The Importance of a Job
Any employment law blog has posts galore on job terminations. This blog is no exception. There have been tips about how to terminate without getting burned (sued). I even had a six part series on The Art of Firing. (Click here, here, here, here, here, and here.) And there’s the occasional post on a real court case involving a termination. Let’s look at this subject differently–from the employee’s point of view.
If an employee were asked to list his/her top three priorities, the likely answer would be some variation of faith, family and work. Without a job, we couldn’t support our families with the essentials. We couldn’t pay college tuition. We’d fall behind on the mortgage. We wouldn’t have health insurance. Take a job away, and a house of cards may well collapse.
That’s why we should view a termination from the employee’s standpoint before it occurs. The employee may deserve to be fired. The employee may have been given chances to turn things around. The employee may have been given every step of progressive discipline (and more), to no avail. It would be a mistake not to fire the employee.
But terminating an employee without seriously considering whether he/she deserves it, without giving the employee a chance or two to do the job better, without following your progressive discipline system, and without bending a little to let the employee keep this most important asset is unforgivable. If you were the one being terminated, that’s exactly what you’d think or say.
Firing in a fit of anger is childish. Firing without being consistent with the way other employees have been handled is unacceptable. Firing without having been honest with the employee about previous performance or behavior is shameful. You simply don’t take something that valuable away without doing it the right way.
Which brings me to what’s going on in the work world every day now. Employees are being laid off by the hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. Not because they’re poor performers or bad employees. But because the employer needs to improve the bottom line or satisfy shareholders, is feeling the pinch of the present economic downturn, or believes (almost always mistakenly) that the business will close if there are no layoffs.
It’s become so normal to layoff employees at the first sign of financial trouble, we don’t think about it twice. I’ll bet the laid-off employees think about it.
There has to be a better way of dealing with short term economic trouble. Cut executive compensation. Cut everyone’s compensation. Shorten the work week. If you have a union, ask it to help you with a temporary solution. If you don’t have a union, ask your employees to help you figure it out. If you use this alternative approach, you’ll have a group of employees who’ll do anything for you and who’ll make your short term economic problems become shorter. You’ll have fewer disputes in your workplace, and you’ll be a leader in the world of human resources.
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About Chris Parker
Chris Parker's practice focuses on the representation and counseling of companies in matters pertaining to the workplace and the protection of their intellectual property and trade secrets. In addition to serving as an advocate for clients, Mr. Parker is also trained as a mediator and frequently serves as a third-party neutral.
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About Jimmy Daniel
Jimmy Daniel provides counseling to businesses of all sizes related to the employment relationship. He assists in the drafting of employment agreements, policies, and handbooks, as well as provides guidance related to compliance with federal, state, and local legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
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About Larry Bridgesmith
While serving in an Of Counsel relationship with the firm, Mr. Bridgesmith also serves as the Executive Director at the Institute for Conflict Resolution at Lipscomb University and as an officer and principal in Strategic Resolutions Group, LLC. In these roles, Mr. Bridgesmith brings over 30 years of legal experience in dispute resolution and innovative workplace strategies to clients, students and business entities alike.
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Please note – re: The Art of Firing above – Part III is actually missing, and there are two ocpis of Part II. Thanks for the articles.
Thanks. This has been fixed.
John,
It is an unfortunate turn of events that layoffs are now the 1st response to tough times and not the last resort. I think the fall out for the remaining employees is very much underestimated. We all live in a constant state of fear – Am I next? I have had employees think they are being laid off because their log in wouldn’t work when it was just a problem with the software. I can hear the fear in the voice of my child as her company closes offices.
I am also a small business owner and understand that sometimes there is no choice. But too often there is a choice but it is seen as the easy way to cut costs and we forget the terrible truth that it is someone’s life we are changing.
Kathy,
Thanks for this thoughtful and thought-provoking comment.