tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post2876678531402134663..comments2023-09-29T06:09:21.089-04:00Comments on Ask a Manager: no one told me my coworker was firedAsk a Managerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05281942480230532899noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-63981136891832421012010-09-26T10:00:48.492-04:002010-09-26T10:00:48.492-04:00Hi I got sacked from my job on friday. I had a pan...Hi I got sacked from my job on friday. I had a panic attack!!! <br />I had been working at the company for 3 weeks and after week 2 I had an apprasil. The manager told me she never wanted me to work for her but got out voted by the other managers! I left my last job after being on sick leave with stress and coping with a family death. The manager told me that this was really too long for me to be off. I was off for 3months. and she did no like me!<br />after my panic attack she took me to the office and told me to leave!<br />what right if any do i have?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-54503838772298827762010-01-12T17:14:49.998-05:002010-01-12T17:14:49.998-05:00One major sign of company dysfunction is that _eve...One major sign of company dysfunction is that _everything_ is kept secret. None of our firings or departures are announced - not even the VPs who were recently culled - and promotions are kept secret. A friend recently got one and was not allowed to tell anyone. Ever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-38653468257269244462009-11-19T17:25:16.942-05:002009-11-19T17:25:16.942-05:00Some companies do such things so that other employ...Some companies do such things so that other employees will not be worried,but even so, somebody will surely notice.Development Catalysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11380321864127275374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-65939362446480170812009-11-18T21:54:02.002-05:002009-11-18T21:54:02.002-05:00It's odd to watch a project team whose project...It's odd to watch a project team whose project manager has simply vanished without a word and without a replacement. They run down like an old watch until they stop altogether. It's happened several times. A meeting was held to explain to the firers that if they must keep it mum, they need at least to arrange for the firee's work to be taken over by someone else.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-74632047169324435922009-11-18T20:35:28.979-05:002009-11-18T20:35:28.979-05:00At my employer it sometimes takes a while (3-5 day...At my employer it sometimes takes a while (3-5 days) before an announcement goes out. This is usually so that the department has time to be notified and process the information before the rest of the world knows. It also gives us a chance to think about how recruitment for that position.Rachel - former HR bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13504902980684871964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-21478074142050106292009-11-18T14:31:41.733-05:002009-11-18T14:31:41.733-05:00I vote for wimpy. As with so many other things at ...I vote for wimpy. As with so many other things at a job, it's easiest to pretend nothing happened and hope no one notices.Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718112236359369771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-72827829455144879982009-11-18T13:19:51.734-05:002009-11-18T13:19:51.734-05:00We avoid the awkwardness by posting all separation...We avoid the awkwardness by posting all separations, new hires, promotions and transfers on a staff bulletin boardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-14352350885569774552009-11-18T12:43:30.391-05:002009-11-18T12:43:30.391-05:00I think Suz's advice is the way to go on this ...I think Suz's advice is the way to go on this one. We do something similar. If you send out individual email blasts or announcements, there will enevitably be those who ask follow up questions like "what happened to him?", or " is she okay?". A generic posting on a bulletin board reduces the follow up questions significantly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-4761827884155498912009-11-18T12:42:38.111-05:002009-11-18T12:42:38.111-05:00Linda will be handling the accounts until a replac...Linda will be handling the accounts until a replacement is hired.<br /><br />There's always a Linda: http://www.drunkasaurusrex.com/archives/stand_for_once.phtmlOld Fashionedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16664335178850311211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-69968879214308052442009-11-18T12:41:05.367-05:002009-11-18T12:41:05.367-05:00I think the OP is missing a golden opportunity her...I think the OP is missing a golden opportunity here.<br /><br />If s/he has some troubling project that the dear departed one could have possibly been working on send an email to him that s/he is still waiting on his input then put it on the bottom of the pile. When the time comes when someone asks about the project OP has an out. When the company says, "But he doesn't work here anymore!", OP can just say, "No one ever told me. I'd sorta heard something, but I ignore rumors, they are so seldom true."<br /><br />Accomplishes two things, gets troubling project off the desk for a while and lets company know that not announcing it is stupid.<br /><br />I know I'm a Machiavellian bastard, but if someone hangs their petard out, why not hoist them by it?Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12839802024718595388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-45820453336090610682009-11-18T12:28:51.838-05:002009-11-18T12:28:51.838-05:00I'm starting to think I'm the only person ...I'm starting to think I'm the only person whose company handles this well. We have an online bulletin board for employee announcements. All hirings, firings, and promotions are posted there. They never tell you if a person was fired or resigned but it's easy to figure out. When someone resigns, their end date will be in the future but it they're fired it's in the past.Suznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-65984948128498250552009-11-18T10:30:32.219-05:002009-11-18T10:30:32.219-05:00My company usually announces when someone leaves o...My company usually announces when someone leaves on good terms but says nothing when someone is fired. I think the management thinks the staff will be scared if they know someone was fired. But if we announce some terminations and not others it's very obvious to the staff what's going on. My advice has always been to communicate everything even if no details at all are given (i.e. Joe's last day was today.) The staff is going to talk and speculate anyway so you may as well give them as much of the story as you're able to. <br /><br />We also don't announce promotions for a fear of others being jealous which I think is just stupid. All it does is make the person who got the promotion feel bad because it's being kept secret and force the staff to gossip some more. <br /><br />People should be treated as adults and be kept in the loop with regard to terminations and promotions.Midgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-63813188920977132232009-11-18T09:25:35.328-05:002009-11-18T09:25:35.328-05:00A simple e-mail stating, "Bob is no longer wi...A simple e-mail stating, "Bob is no longer with the company and this is not representative of any layoff plan" is sufficient. Otherwise, the gossip mill starts churning and morale can be negatively affected. Companies flaunt 'open communication' and other such buzzword-esque policies, yet don't take five minutes to follow through on something so easy and effective.Amandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-24521467591062238032009-11-18T08:22:03.018-05:002009-11-18T08:22:03.018-05:00Bigwhig firings were always announced as "Joe...Bigwhig firings were always announced as "Joe Blow has resigned to pursue other interests," which everyone knows is code for "was forced into quitting but got paid a lot of money to do it."<br /><br />I worked at a place that didn't announce promotions. Because they didn't want to "make the others jealous."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-23546991652563097422009-11-18T07:40:39.471-05:002009-11-18T07:40:39.471-05:00Most of the time it's because the people runni...Most of the time it's because the people running things are idiots.<br /><br />I've seen other cases though, like:<br /><br />1. The guy knew he was at the end of the "shape up or ship out" period, so he just...stopped showing up. Management tried for a couple of days to reach him, not knowing whether he was dead or just giving up. You can't send out an email until you know which one it is.<br /><br />2. The guy was negotiating a severance, and part of that sometimes involves calling it a resignation explicitly. Until you know whether you're supposed to say, "Jose is no longer with us" or "Jose resigned yesterday," you can't send an email (and I had one case where the employee negotiated writing his own email announcement, and then failed to produce it for four days).<br /><br />3. The employee just plain requested that there be no announcement, and for whatever reason, they agreed. I've seen this three different times. Why an employee would want this (and why an employer would agree to it) is beyond me...but it does happen.Kerry Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17590443839479686201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-4547622868922644592009-11-18T04:39:08.026-05:002009-11-18T04:39:08.026-05:00Reading this post is interesting, because I've...Reading this post is interesting, because I've experienced two different scenarios.<br /><br />1. We merged with another company so inevitably some people were let go. Management did send out an email to everyone to let them know (the reasons are rather obvious anyway...)<br /><br />2. But when someone is let go because of performance issues, or extraordinary circumstance (a guy got fired on the spot because he was badmouthing the company at a networking function!) noone gets notified in those cases, people just found out through gossip... <br /><br /><br />I don't know why they keep things quiet... the example you used as a notification would be quite sufficient!kaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-55616899094100233242009-11-18T03:18:25.638-05:002009-11-18T03:18:25.638-05:00I think it's a combination of being wimpy and ...I think it's a combination of being wimpy and not wanting to have to justify a decision. <br /><br />I also think it's terrible. At minimum, an e-mail should go out stating exactly what you said--john's last day was today. we wish him well. <br /><br />It causes such stress on everyone when management isn't straightforward with everyone. Urgh.<br /><br />Also, that's why with layoffs, if you are doing a bunch you should do them in the morning, as rapidly as possible and then have an all hands meeting for the remaining staff to explain what happened and that the bloodletting is over.<br /><br />People handle knowledge so much better then they do speculation.Suzanne Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07129772885673695447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-22427687760155328842009-11-18T01:49:25.771-05:002009-11-18T01:49:25.771-05:00As long as I've been working in our dept - no ...As long as I've been working in our dept - no one has been fired. One person was let go right before her probation period ended (without even a hint prior that they were going to cut her loose). Another staffer switched from working for the dept (as a whole) to working for a specific person. In both cases, the rest of us in the dept were not notified in any way. Even the people who those two staffers provided admin support to had no idea. They only found out when they had work to be done and couldn't find their secretaries!<br /><br />When this came up in a staff meeting, the staff manager claimed that she had wanted to send out an email notifying the staffer's departure but the dept manager told her not to. They have some warped reasoning for wanting to keep everyone in the dark. <br /><br />I hate it. It's not a big deal - we're all adults, we can handle it. A couple of years ago, one of the secretaries passed away. They had an emergency staff meeting but did not notify the rest of the people or send out an email or anything. So about 30 people were told first hand, while a couple hundred people had to find out from others.Cassienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558939360732260529.post-64971289921240647512009-11-18T00:45:20.380-05:002009-11-18T00:45:20.380-05:00Hmm... interesting question. At my current place o...Hmm... interesting question. At my current place of work management does send out bland announcements when someone is let go. I usually know before this because I'm in IT and we're contacted first to shut off accounts and re-route email.<br /><br />At my last place of work, though... there was never any announcements and people just had to figure it out (again, I knew because I was in IT and would be contacted to shut off account access - but was sworn to secrecy). It did make for some morbid moments.<br /><br />I did ask one of the managers at my last job why nothing was ever said about fired employees, and the response was basically one of surprise: "Why would anyone else care? This is work. It doesn't matter who is in the chair." They basically felt that people were interchangeable.GeekChicnoreply@blogger.com