I bet you are wondering how a subject like 'How to Not Keep Your Job' has to do with inspirational Sunday. As I sit to write this, I don't know either. I guess we both will find out by the end.
Have you ever had anything on your mind but didn't realize just how much it bothered you when you thought you had 'let it go'? I have learned with myself that it is those things that come to me in dreams. This is one of those dreams I have been having.
I am sure we have all had co-workers who kiss kiss and be nice nice to their employers face to face and then those same employees say a whole different thing when their employer's back is turned. It is a bit easier in a larger office to have this happen. In a smaller one with 3-4 employees total and that includes the employer, it is harder.
As the wife of the boss and co-worker to our employees, I have had this type of attitude many many times. I have always tried to have an open communication and resolve problems as they come up. Are we always at our best? No and I don't think any boss expects you to be.
At the heart of the relationship between employer and employee is the duty of mutual trust and confidence. The assumption of loyalty means that if either party behaves in a way which is likely to damage the relationship, the other party is entitled to treat the contract as at an end. Therefore, if you make nasty remarks about your employer, you could face disciplinary action or even find yourself dismissed for a serious breach. In the current economic climate, it is therefore more important than ever to be careful about what you say. In our field of medicine, it is even more important with HIPAA or how we keep our patient's information private. A breach of this would be immediate grounds for termination. Theft would be another.
With the growth of social networking sites, bad mouthing your boss in a public manner especially when you are 'friends' with said boss, will surely get a rise. It is way too easy for employees to vent online. I think we/they forget that others are reading what they are writing. However, if you do put your opinions on the web, remember that the internet is a public forum. It is surprising how often people adopt a false sense of security and believe that their comments are being made in private. And don't believe the myth that it makes a difference whether the comments you make are outside of work hours or on your home computer. It doesn't.
Thus there comes that responsibility and mutual respect and trust. Last year my husband and I purchased an office from a friend. We relied on the information given to us by our employee who was also an employee of the friend. We learned a huge lesson: Never do business with friends! The employee had a vested interest in that her other employer still owed her money on his purchase of the office. The office statistics did not even come close to matching what was still owed her. So said person manipulated the statistics. We trusted those. We purchased the office based on those false statistics. We had no reason to not trust the data. We later learned the stats were so highly inflated we purchased the practice for over $50,000.00 more than what we should have. Lesson earned.
I fully believe in karma. What goes around comes around. Said employee was terminated. Why? Not because of the manipulation of the statistics since we actually didn't know then. It was for quite a few reasons. Friendship and business have to maintain a degree of division. I allowed some business to enter our friendship. I shouldn't have. I felt bad that her husband died. I felt bad that all of a sudden her life turned upside down and instead of being an employer she was now an employee for the very same offices she had been in charge of for over 30+ years. In a lot of ways I was wrong. Somewhere the friendship ended and this other relationship started - a relationship where there was no trust and no mutual respect and no personal responsibility.
But what are some of the main things to keep in mind:
1. Don't take business records. Don't email information to your own email. Don't even take stamps, pens, folders, paper clips, white-out. Don't you think people might notice why an office that was supposed to be fully functioning is suddenly out of all these supplies?
2. This goes along with the above. Don't sabotage records. When we finally received the financial data, we learned about the manipulation. Do you think we would never notice after all the bad-mouthing you did about us? That just made us not trust you. That non-trust made us get the data and check. Ever wonder why you don't get a glowing reference and only a verification of employment years? Karma.
3. Directing clients to the other owner. Did you think that we would not notice the fact that most of the patients were directed to the other owner? This was another reason why you could be let go. I am constantly amazed at how employees don't think we employers would ever find out. Do they really think we are that dumb or not have a handle of what is going on in the office? We had already determined what you did prior. This was why there was no notice given - we were too afraid of what you would do once you knew you were terminated. We could have sued you. We didn't. Be thankful.
4. Bad-mouthing your employer and blaming all of your problems on them is another way of how not to keep your job. Do you really think the employer wouldn't find out? Did you ever think about the position you put the other employees in? I would like to think we have an open relationship with all our employees. I think we definitely do now which is why I hesitate adding another person. The taste in everyone's mouths from the old employee is still there. Nothing compounds these hard feelings like an employee who badmouths the former employer on the way out the door or even after they leave.
5. This is an even better one we found out after the employee left and after they found a new job - one in which they shared information and data about us in a demeaning way, deliberately twisting information. But it didn't work. It just gave the new employer reason to not trust you. Remember the old adage: If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. This is especially true in business.
6. Over the years we have let quite a few employees go. I am always amazed at how they think we won't change the locks, or passwords, and especially not have in place some type of security system. Yes, we know it was you trying to access our data. That is why we had to get an attorney for you not to have access to our accounts. What do you think your current employer thinks about us having to do that? It just turns around and bites your rear.
As a business owner, I have learned to let employees rant. Take the high road. Bad employees end up discrediting themselves. Who wants to listen to a fellow employee complain about her former employer? Most people are going to think he/she should move on. If you feel you have to do something, you could make your employees aware of your side of the story so they can combat any rumors going on. One of the really annoying things about terminations I found out 20 years ago is sometimes you'll get an employee who complains loudly about being "unfairly" treated, telling coworkers the firing came out of nowhere and had no grounds, while you know her performance was abysmal and she was given numerous warnings and chances to improve. Since very few people tell their coworkers, "Wow, I'm really doing a bad job" or "I did get three warnings before they let me go," the fired person's coworkers often have no idea that the firing was handled fairly and was for good cause ... and because of privacy concerns, the manager usually isn't going to announce the details, so coworkers often hear just one, twisted side of the story. If your remaining employees know the company to be fair, that personal experience is going to carry more weight than the rantings of one disgruntled former employee.
So what does one do now? I have learned through writing this that I have to get rid of my anger. Anger is physically harmful. I recognize now there was never a friendship based on my definition of a friendship. I learned to not mix friendship with business. Plus most important of all, I learned that I am still learning.
What does the terminated employee do now? I was once terminated too. It is not something that has happened to only you. Recognize why you are angry. You did not have a right to the job you held. It was a privilege given to you by the employer. You chose the life of working in a corporation for someone else. Getting laid off or terminated is one of the possible consequences of that decision. If you don't like the potential consequences (and everything has potential consequences), chose another path. Don't allow your angry emotions to rule you when one of the very real potential consequences of being an employee comes about. That job was not your right. You weren't entitled to it. It is hard to do but you do have to try.
Accept this time as a gift. This is a great gift from the Universe, whether you realize it or not. It is your forced chance to re-evaluate your life and see if you need to travel some different roads. Rather than being angry about this, be grateful to God or the Universe or whatever that you have been given this chance. I did. I re-evaluated my life and went into a different direction that was more what I wanted to begin with. I've known lots of people in life who haven't been given this kick in the ass, and they have retired frustrated and depressed. They have heads full of regrets and wishes that they are too old to do. Don't make this into your mantra. You have been given this opportunity while you're still young enough to actually do those things you have been wishing to do.
Look at life a bit differently. Let go of your anger. Get creative. You'll be better for it at the end. Last night I was saying to my husband that I don't feel we have "JOBS". I enjoy my work. I never recognize that I have worked 14 hours until the end. But I will turn around the next day and go into work and enjoy my day. It will be different in some ways but the same in others. I enjoy seeing different people. I can still dislike statement days. I can still dislike some patients. I can still dislike or disapprove of how another employee handles something.
Now I understand why I had to write this. At the end of the day, I can honestly state I love my job. Can you?
