seen people who hate their job and have been doing it for 20 years (which came first I am not getting into).
Have under average job performance? Come on, work is packed with under-performers, actually most people perform under the average. Out of a 100 employees I would say you have around 70 of these, 20ish average performers and 10 superstars who are pulling everybody else. So, sorry this is not enough.
Come late to work? If you don’t come late to work for every day for more than an hour, you are not getting fired! Even if you do and get the job done, nobody cares!You can even take an hour and a half break for lunch and still nobody cares.
Be a total ass in the office? Now this is debatable, if you are an ass plus you combine some of the before mentioned attributes, you MIGHT get fired. Still no guarantee.
So what then? Don’t come to work on time, be an acid person, and don’t do your job, and in like a year or two you will get fired. Yeah, you will like get 3 warning letters and have numerous talks with all kinds of managers and maybe your company councilor.
So what am I suggesting?
Get only good workers is a futile attempt, even if you try some bad ones are going to slip through the cracks. So how do you get rid of them fast and painless? I can tell you I am researching that one, and as I still haven’t been in a position to actually fire someone there are no clear pointers from me.
All this does not mean I cannot be really really angry with how we end up with badly structured teams, low morale and aggressive behavior in the workplace. Let us do something about it!
