ask your boss
Insightful and practical workplace advice from career expert Alison Green.
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Dear Boss
I’ve always thought of my workplace as one where you can’t get fired unless you do something that is clearly and consistently bad at your job. I’ve been working here for 6 years, and when I get an email from HR about someone leaving unexpectedly saying, “Goodbye, so-and-so,” it probably means they’ve been fired. I know. If you are leaving your job, such as because you have taken a new job, or if you are leaving on good terms, you will typically make your own resignation announcement, including your last employment date, and express your gratitude to colleagues so that you can finish the project. Include lots of words. -laborer. So when the news came from HR without any prior notice, I assumed it was probably a layoff. From what I know about the way our company operates, the people who were fired were probably given warnings or otherwise knew their performance was not up to par. I don’t think so. And I don’t know the details, but I was never surprised when it happened in the past.
However, in the last few weeks, two employees have been laid off (probably) about a week apart. I don’t think either firing has anything to do with the other. I received a typical email from HR saying that the company was terminating the relationship with each person, that they should contact their manager with any questions about the project, and that they wished them the best of luck. My question is, in my opinion, these two are both great colleagues who have been with the company for many years, almost 10 years.
This workplace has less drama and less gossip, which I think is healthy. However, this confused people. One of the people who was fired is a cousin of a current employee, and I think many people would like to ask her about this. I don’t know if anyone has it. But everyone is really confused and personally I’m really worried! What happened to these seemingly talented employees that caused them to lose their jobs? And who will be next?
So my question is, what questions are appropriate to ask and to whom? We need to accept that the people making the decision to terminate know what they are doing and have a reason. Is it appropriate to ask why someone was fired and express that it makes me anxious? I know I’m not the only one in this situation. I am. This whole event plunged our quiet company into gossip and fear. Because we don’t understand it. What is the best course of action here, if any?
Indeed, when someone is fired, the news often comes as no surprise to colleagues. Those who work with them may have seen signs that their work is not up to par or that they are struggling in some way. If you have first-hand experience of a co-worker abruptly quitting a company after repeatedly making mistakes, missing deadlines, or being unresponsive, it’s very easy to guess what happened and feel upset about it. You can avoid doing that.
However, the reason may not be obvious to your co-workers. In some cases, team members may be struggling in ways that go unnoticed by their colleagues, especially those who don’t work closely with them.
The termination may have nothing to do with the quality of the person’s work. Think of someone who gets fired for serious policy violations (from accessing pornography at work to embezzlement).
Not all firings are guaranteed. Some companies fire employees for unfair reasons. For example, because the person was unable to live up to unrealistic expectations, spoke up too much when they disagreed with management decisions, or simply had the misfortune of having a boss they personally disliked. Other times, even if the problem is legitimate, it could have been resolved with the right amount of coaching or better training.
Regardless of the situation, employers typically do not share the reason an employee was fired. Termination is typically done on an as-needed basis. In most cases, that’s the correct way to handle it. Personnel matters should generally be confidential because people have a right to privacy when something goes wrong in their profession. And of course, employees who are warned that their jobs are at risk if they don’t improve usually don’t share that information widely. Such discretion on both sides could make it appear to bystanders that the shooting occurred suddenly, even if no shots were fired.
But that may leave colleagues like you wondering what happened and worrying that they themselves have been treated unfairly or have been blindsided by an unexpected termination. yeah.
The best thing managers can do to address this issue is to be transparent about how they deal with performance issues in general. For example, people whose work is substandard will be given clear feedback, and if things progress to the point where their work is at risk, they will be clearly warned and given time to improve. It is helpful for managers to share what they are doing. Layoffs are no surprise. Employers should also create a clear written policy that explains each step of the process before terminating an employee. But for it to be reliable, companies must ensure that employees trust that those policies will be followed fairly, that managers provide clear, regular and reasonable feedback, and that they are fair and ethical. We need to establish a culture where we are seen as conducting our business in a transparent manner.
So, as an employee watching from the sidelines and not knowing exactly what happened to two co-workers who suddenly left, what can you tell me about your company’s operations in general and the managers of the two employees in particular? Do you know? Do you know that they are usually fair and transparent? Or do you easily believe that they may make unfair or arbitrary decisions? Looking back, you may feel more at ease, and you may be convinced that you were right to worry.
In most cases, you should not directly ask why someone was fired. It’s not your real job, and your manager may not be able to share it (and if they weren’t your manager, they might not even know the backstory). There are still ways to talk to your boss about your concerns. For example, you could say that you were surprised to see your two co-workers suddenly quit their jobs. Because you’ve always had a good experience working with them. That raises questions about how layoffs work at your company, and you’re doing it. How much warning does your company give to people whose jobs are at risk? You could also say, “I really value honest feedback. I would like to know if you have ever had any serious concerns about my work so that I have an opportunity to improve.” .
Your boss’s reaction to this may or may not reassure you. Either way, we need to get more information out of this conversation. Whether it’s more insight into how companies and managers are dealing with performance issues, or more clarity on the fact that we don’t have a fair and consistent system in place (which we don’t) , it’s also helpful to know what outcome you want).
It’s also worth considering how much feedback you generally receive from your boss, and how strongly you feel about what your boss thinks about your work performance. If she’s unsure of where you stand with her, use that as a signal to start asking for more feedback. If you regularly talk about what she thinks of you and where she can improve, you’ll have less of a need to worry about being blindsided by negative reviews.
But ultimately, the question you want to determine is whether you can trust management to act fairly and with integrity. While we may never know the details of these two specific layoffs, we can probably get a good idea of whether we can trust the company to act fairly in general.
You can find out more about Alison Greene’s career advice on her website Ask a Manager. Do you have any questions for her? Email askaboss@nymag.com (read our posting terms here).
“Ask a Boss” is distributed every two weeks.
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