5 Reasons Workers Get Fired

Nancy Anderson
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Employees get fired for a wide range of reasons, often due to poor job-related behavior. When you understand the common reasons for employee termination, it's easier to avoid them and increase job security.

Lying About Qualifications

Lying on your resume or application might seem harmless when you're hunting for a job, but it can lead to an employee termination if your employer discovers the deception. Big lies, such as listing college degrees you did not earn or falsely claiming you have no felony convictions, are obvious ways to get fired. Small fibs can also have big consequences. It might not seem like a big deal to add "Expert-level Photoshop skills" to your resume, but if Photoshop tasks makes up 75 percent of your workload, it won't take long for your employer to realize you lied and conclude you can't handle the job.

Harassment

Harassing colleagues, partners or clients is a surefire way to get fired. Sexual harassment is the most visible form; assault, trading sexual favors for promotions, unwanted touches and unwelcome flirting can all lead to job loss. To stay safe and avoid accidental inappropriate behavior, keep all of your business interactions completely professional. Bullying is another fireable offense. Each company's definition of bullying varies, but it's always best to avoid shouting, intimidation, threats, sabotage and aggressive behavior.

Poor Performance

Businesses rely on their employees to perform well. If you consistently deliver low-quality work, arrive late or fail to meet deadlines, your employer might have cause to fire you. Don't worry if you made a single mistake or turned in one below-standard project; most employers opt to provide warnings, training and other assistance to protect their investment. However, if you demonstrate a pattern of poor performance that doesn't improve, you can easily get fired.

Bad Client Relations

Happy customers have a direct impact on a business' bottom line. Employees who cannot maintain positive client relations are at risk of getting fired. If you lie to customers, behave rudely at meetings or make offensive comments, you become a liability to your company. One offense is not likely to be a serious issue, especially if you apologize or salvage the relationship, but if you alienate an important client or repeatedly irritate customers, you might find yourself without a job.

Poor Teamwork

A business runs best with a collegial, cooperative staff, so one way to get fired is to be a poor team player. Some examples of poor teamwork include infighting, a constant bad attitude, refusing to share knowledge and failing to carry your weight. In some cases, the problem originates in a personality mismatch. If your mannerisms and style frustrate or anger your co-workers, it can be impossible to work as a team. To avoid this problem, make a point to demonstrate respect and embrace open communication. This strategy helps air frustrations before they cause rifts and makes it easier for each person to adjust his style to suit the group dynamic.

In many cases, you have the power to change problem behaviors before you get fired. By staying self-aware and always seeking to improve your work ethic, you can reduce the risk of involuntary termination and become an important part of the team.


Image courtesy of winnond at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Sean B thanks for your comment. Not sure why you can't complete your resume? But, to apply for a job - any job - you are going to need a complete resume. If it's dates on previous jobs, do the best that you can. You can always call the company, if they are still in business, and they can give you the dates you worked there. If it's education, contact your school. All you can is offer what you have or what you can gather up. But hold on to the information once you get it because you are always going to be needing it on a resume. And, most jobs today, even fast food and retail, require a resume. All the best.

  • Sean B.
    Sean B. •

    I can't complete my resume, what else do I need to do

  • Larry M.
    Larry M. •

    Communicate is the key know your place and learn to stay on course

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Christopher Alexander thanks for your comment. You are so right - if the team doesn't have communication, it's not going to perform and the client is not going to be happy. From personal experience, when working with a team on a project, we would schedule a daily 15 minute meeting to go over the schedule, update the tasks and find out if there are issues anywhere - whether issues with the timeline, with the client or with each other. Made a big difference and we were able to complete projects ahead of time. Of course I have worked on teams that hardly ever communicated, also and it was quite obvious. So, you will be able to take what you learned here and carry it with you to your next project.

  • Christopher Alexander
    Christopher Alexander •

    I worked in a small office which was my first time that I worked with such a small group for a project. I had conflicts with my peers because there was no open communication. No one passed information that would provide helpful information to improve work performance due to their experiences with the client. Providing communication that makes them look good made it even harder to be cooperative. I worked with arg groups of people as a team and had better communication where all team members communicated to improve the team not individuality. When senior personnel came to visit on the project, I noted the issues that I was having then the rest of the team jumped in their experiences. If we had better communication, I believe we would have even better productive for the client.

  • tonya h.
    tonya h. •

    I was fired recently from my job from a bad attendance during to my medical history...four months ago I sprained my foot and my employer would not except my doctors note since I had to get paperwork filled out from the labor administrator, which I only had 20 days to fill our by a primary physician, but it took me a month to get one and my health insurance reactivated, so I reported it to my employer and labor administrator....after my termination ...I called the administrator and they requested my original forms by email, and they got approved, and since I was on retiring status ....my employer has no choice but to rehire me back.... the catch was that my employer illegally terminated me for not excepting my paperwork to start with ...all they had to do was fax it to the administrator four months ago when I was on a week medical leave., so it became unexcused...and i didnt have enough PTO to cover it....instead I had to do their dirty work and send in the forms to get my retiring status back...which the managers said it was not reversible...

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