Sometimes people are let go from their jobs without there being anything wrong with their work or their professionalism. Sometimes it’s simply down to a staff cut, and HR crunches the numbers to see which dismissals are cheapest. Sadly, even though we live in an age when companies like to say they keep the best people, in these circumstances the best don’t always stay and the “mediocre” don’t always leave.
(See: 6 signs that you should fire an employee)
That said, making good use of your social skills can protect you from this kind of cull. Basically, it means that the people who make that decision should know you and know about you. Firing an anonymous employee is easy for a company. Firing someone you know is usually harder when you have the option of firing someone else. (We explained this point when we discussed the 50–30–20 rule for career success.)
The fact is that lots of people are fired, and hardly any of them see it coming, even though there were signs they could have noticed.
Can you be fired because your boss doesn’t like you?
The truth is that yes, you can. In fact, it’s more common than people think. I’ve personally seen many cases of managers saying something like this:
– I’m going to fire Pepe.
– Why?
– I don’t know. I don’t like him.
And Pepe was a far more competent worker than others, and less troublesome too. Since we can’t be liked by everyone, these things sometimes happen. On other occasions it comes down to political or religious beliefs, or something as simple as a debate about some idea that had nothing to do with work.
Some bosses feel more attached to some people and contemptuous of others. For some people, there doesn’t always have to be a coherent reason to have it in for someone.
How can you tell if your boss doesn’t like you?
It’s easy to find out. If you have the feeling that your boss doesn’t like you, they most likely don’t. There’s no stronger signal than this one: your own intuition. That doesn’t mean you’re going to be fired, but it does mean you hold more tickets in the draw when the time comes for people to leave the company.
The clearest sign
But the most powerful indicator that your job is in danger is receiving constant criticism of your work, your behaviour or your performance.
Just as in a romantic relationship, when criticism and corrections outnumber praise, dismissal is starting to show its face.
Obviously, we’re not talking about constructive criticism, but about criticism pure and simple, and constant reprimands over anything at all, sometimes amounting to a subtle form of workplace bullying. And if the criticism and negative comments about your work are also put in writing, the intention to fire you is probably imminent.
At this point, whatever the employee does, they will never win that boss’s approval. When a boss wants you to improve, they don’t just criticise: they balance the bad with the good and advise you on how to improve whatever they’re criticising.
Once an employee is receiving nothing but criticism and reprimands, they should start a discreet job search, because it’s always easier to find a job while you’re employed than after you’ve been fired.
A word of warning for bosses
We understand that some executives have no intention of firing someone, even though they constantly bombard that person with all kinds of criticism. This behaviour can only make that person’s performance worse.
Authoritarian leadership has gone out of fashion. While animals’ performance can be improved through negative reinforcement, fear and punishment, it has been shown that people become more productive when positive reinforcement is used. We can call someone out, or point out a specific piece of work they’ve done, but if we want that person to stay with us, we need to choose the right words and make it clear that, broadly speaking, we’re happy with them.
Not doing it this way breeds insecurity in that person. When an employee is capable and competent, they like to feel valued, so if all they get is criticism, it won’t be long before they look for another job.
In the coming years, job stability will be quite uncertain. That’s why we always advise having other sources of income so that, if you’re fired, you don’t end up in a chaotic situation.
Likewise, when you see certain signs that your job could be in danger, don’t wait too long to look for alternatives.
In fact, as professionals we should always be on the market and open to new job offers. That way, a company can’t get complacent and is forced to look after its good employees.
Further reading
Featured image: Steindy 11:44, 19 June 2011 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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