why Mitt Romney likes firing people by Alison Green on January 10, 2012 The Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas, took the words right out of my mouth with this column: Why Mitt Romney likes firing people Update: Since this came up in the comments, I thought I’d address it here. This is not a political attack or endorsement. This is not intended to be political at all. Suzanne […] Read the full article →
habits that can get you fired by Alison Green on December 27, 2011 You might figure that if you do good work, you don’t need to worry about being fired. Think again – there are some habits that can jeopardize even the best employee’s job. Here are 10 of the riskiest. 1. Playing online during the workday. If you’re logged into Gmail chat all day, doing your holiday […] Read the full article →
is it okay to fire someone close to Christmas? by Alison Green on December 16, 2011 A reader writes: I have an employee who has performance issues that are well documented. In fact, he has been slated for termination several times and, in each instance, managed to convince a former manager that he should be allowed to retain his position. However, after making a major mistake which could cost us a […] Read the full article →
I punched a coworker at the company Christmas party by Alison Green on December 13, 2011 A reader writes: I’ve been working for my company for two years. I’ve been a model employee. Recently a fight broke out at the company Christmas party between me and a co-worker, but it was off the clock and off company property. My boss wants me to resign. What should I do? I feel he’s […] Read the full article →
how do you deal with having to fire someone? by Alison Green on November 23, 2011 A reader writes: Recently I had to fire one of my employees. There was a history of tardiness, no-call/no-show behavior, and lack of performance at work. All of this behavior was documented, and the employee was put on at least two action plans. I tried sharing tips from my own life (because I am a […] Read the full article →
my boss fired me over email, then refused to let me collect my personal belongings by Alison Green on October 31, 2011 A reader writes: My boss fired me via email at 9 p.m. on Thursday night without warning. In early October, I requested time off for two days at the end of the month to take care of personal business. He wanted to know what personal business I would be conducting and I told him it […] Read the full article →
how to let your staff know that someone was fired by Alison Green on October 21, 2011 For reasons that I will never understand, one of the most popular searches on this site is “how to announce an employee is leaving.” We’ve talked in the past about how to announce that (be straightforward and just say it), and we’ve talked about the even more inexplicable fact that some companies don’t announce it […] Read the full article →
firings in literature: should this book character have been fired? by Alison Green on October 17, 2011 A reader writes: I am a daily reader and great fan of your blog. I have a question about something I read in a Sue Grafton novel. (If you don’t want to answer a question about what somebody wrote in a novel, I understand!) One of the characters, Walker McKnally, is the VP for new […] Read the full article →
what to do if you think you’re going to get fired by Alison Green on October 5, 2011 If you suspect you’re in danger of being fired, the worst thing you can do is just sit back and wait for it to happen. Instead, here are 10 concrete steps you should be taking now, before you’re shown the door. 1. Remove personal files and emails from your work computer. Most companies disable computer […] Read the full article →
company that fired me is still contacting me with questions … 5 months later by Alison Green on May 17, 2011 A reader writes: In January, I was fired from my job. I drove to work on a snow day when most of the office chose to stay home, and at 5:45 pm, the manager called me into his office and said that they were letting me go because I wasn’t a good fit. I had […] Read the full article →