We all hope we never get fired at our places of work unless we voluntarily quit. Unfortunately, it may not work out like this at all and you may be fired at some point. Getting fired is no big deal as you can always find work elsewhere.
However how and the timing of this action may be foreseen and rarely abrupt. Sometimes the firing may catch you off guard but most times you may see it coming through some signs thrown at you.
Some most common signs that your employer is about to fire you may include the boss asking you about updates on pending projects, a newly hired assistant, a negative performance review, tasks reassigned, change in attitude at workplace, a restructuring, sudden discrimination, or being awkwardly summoned by the boss.
Major Signs that you are About to be Fired
1. Boss Asks About Updates on Pending Projects
When an employer wants to fire an employee, he does not want to be stuck with pending work and projects that they don’t know how to proceed with. That is why most will start asking about updates on major pending projects that the target employee is working on.
If your boss asks you to report on the projects that you are working on, it could be that you are getting fired soon. Some bosses will even ask you to write tutorials that describe your daily work. While firing you may not be the only reason why your boss may want this update, it is one of the major signs that you are about to be fired.
Also a sense of urgency from your boss on tasks and projects that are not necessarily urgent or have a deadline any time soon indications a possible firing. It is a sign the employer wants the work done by possibly the time before you are terminated.
Read: How to Get a Positive Performance Review
2. A New “Assistant”is Hired
Hiring and training new employees comes with challenges for employers. It is both time and resources consuming. Employers would therefore like to minimize this cost as much as possible by avoiding any human resources gap or training costs when intending to fire an employee.
As such they tend to hire while they still have the employee they want to fire. Therefore if there is a newly hired “assistant” in your department, you are likely to be hired soon. It is especially so if there is no justification or real need for this “new” position in the department right now.
If there are no additional tasks or major projects incoming, you are possibly being replaced and will be fired soon when the employer determines the new employer is capable of taking over the reins . They will probably make you train the new employee and eventually fire you.
3. Getting A Negative Performance Review
Employers employ people to do their job effectively and efficiently. They set goals and targets that they expect the employees to meet. It is usually evaluated during a performance review that may turn out to be positive or negative.
If your performance review is positive then you are safe, if it is negative then you have reasons to worry. Your employer may now enroll you into a performance improvement plan as they gather documentation against you before actually firing you.
Read: How to Avoid a Poor Performance Review
4. You Are Denied Office Privileges
Upon being hired, your given office provides you with door access cards, system logins, and network logins among other privileges. These are very crucial for security purposes and thus when the boss wants to fire someone, they retrieve them first. There is no knowing what kind of damage one may end up upon realizing they are about to be fired.
Therefore when these privileges are taken away , it may be a sign that you are getting fired. You may find that your access cards to the office or sensitive access areas are no longer working. Also, your system logins may fail or even the networks WiFi on your phone.
If you are the only one having this kind of issues, chances are you have been marked for firing already.
5. Your Tasks Are Reassigned
A normal workday would entail employees working on their scope of work and projects. When the employer wants to fire someone, they will start by pulling off some work from the employee. If you find that projects that would naturally be assigned to you are being assigned to another person/team, it is not business as usual.
They will also deny them any major tasks, especially those that span long term, which they figure the employee will have been fired already. Also, they may change the scope of tasks from critical to simple to mundane tasks that are not worthy of the position.
If you notice you have very few tasks that you are working on while the rest of the employees are full to the brim, then you may be about to be fired. Also if the tasks you are working on are fewer core tasks but mainly simple and support tasks, then you may be marked for firing.
It could be an incoming firing. Also if the employer promises you you’d be on a big project but they never really put you on it, all is not okay.Lastly watch out for closed-door meetings that you are not invited to but should naturally be part of. It shows you are no longer needed in the company for the long term.
6.There Is a Change In Attitude
Some people are usually aware before others who may be getting fired. Often it’s the managers and the boss, whose attitudes suddenly change. When a boss no longer needs you, he/she will communicate in actions about their decision.
If you notice a change in how everyone in the company is treating you it may be because you are about to be fired. Signs may include a sudden change in attitude from management, silent treatment, being excluded from communications and activities, and not being delegated work among others.
Usually, the employer is gathering “evidence” to challenge an unemployment claim. They want to show that you were an under performer and were terminated rather than “laid off”.
7. A Restructuring is Happening
A restructuring at a company maybe as a result of many factors including growth, financial troubles, and diversification among others. Often a restructuring results in the creation of new roles, elimination of old roles, or merging of roles/positions/departments.
If your job is affected by restructuring in the company, then you are likely to be fired soon. If some products or services the company was working on are removed , your employer does not need people who were working on these roles and will naturally get rid of them.
8. You are Being Discriminated
Not all working environments are fair. Some are very discriminative against minorities such as black people, pregnant women among others. If you fall into one of the major minorities and notice that you are being unnecessarily discriminated against, it could be that you are about to be fired.
Some things to watch out for include being passed over for promotion, getting unwarranted warning letters, and being denied valid privileges among others.
Read: How to Deal with Pregnancy Discrimination at Work
9. You Are Awkwardly Summoned By the Boss
Some companies have a culture where the boss will do weird and awkward things when about to fire someone. One includes awkwardly summoning the targeted employee to the office. If your company has such a thing, and you notice it applied in your context then you may be next in losing your job.
For instance, a certain company’s boss would send calendar invites to the employee he was about to fire and name the event “Strategic Planning”. Hence if you received such an invite then it is a sign that you are getting fired.
For another company, it is being scheduled for a meeting on Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon is considered ideal for firing as there is a low likelihood for drama.
Reasons That Might Get You Suddenly Fired at Work
1. Performing Poorly at your Role
Every position has its scope of work and expectations. You get hired into that job to optimally perform the job described in your position. If you are not meeting the expectation, then you are in trouble and likely to be fired suddenly.
Often an annual performance review will decide this and prove you are unable to effectively and efficiently meet your work targets and goals. Your boss may constantly tell you that you aren’t performing well.
Sometimes you may be put on some kind of performance improvement plan. Usually, the first step of the process is a meeting with HR where you discuss your performance and document it. However often this happens in preparation for a sudden firing.
Read: How to React after a Poor Performance Review
2.Violating Company Policies
Every company has guidelines that govern how the company runs and employees behave. The policies cover all major areas of the company operations and dictate how employees should behave in certain circumstances. All employees are expected to observe these policies and violating any can get your suddenly fired.
3.Violating Company Ethics
Likewise violating company ethics may get you fired. If you violate the ethics code you’ll be summarily terminated and you will be informed of exactly what you did. The main ethical issues include stealing money from the company (fraud), being insubordinate to the boss, and being a sexual predator/grossly inappropriate.
4.Office Romance
Almost all workplaces are against romance brewed in the office. If you have a romantic relationship in the office, soon or later, the news will reach the employer and you may get fired. When it does you will be sure one of you or both of you will get fired.
Also, it may be against the company policy to bring visitors of the opposite sex in the company premises. If you do, you can get yourself a sudden termination of your job contract.
Read: How to Address Sexual Harassment at Work
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