In Danger of Getting Fired or Laid Off?

By Susan M. Heathfield,

Jobs Vacancy, Job vacancies, Employment Jobs

Employment termination - no matter the cause - is scary, disorienting, and disruptive to habitual patterns. Getting fired is never fun; layoffs are equally disheartening. In either scenario, your feelings of self worth and self esteem are dealt a blow. Just when you most need a positive outlook to help you find your next opportunity, you feel dizzy as if your whole world is spinning out of control. Don’t despair. Better? This is how to prepare yourself for your next layoff or employment termination – before the fateful meeting.

Signs of Impending Employment Termination

Signs of an impending employment termination are obvious in retrospect. If your employment is terminated for performance reasons, you will generally have had a performance improvement plan. Or, minimally, performance improvement discussion meetings with your supervisor will have escalated. Your manager may also have involved Human Resources staff in these discussions.

The employee handbook generally lists the circumstances and infractions under which progressive discipline, up to and including employment termination, are meted out. You will want to become familiar with these guidelines.

If you believe your manager is building a case that will result in employment termination, you may want to speak to an attorney while you still have time to affect your employment. In other cases employment termination is the right answer. You may be underperforming or ill suited to the role you are expected to perform.

Layoffs are also often obvious in retrospect. Many companies will communicate an increasingly dire financial forecast; other companies leave employees in the dark about their financial situation. Signs that a layoff might occur include some or all of these.

Managers ask employees to implement cost saving measures. Both hiring and spending are frozen. Employees who leave are not replaced. Sales are down or the sales projection is dismal. Closed door meetings o