Last year, my friend Jakob got a job he really likes in a medium-sized IT company. His boss is a great guy, his co-workers are competent and fun and his clients are all terribly nice people.

There’s only one fly in the ointment: Jakob’s boss’ boss (one of the senior managers) is… less nice. He tends to summon all his employees to meetings and chew them out collectively and loudly for whatever problems he sees. He’s abrasive and unpleasant, always complains and never acknowledges his people for the good work
they do. His emails to his underlings are a case study in rudeness. And, of course, he’s known for summarily firing people who cross him in any way.

Now, while Jakob likes his job, he doesn’t need it. He’s financially stable and so skilled he can always go out and get another job, and therefore has zero fear of being fired. Where other people in the company feel they must watch their tongue for fear of the consequences, he feels free to say and do exactly what he thinks is right.

And here’s the thing: When Jakob stands up to this senior manager and tells him that he won’t stand for his unpleasant approach and exactly why his abrasive style creates problems for the company, he listens. Nobody has ever told the senior manager at the company these things before, and for the first time the company has an employee that is totally unafraid of doing so.

The result: This particular manager is slowly changing his ways. And he certainly pulls none of his usual attacks on Jakob, who he knows simply won’t stand for it.

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.

Do this, or else…
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 that doesn’t reflect badly on the fire:

* 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/Retrechment – Thousands of people are downsized or retrenched 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!

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?

Have you ever received poor service from someone you expected should be helping you as part of his or her job? The answer is almost certainly “yes.”

And, if you’re like most people, you have probably also experienced the frustration of working with someone who made your own job more difficult.

In both cases you may have wondered, “Why don’t they just fire this person?”

Firing someone may seem easy in theory, but it is often a last resort for an employer. A bad employee’s supervisor may know that the employee isn’t performing up to snuff, but that supervisor — or the company — may have what they consider to be a good reason for not firing the employee.

Whenever you encounter someone who you think deserves to be fired — either in your own workplace or elsewhere — consider if any of the following might be the reason the bad employee is still on the job:

1. The employee has a relationship with someone higher up.
This is Kenya hence this reason coming tops. A relationship doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic or family, although either is a possibility. In many cases, the relationship that keeps someone from getting fired is friendship. The bad employee may not perform well on the job, but may be a drinking buddy for your boss, or may simply be someone that senior management enjoys having around the office.

2. The boss relies on the employee.
when a supervisor depends on an employee, the supervisor is less likely to attribute poor performance to the employee’s ability or attitude, and more likely to attribute the poor performance to forces beyond the employee’s control.

3. The employee brings more value to the company than he or she costs.
Maybe the employee who jokes around and wastes other employees’ time at meetings is also a brilliant worker whose productivity has resulted in significant revenue for the company.

4. The boss thinks it could be worse.
Even if everyone knows the employee is not pulling his or her weight, management may fear that a replacement could do an even worse job. This fear is compounded if the company has previously had other people perform more poorly in the position.

5. The boss is afraid of the employee.
If there are concerns that an employee might sue the company or possibly become violent if fired, it may take longer to let that employee go. If there’s a threat, the company needs to consult with legal or security experts and put appropriate measures in place before letting a bad employee go.

6. The boss feels sorry for the employee.
In such cases, a boss is sympathetic to the employee, and not to those whom the employee’s actions may be hurting. The boss may worry that if the bad employee is fired, he or she won’t be able to find another job. If the employee needs the money to support a family, has health problems, or has recently experienced another life challenge, the boss may feel it’s best to let the employee keep the job.

7. The boss doesn’t want to go through the hiring process.
It takes time to review applications, conduct interviews, check references, and train a new person. The boss may believe it’s easier to deal with the consequences when the bad employee messes up rather than deal with hiring a replacement.

8. The employee knows something.
The employee might know something embarrassing about the boss, but it’s more likely he or she simply knows historical information that the company needs today. For example, if the employee is the only one who knows how to operate an ancient piece of equipment that the company still uses, your employer may need to keep the employee around.

9. The employee has everybody fooled.
In their book “Snakes in Suits,” Paul Babiak, Ph.D. and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D., explain that a surprising number of workplaces employ psychopaths. While psychopaths make up 1 percent of the general population, Babiak and Hare found that 3.5 percent of the executives they worked with “fit the profile of the psychopath.” Psychopathic employees are pathological liars who get away with doing little or no work. They charm senior management with their “leadership potential,” con co-workers into covering for them, and successfully blame others for their mistakes. If you’re the only one who sees what they’re up to, you’re in a tough spot. Sometimes it’s the whistle-blower who gets fired, not the snake.

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