HOW TO LOSE YOUR FEAR OF BEING FIRED
The risk of being fired is the biggest axe a company or a manager holds over employees’ heads. It’s a mostly unstated, but well-known fact of working life that if you as an employee get too far out of line, you’ll be fired. Or terminated/axed/given the chop – don’t you just love those terms, with their unsubtle flavor of death?
And of course we have tacitly accepted that being fired is a terrible thing and should be avoided at all cost, which is why many of us will accept bad conditions at work and otherwise go to extraordinary lengths to keep our jobs.
People who live in fear of being fired tend to:
• Take crap from management
• Follow unethical or immoral orders
• Stand for bullying or harassment
• Go along to get along
• Mask their real personalities
• Hide their real opinions
• Accept too low or unfair salaries
• Kiss butt
• Avoid complaining about any problems they see
So I say it’s time we take the stigma out of being fired. If you can rid yourself of that threat (or at least reduce it greatly) then you grant yourself much wider latitude at work. Trust me, our workplaces will be better and happier for it.
You say I’m fired like it’s a bad thing…
And when you really think about it, what’s so embarrassing about being fired? Here are some of the most common reasons people are fired, and why they don’t reflect badly on the person who got fired:
• Personality mismatch – So you didn’t fit in at that one company. Guess what, there are millions of others. There might just be one somewhere that is a good match for you. Besides, who says you were the problem?
• Skill mismatch – So you tried out a job, and you didn’t have the skills for it. Big deal. Again there are millions of other jobs.
• Refusing to go along – I say good for you. If that’s why you got fired, be proud.
• Downsizing – Thousands of people are downsized every day.
• Unreasonable – If you were fired for being pregnant or any other unreasonable excuse, then there’s certainly no reason to be ashamed.
The exception is people who’re fired for harassing or abusing others or people who are repeatedly fired over the same problems. These people need to take a closer look at themselves!
Make being fired less of a problem
Of course being fired can create problems, but you can deal constructively with many of them, and thus reduce or eliminate the consequences. Here are some typical problems of being fired and how to mitigate them.
Economic uncertainty
This must be the biggest problem that results from being fired. How will you pay your bills, your mortgage and your kids’ college tuition fees?
There are two ways to reduce the financial problems of being fired. You can increase your employability and make it easier for you to find a new job. This is a matter of keeping your personal and professional skills up to date and of cultivating a good network. The second way is to keep your private expenses low, so that you’re not 100% dependent on that pay check every month.
Trouble explaining being fired to next employer
But how will I explain to my next potential employer that I was fired? Hold your head up high and explain exactly what happened and why you’re not ashamed, then this will help convey the impression that “Yeah, you were fired, so what!” Some employers will care, some won’t – provided you explain it right.
Shame
Many people feel a deep shame at being fired and at being unemployed. Why must being fired or being unemployed be so darned embarrassing? It doesn’t need to be! You decide for yourself whether you need to be ashamed or not! Don’t let others force shame upon you, if you have nothing to be ashamed of.
Loss of relationships
For many people, their closest relationships are with people at work and losing them can be painful. The best way to mitigate this is to have many positive relationships outside of work also. And of course increasing your employability lets you quickly find a new job and new relationships at work.
Wrap -up
Reduce your fear of being fired and you increase your freedom and happiness at work. At the very least, you can stop being ashamed about something that happens to hundreds of thousands of people every year, is perfectly natural and which may not be your fault at all! I’m not saying that companies should never fire people. Some people fit in, some people don’t, and companies need to say goodbye to those people who are not contributing or learning. In fact, for some people, being fired from a job turns out to be a great thing, that allows them to move on to a job where they become much happier.
The important thing is, that we as employees should put ourselves in a position where being fired is not a terrible thing. That way we rid ourselves of the fear of being fired and grant ourselves new freedoms at work.
Are you going to do that, or are you going to spend your work life going along with just about anything, simply to hang on to a job that isn’t good for you in the first place?
Article Source: http://positivesharing.com/2006/09/how-to-lose-your-fear-of-being-fired/
Image Source: https://i1.wp.com/positivesharing.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/fired.jpg?w=474
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. terminated/axed/given the chop - lose a job
2. unsubtle [adj] - not subtle obvious clumsy
3. tacitly [adv] - in a way that is understood or implied without being directly stated
4. take crap [idiom] - if someone behaves in an unpleasant or unfair way towards you and it affects you
5. stigma [n] - a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person
6. latitude [n] - scope for freedom of action or thought
7. mitigate [v] - make less severe, serious, or painful
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. According to the article, why do people get fired?
2. What other reasons can you think of?
3. Do you know of anyone who got fired from his/her job? For what reason/s?
4. What do you think about the article’s contention?
