Have you ever been fired?

I’ve never been. But after quitting my last job and then discovering that you’re not eligible for most benefits and tax breaks unless you’re laid off or fired, I slightly regretted not pushing my boss to the edge so I could get fired instead….I have a friend that was laid off for obscure political reasons. I don’t think either would be an enjoyable experience…

Yes, I have. Peremptorily, without warning, and one month after receiving an “excellent” performance review. And at my kitchen table. On the Fourth of July.

Yes, the manager actually came over to see me at home on a holiday, the day after my return from a week’s vacation (and before returning to work), and fired me. She said it was because of “excessive absences.” At that point I’d used, I think, three sick days, not consecutive, including being out only one day with the flu that had had her down for nearly a week. She was upset because I had called her that morning to let her know that I’d caught a cold on the trip and might be unable to go in the next day, my scheduled return. So she came to tell me that I was “not healthy enough to work for <company name>.”

The injustice of it still rankles, and this was more than 30 years ago. Even though it was a little shit job. Being fired from a little shit job was really an insult too great to be borne at that stage of my career.

When she finished firing me, she burst into tears and ran from my house. I went out back with my husband and set off a bunch of fireworks. The next day I went in and cleaned out my desk.

I was fired because I refused to falsify market research data to reflect what the client wanted to hear. I was allowed to clear out my office and take home what was mine without interference.

I felt proud that I maintained my professional integrity. I was annoyed at the lame excuses my boss used as justification when we both knew what the real story was. From then on I stuck with honest academic research.

I was fired from one job because the new (married) boss wanted hire his ‘girlfriend’ in my place. I was fired from one job because I got sloppy with my work. I was let to from one job because I was expected to do work I wasn’t trained to do, and they needed someone more qualified.

I have only been fired once. My sister fired me. I left within a month. I don’t really want to think about any of the details… blah…

Twice

Nope and I have only had to personally fire one person…that sucked. No big drama, but I knew how losing his job was a major kick in the nuts for him….his own fault though.

Two times

Never been fired…but there is still plenty of time!

I have had the misfortune of having to fire more than a few people. One particularly bad experience was firing two very, very long term and loyal employees of our family business at the behest of my father. I think I was 21 or 22 years old. It was a horrible experience but I learned quite a bit from it. I learned later that both employees knew my dad was behind their removal.

I was teaching civil rights to middle schoolers at an all girls justice school – they deemed my honest material (and the material the girls wanted to learn about) to be inappropriate because it wasn’t some crap from the 18th century that they couldn’t relate to…all of the other teachers were let go too because their attendance was awful (mine was 100% both for myself and my students) and they said my discussions were the last straw..I wrote them a long angry letter that I sent out to all the other teachers, the principal and my supervisor at NYU (who hired me and was always on my side but there are politics to consider and all that)...they told me I should come back and teach one more class so that the kids don’t feel abandoned but when I asked them if I was allowed to explain to the kids why I’m leaving, they said no and I told them to fuck off…I stand by my material, they were just cowards, educators only on the surface.

@Dan_DeColumna I know how you feel. I’ve only been fired once, & it was a horrible thing for me to go through. In hind sight, tho, it was the best thing they could have done for me. The stress & dread I felt every day was killing me. Couldn’t eat or sleep. Good riddance.

I have never been fired.
I had a boss come in, and tell me she was firing me (closer to laying off, I guess), because she had too many people working for her. Before my two weeks were over, two people quit, another was fired for sexual harassing another employee, and I was the only one left. I stayed at that job for another 2½ years.

I’ve never been fired, but I was medically retired for reasons other than those stated on my discharge documents. It actually worked out to my benefit.

I was fired for being a poor waitress before but the truth was I really was bad at it and I wasn’t surprised much, just disappointed. Another time I was fired after walking up on a group of fellow employees and managers who were doing drugs. This was a family business and the mgrs. were the owner’s sons so I think they let me go out of fear I’d tell of what I’d seen them doing even though I’d pretended not to see and hadn’t planned on saying a thing.

I was fired from a temp position once.. no particular reason.. I just think one particular person there didn’t like me so she made it seem as if I wasn’t cut up for the job.. it pissed me off at first but now that I think about it.. they actually did me a favor cause I’m way better off now than I was with then.

Only once and it made me really mad because they let me go on a Tuesday and I was planning to give notice on Friday! I hate getting beaten to the punch.

I’ve never been fired, but I have been laid off. Don’t really remember how I was told at all.

@Snarp Those two situations are totally different.

I think I’ve been fired three times. The first time I had just taken a new job as a trainer for software that helped folks figure out efficient routes. The “office” was in my boss’ house out in the burbs. He had a dog and a new baby and he didn’t train me, but expected me to figure out the software on my own without any documentation.

After my first month, he said I wasn’t working out and fired me.

The second time I was working for a union. The union went through some complicated changes in organization, and my boss left. I was given a new job working for one of the vice presidents. That lasted a year, and they fired me. They called it a layoff, but I found out they hired someone new the next day. The reason for the layoff, they said, was because they had meant someone else to have the job in the first place. Since I was doing a good job, and I am white, and the person they replaced me with was black (it was a primarily black organization), I kind of wonder if racism played a role.

The third time, I had been working for an organization for twelve years. I had been the second employee they ever had. But they changed the product and said they didn’t have any work for me on the project. Instead, they hired all these young kids (with no children and good health) and let many of the rest of us go. Again, they called in a layoff, but I don’t think they wanted us around any more.

After each job loss, it took me around six months to a year to find my next job. I’m used to it now. I know what a job search is all about, but I don’t want to do it again.