Have you ever been fired? (not laid off)

[Biff_Loman]

So, it looks like I very well might be fired today. I goofed, fairly significantly, the other day. I fell asleep on the job and, seeing as I work with brain injured individuals (unpredictable and sometimes dangerous), that is a serious no-no. I was, after all, there to monitor him.

It was a complete accident. It was definitely not in my best interests to fall asleep, but I nodded off while reading Dosteovsky's The Idiot. I guess the idiot was me, ho ho.

I also used the guy's Xbox without his permission, to which he took exception. I thought he was asleep, and didn't realize he'd have a problem with it. Anyways, I still violated company policy on that one, too.

To make matters worse, this was the individual's first day in his new home, and he already was not happy about the kind of service he had experienced that day. You better believe he complained, and not just to my boss but to his psychologist as well.

The company has high turnover and is continually short-staffed, so there is a slight possibility that they will still overlook this, even though I should clearly be fired according to policy. Whatever - I would quit after this anyway. This incident revealed to me how far, mentally, I've been from concentrating on my job. Besides, I'm somewhat disgraced.

[melancholeric]

Yeah, Dostoyevski does that occasionally. It took me 4 months to read Crime and Punishment. (I'd pick Tolstoi as the ultimate cure to insomnia though.)

But no, I've never been fired. Which might be because all my jobs have so far been temporary, averaging in some months. There is no point in firing an employee who'll be gone in a few months anyway...

[file cabinet]

I said something I shouldn't have to a co-worker.. threatening remark / being insubordinate... was just one of those days. I had worked there 2.5 year(was a part-time job).

[cloakable]

I just stopped turning up for work. They fired me about three months afterwards. Not the quickest bunch.

[mgb]

No. I would have been if the place wasn't going out of business. I was working at this store full time and the owner had gotten another job. She owed me a ton of money and while we were going out of business I was selling stuff for cash to get back some of the money she owed me.

That's as close as I ever came. Usually I end up quitting, which must seem like it comes out of nowhere to whomever I give my notice to, even if it seems a long time coming to me.

[Edmond Zedo]

Twice! In retrospect, one can usually see it coming, and it's better to quit if you intend to apply for more jobs. Termination carries quite an annoying stigma.

"Reese, Sergeant, Tech-Com, DN-38-416, assigned to protect you. You've been targeted for termination."

[Dman]

That's as close as I ever came. Usually I end up quitting, which must seem like it comes out of nowhere to whomever I give my notice to, even if it seems a long time coming to me.

I've never been fired either, the thought scares me. It seems to me like the entire experience would be wasted, i.e. if you were fired after 2 years, it's difficult to use that experience on your resume, so you just lost 2 years of your life!

I agree you can usually see it coming, and the times in the past I've been feeling paranoid about it, I set up a meeting with my manager & ask them point blank if they think I'm on thin ice. This lets them know you care, and you promise to work on your problems and resolve to be a model employee. They love that & will immediately respect you more for it.

Then you work very hard to find another job and put in your notice as soon as possible. Everyone wins!

[Miss Anthropic]

So, it looks like I very well might be fired today. I goofed, fairly significantly, the other day. I fell asleep on the job and, seeing as I work with brain injured individuals (unpredictable and sometimes dangerous), that is a serious no-no. I was, after all, there to monitor him.

It was a complete accident. It was definitely not in my best interests to fall asleep, but I nodded off while reading Dosteovsky's The Idiot. I guess the idiot was me, ho ho.

I also used the guy's Xbox without his permission, to which he took exception. I thought he was asleep, and didn't realize he'd have a problem with it. Anyways, I still violated company policy on that one, too.

To make matters worse, this was the individual's first day in his new home, and he already was not happy about the kind of service he had experienced that day. You better believe he complained, and not just to my boss but to his psychologist as well.

The company has high turnover and is continually short-staffed, so there is a slight possibility that they will still overlook this, even though I should clearly be fired according to policy. Whatever - I would quit after this anyway. This incident revealed to me how far, mentally, I've been from concentrating on my job. Besides, I'm somewhat disgraced.

Didn't you predict this situation in a very recent post? Sort of like you are sick of the job and just doing things in a sort of subconscious way to push the envelope, so to speak? Will you get unemployment if you are fired? I've never been fired, yet...I've had the "attitude" lecture in various settings and was written up on one job, for what I never did exactly figure out..it was rather vague. Seemed at the time just an excuse not to give me a raise. There were a couple times where I probably would have fired me had I been the supervisor.

[Vagabond]

Nope. I always left by quitting. :p

[Shai Gar]

only once, when i was working at a nightclub. the cops gave me a ticket for drinking so the manager stopped putting my name down. i got my own back by selling forged drink cards (20 drinks for 22 dollars) they didnt sell them after 10pm so i did, and sold them for 25 a pop

[jimkopelli]

Whoa, I'm quotable? What did it? Mayor bits? Or the hobo?


I've never really been fired, or had to quit. One of my jobs was seasonal, and a family position as well, and my other ones I'm still doing. I'm gonna keep trying to transfer out of one of my workstudy jobs (dishboy) into something better.

[Spartan26]

it's better to quit if you intend to apply for more jobs."
The only thing worse than having a job is looking for one.


Termination carries quite an annoying stigma. Yeah, they're called unemployment checks. But remarkably, the ATM never makes a moral judgment when you deposit a check. It never asks where you got the money. It never asks why is it only a third of what you used to deposit, just thank you and remove your card.

Pride definitely feels wounded when you get booted but the truth is people were already talking about you behind your back if you're really a screw up or loaf. Or, if you get booted without cause then you're suddenly the martyr that makes people re-evaluate they career and life goals.

It's always a bigger hit to pride when you have to plead with the cable company not to take away your HBO or explaining to people you run in to on the street who say, "Yeah, I tried calling you last week and I got a message saying your phone was disconnected. What was that all about?"

[Shai Gar]

Whoa, I'm quotable? What did it? Mayor bits? Or the hobo?
mayor bits

[jimkopelli]

Ah. Should I get royalties? :)

[DevNull]

Sort of like you are sick of the job and just doing things in a sort of subconscious way to push the envelope, so to speak?

That sentiment is total INTP gospel as far as I have seen and lived it.... although I would replace the word "subconscious" with "retarded like". Good call, Miss A. I am 35 and appear to be on the upper end of age-earned INTP life experience here on this board, so I get super plus points for this sort of pointing out of our common traits, even though you expertly nailed it first. (Neener!) j/k

Okay, so Biff fell asleep on the job. That amuses me greatly because I have fallen asleep on almost every job because I have Sleep Apnea. Now that Biff has opened the door, I can share a few anecdotes.....

Being a computer dude, I can state that when you fall asleep sitting up and bonk your skull ever-so-perfectly on a CRT, it makes a wicked memorable noise like a coconut on steel in an echo chamber. It may be funny unless someone witnesses said bonk and reminds you of it every now and again.

Once I was almost full asleep in the office and all the phones start ringing one at a time until mine started ringing. I gathered my senses and answered it:

Me: "Yello?"
Boss: "Devnull, (not my real name) you are still here?"
Me: "Oh yeah"
Boss: "You are always here late" (shyah!.. sleeping!) "I am going to bump you up....ummm.... 2000 dollars on your salary"
Me: "Wow. Thanks"

True story. I still physically giggle at that one every now and again.

But I did get fired twice. Once for slacking in Real Estate sales for which I was not built for and once for being involved in a theft ring but they were too afraid to fire me because the last guy they caught trashed the office during questioning. They laid me off with full benefits. I was not even a full thief. I was just an advisor to the thieves and knew too much because I was curious about the "underworld" and I kinda sorta streamlined their scam in after-hour bar talk. I pushed the envelope though. Bigtime. :whistle: (I was making 5.25 an hour there in 1992).

[matthew0028]

Twice. The first time was at my campus food services dish washing job (they paid relatively good money though). Basically, that was the time of my life where I was feeling constantly depressed, and hadn't attended classes since the second week of the semester. Anyway, I ended up sleeping through the first hour or so of my shift, at which point I figured it was pointless to go in anyway. So, the next time I went in to work, they told me I was fired. *shrug* I deserved it, so no hard feelings.

The second time was in my 9th month or so of my McDonald's job (in my year off from college--i.e. after I failed out but before I reenrolled). Basically, the store owner was sick of employees coming in late, so he instituted a "three strikes and you're out" policy. Well, within 2 months of that, I had been 5-15 minutes late three times, so I got fired.

Since then, I've not been fired from jobs, nor have I had any real problem getting to work on time, so it seems I may have learned my lesson.

[gypseymothlee]

Twice here too, from a Gino's pizza and a crappy ice cream place.

I think it was because I don't really give a damn about customer service... and the smiling issues.

I was fired in the most passive manner too: I called up to find out my schedule for the next week, and was told that I wasn't listed, therefore I had probably been fired.

[Miss Anthropic]

I think it was because I don't really give a damn about customer service... and the smiling issues.
Its so nice to hear someone besides myself say those words.....

[Valtro434]

I got fired from Dell a few months ago.

I am an ENTP and was doing hardware testing which is not a very good job for my type. I usually work in support, but hey, times are tough.

They also tried to put me in charge of the labs inventory. Get this - my ENFJ boss put a pretty obviously ENTP person in charge of inventory!

Talk about being setup to fail.

Its not the end of the world and most places will not talk about the circumstances of your departure.

What really burned me was my boss was always telling me how well I was doing - I did find bugs and help other people a lot. And to add insult to injury, my agency had advanced me relocation funds and tried to keep my last check against the relocation fee.

Silly Agency. Nice group of NF and SJ types - no possible hope of succeeding against a rule-lawyering ENTP. I did get my money after I sent them a scary letter - it had to go by their corporate lawyers who said "PAY HIM NOW!" :)

[Mr. Good Beats]

Three times for me. Twice because managers felt that the color/style of the work pant is actually a measurement of how effectively one works, and the other because the job sucked and I was looking for a new one. Never work in the oilfield.

[Dman]

So Biff - did you get fired or what?!

[Biff_Loman]

No, Dman. I seem to be made of asbestos.

I'm going to quit as soon as I find another menial job. I won't go back on days, and the overnight shifts are wearing me down and putting unnecessary pressure on my already strained marriage.

[airjaw]

Never been fired but have been damn near close it.

Usually the stress of knowing I'm not doing a good job will be enough for me to leave before things get so bad that they have to fire me.

But next time maybe I should reconsider. That unemployment check is looking real good to my broke self right now.

[Creamzsoda]

I quit before they can fire me :smooch:

[Jennywocky]

I was fired ("let go") from my second job.

It was a mistake from the beginning.

I was trying to write articles/interviews in a topic area that only marginally interested me, the company had only three people in it, and my boss was an ESFP who had previously done all the writing.

Imagine what sort of writing an ESFP prefers to do, versus an INTP, and our completely different approaches to how to perform tasks, and you can imagine how annoyed my ESFP was that I didn't do things the way he did them. And since he hated conflict, he did not mentor me very well -- when he had criticisms, he would soften them up so much that I couldn't really understand what was going on and thought he was okay with me.

Of course, his hiring me in the first place was another ESFP flaw -- he didn't perceive any of this in the interview process (i.e., that I would not be able to be a mini-ESFP), and I didn't know better at the time.

To top it off, he fired me right after Christmas. I even drove to VA to attend his Christmas party, and resolved to pick myself up and try harder after talking to some folks there -- not knowing he had already decided to fire me and was "being nice" waiting until the day after Christmas.

When, of course, I would suddenly be forced to scramble to find medical insurance for my family before Jan 1 came. (See? Another big difference. He was focused on "happy experiences," I was focused on big-picture realities. I could have throttled him.)

It (the job) was one of the worst experiences of my life; I was glad to be done with it.

[Arcturus]

I was close to being fired a couple of times. The funny thing is, they were both menial summer jobs. I'm just not cutout for the working world. You ask me to do boring, repetitive tasks and my mind just starts wandering and I make dumb mistakes. I don't know how I'll ever be able to hold down a real job.

[Rhu]

I got fired for giving away a cookie at SubWay. Some new worker saw me do it and reported me to the owner, and I got the boot.

I should have been fired long before that, though. I was selling double meat footlong subs as vegetarian deli rolls to my friends for months. I would also occasionally bake a whole oven full of cookies to give away because they didn't keep inventory on cookies.

And then there were the pranks me and coworkers would play on customers...

[Madrigal]

I always wish they'd fire me, but they don't. "How about if I do this?" Still nothing. *sigh*

[jpdenke]

I told my manage once that I didn't care about selling clothes. I was working in a retail store selling clothes. He didn't take me off the schedule, but he didn't give me any more days to work after that. I got the message.

[Lee]

I have been fired three times and counting.

[AMDG]

I quit before they can fire me :smooch:

Me too, usually - except the time when I got caught on security camera in the stock room with a bunch of friends, smoking endless reefers made with papers and tobacco blatantly stolen from the shop. I came into work in the morning and they showed me the video and I said, 'Ah well, I'll get my coat, shall I?'

Oh and the time when I was fired before being prosecuted for criminal damage, because I had a fight with a guy in the shop and stormed out of the place, kicking in a large door-window as I left. But I think that was sorta simultaneous firing/quitting.

Now I'm self-employed or voluntary, so I can't be fired :D

[airjaw]

I told my manage once that I didn't care about selling clothes. I was working in a retail store selling clothes. He didn't take me off the schedule, but he didn't give me any more days to work after that. I got the message.

ugh. I feel you man. Clothing retail is the worst job ever.

[ApeTheDog]

Yes, it's not such an interesting story. I underperformed and messed up on one order, which gave the boss enough reason to let me go.

[airjaw]

Whats the minimum amount of time you need to work somewhere in order to be eligible for collecting unemployment?

maybe I shouldn't have quit my last job. I could have hung in there until they were forced to fire me and then went and collected unemployment. But the stress and guilt I would feel from doing that to them would be too much for me.

[Creamzsoda]

I was close to being fired a couple of times. The funny thing is, they were both menial summer jobs. I'm just not cutout for the working world. You ask me to do boring, repetitive tasks and my mind just starts wandering and I make dumb mistakes. I don't know how I'll ever be able to hold down a real job.

Heh, this reminds me of the time I attempted data entry. I quit in 4 hours :lol:

[Spring]

My list...

1. Video rental store cashier (after 2 weeks for borrowing videos)
2. Gas station cashier (after 2 months cause I couldn't learn the register)
3. Deli cashier (lasted 3 whole months, but I kept borrowing sandwiches :devil:)
4. Weeder for a gardener (record of 3 hours)
5. Painter (didn't show up to work for 2 weeks then slept on the job)

Yeah, I was a crappy worker. But I was hired to do PR stuff for a resort when I was 17 and I worked there for 2 years.

[venerationOFrabbits]

yes, wicked party time, missed worked -- damn I liked that job too, party was fun though

second time I was too intolerant of the bullshit, but alas it was 'bullshit', *indifference*

[563 740]

I painted houses for half a summer - it was such a shit job and the boss was a total prick bastard.

It worked out great - the day I chose not to show up anymore coincidentally was the same day he was going to be let me go. I'm glad that denied him the pleasure of getting rid of me.

[rainfall]

I got fired for giving away a cookie at SubWay. Some new worker saw me do it and reported me to the owner, and I got the boot.

I should have been fired long before that, though. I was selling double meat footlong subs as vegetarian deli rolls to my friends for months. I would also occasionally bake a whole oven full of cookies to give away because they didn't keep inventory on cookies.

And then there were the pranks me and coworkers would play on customers...

I had a friend like you. Oh, all the veggie subs filled with meats... That was sweet. Cheap, meat filled veggie subs :rolleyes:

Fired... Once it was getting close to, but it was time to go becase summer was over. I'm a decent worker most of times... But sometimes if I'm too tired I just don't care anymore.

[Arcturus]

Heh, this reminds me of the time I attempted data entry. I quit in 4 hours :lol:

Quitting before you get fired is always good.

Meanwhile, I have to get back to my formulations on how to win the big lottery...

[anais_nun]

Officially, once. Unofficially, several times.

[libertarianjim]

I'm a lazy-assed sleaze, and I've never been fired. Mostly because I've mostly worked in academia and the public sector.

My forays into the private sector have been part-time, short-time, family-related, or I've been smarter than the rest of the motherfuckers around me, and they turned a blind eye to my laziness because Jim at 25% was better than three others at full capacity.

[AllAboutSoul]

ugh. I feel you man. Clothing retail is the worst job ever.


Oh yeah, I hated selling clothing. Only did it once, quit when I'd start crying even thinking about going to work there. Time to go. I got fired from another place because I wasn't part of what I called the Sorority. Didn't kissee kissee the booty enough. No Great Loss. I loved the job but hated the owners. <_<

[airjaw]

FUUUUCK.
well I was late for work today. Or rather, I am late . Supposed to be there at 9, wake up today around 8:47, go FUCKKKK run outside, try to hail a taxi. I'm dreading dreading dreading whats going to happen if I can't get a taxi, and there are none in sight. Can it be? Lo and behold, a taxi coming the opposite way! I hail it, the taxi driver gives me a salutory gesture, his promise to turn around. I breathe a sigh of relief. Several seconds later, a event seals my fate but I do not immediately realize it. Another taxi cab, this time arriving on my side of the street, is approaching. Should I hail it? I have a split second to make the decision. I let it go... and as the taxi cab went farther and farther in the distance, so did my chances of getting to work on time. The other taxi never comes. I can only surmise that he saw the other taxi cab approaching me and made a rational judgment that I would simply hail that one and not wait for him. Little did he know that I abide by the unknown code of hailing taxicabs...

I can't even begin to explain how i feel right now, its somewhere between shit and terrible. I couldn't bring myself to give my boss a call... just the mental agony of going through the conversation and knowing exactly what she was thinking...

...well she just called. called me irresponsible (which I am)... and told me she'd call me back. Sigh. just end it already and fire me... I can't show my face there again...

... i guess i have to .. just called again... asked me to come in..

[Utopmk]

I was fired very passivley at City Blue Print in Kansas. I saw it coming a mile away. It was a family ran business and I was the only non-family member. My boss was the owner's daughter, who was threatened that I knew more than she did about Docutech Printers. She stayed up my ass, pointing out that I must use the same procedure as the rest do, even though my way was faster and more effecient. After a few weeks of this, I started making little snarky comments, and telling her how old and obsolete her machines were.

Well, I messed up a huge blueprint job for LTK purpously, (the people who build walmarts and sam's clubs) and she caught me in a room by myself and said: "Do I need to fire you? Tell me why I should keep you. If you still want to work here you can."

I said "Go ahead and fire me. I do not feel like I belong here. Can I have my paycheck now?"

So it was kind of like a fired/quit thing. But I knew she was trying to get me to quit.