Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer
Mistakes help us grow as individuals and make us better people, or so we're told. At work that's definitely true. Call the CEO by the wrong name once and you'll never do it again. For this reason, level-headed bosses aren't looking to fire anyone for the occasional gaffe. Still, even the nicest of bosses will reach a limit. Oversleeping one morning probably won't get you fired; doing it three times a week probably will. In the spirit of keeping you in your supervisor's good graces (and employed), here are nine moves that will get you fired.
1. Being sorta punctual
Each company has its own culture, which might mean stumbling into work 10 minutes late is no biggie to the boss. When it comes to deadlines, however, punctuality is nonnegotiable. When other people -- and consequently their reputations -- depend on you to complete work in a timely manner, excuses don't work. Arriving late to a meeting or not at all is a high-profile way to show you don't respect other people's time, too.
2. Hang on, I'll tell you after I update my Facebook profile
Jobs that rely on the Internet provide ample distractions for employees who would rather play online Texas Hold 'Em than work. Many employers allow workers to spend some time checking personal e-mail accounts and catching up on celebrity gossip. A reasonable amount of time. When your duties take a backseat to updating your Facebook status, the boss won't have a problem giving you a pink slip for neglecting your duties.
3. Not knowing what your job is
When bosses hire people, they want them to fulfill their job duties so that the team can run smoothly. You're allowed a few growing pains when you're new, but if six months (or years) into the job, you're still asking people what you should be doing or how to perform an elemental task essential to your job, something isn't right. One of the quickest ways to lose your job is to be deemed unreliable.
4. Needing the spotlight
Children have the honor roll to recognize their outstanding work; adults have paychecks. The employee who demands praise for every bright idea or successful quarter he has will gain a reputation for being needy and distracting. Of course we all like to have a pat on the back now and then, but making sure every person in the meeting knows the boss just pitched your idea shows that you're more concerned with yourself than with the team.
5. Being too honest
Your parents and teachers probably taught you that the truth is always better than lying, and they were right. Nevertheless, remember to keep some thoughts to yourself, especially when those thoughts are that the boss has no clue what she's doing or that you could do her job better with your eyes closed. Having an honest exchange of ideas with a boss is one thing; insulting him or her, albeit with good intentions, is another.
6. Going on vacation when you're needed most
Although you have every right to use your vacation days, a quick way to damage your reputation is to be in the Bahamas during crunch time. If you have to take some personal days at your department's busiest time, plan ahead so you don't inconvenience your team. If you're gone every time a major deadline approaches, however, your reputation will suffer.
7. Proving you can't be trusted
When a co-worker or boss shares private information with you, the quickest way to risk your job is to tell everybody what you know. Not only do you betray that person's trust, but you also make that person look foolish for having confided in you in the first place. Employers have no trouble cutting ties with someone who blabs secrets.
8. Not respecting the boss in front of his or her boss
Remember: Your supervisor has to answer to someone, too. Although you should be respectful every day of the week, make sure to be on your best behavior when your boss's boss is around. If you're undermining authority or even just not doing your job well, your boss looks incompetent. The boss might not say anything when the head honcho is around, but you'll probably have to answer for your mistake soon enough.
9. Thinking you're the exception to the rule
Your parents always said you were special, but your boss doesn't have to agree with them. That's why you shouldn't expect to be exempt from the company policies, like vacation day guidelines, the dress code and other department rules. Asking for some flexibility when your children are sick is reasonable, but expecting to always leave early because you have to pick them up from school crosses a line. Your boss expects you to follow the same rules as everyone else.
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Search by Company | Search by IndustryAnthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.
Copyright 2008 CareerBuilder.com
Nov 18th 2009 @ 6:07AM Robert
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 8:13AM anne
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 6:51AM Scott
Don't assume your protected from not being fired from your job. If not represented by a written and signed contract any company may let you go. One thing that I can't prove why I was let go is if you work as I did in a non-union machine shop some of the things to not say even to your friends at work are about people of the oppisite sex not performing and we should try to get union representation in here to try and have better wages and health insurance.
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 10:34AM matt
You can't be fired for talking about wanting union representation. That is illegal. You WILL get your job back AND back pay if this is a true allegation and the company fired you for that.
Nov 18th 2009 @ 11:40AM Nicek9s
Talking Union at a private sector shop will put you in a bad light. It was an idea whose time came and went. Unions should be outlawed in this society unless it really is turning socialist. If someone mentions it in my place, i will put lots of rope out until they hang themselves. You want something your job doesnt offer? get a different job. period.
Nov 18th 2009 @ 11:39AM Lotte
Matt, what you say may be true, BUT you must be able to prove that is why you were fired...NOT an easy task, believe me!
It's also illegal to fire you due to age, sex, or "handicap". I had been working under a real, total MCP misogynist for over three years, when I was "fired". Two other family members were at this place for many years before I was hired, and this guy had been a big mouth the entire time. Made constant rude, crude, AND lewd comments about women, older people, other ethnicities, etc. If there was a way to be rude and disgusting, he found it. But everyone laughed and smiled because they knew he could make things difficult if they didn't!
When I first started, it was supposed to be just a few hours a week of data entry, but it wasn't long before it was full time+. In about a year I was actually running my department, though without the "title" and pay that others in other areas were receiving. I took a section that was a mess and made it professional and brought the numbers and customer satisfaction way up. All the while, battling an atmosphere that wasn't really conducive to business. The actual owners were very happy with me, but they live out of town and let this jerk run things! He DOES get some things done, but at the expense of missed/messed up orders (which he would cover by saying, everyone makes mistakes), unhappy customers and other issues. I endured constant "cutesy" comments about my age, sex AND handicaps (NONE of which affected my job performance), and he never hesitated to make these comments in front of others! If I made a suggestion on how to make something more effective or perhaps customer friendly, it was no good (I'm a woman you see)...but it would often be just a few weeks later that either HE or one of his buds would suddenly come of with the exact same idea and it was fantastic (they're men). I can also state as fact that he was embezzling in a major way! Most management knew it, but never said anything, either because they were also in on it, or they feared for their jobs!
I saw the writing on the wall when he "promoted" a functionally illiterate person into my job (actually GIVING them the title and pay), and banned me from the main computer I had been using, and that held so much of my work (forms, statements, things I had drawn up for company use, etc.). That is when "my" department went south and the orders started to suffer. I was "promoted" to bookkeeper, but three weeks later the owner told him that he was no longer going to have access to any of the accounts...only I would be able to access them...guess what? The very next day all of the checkbooks were "gone" and I was informed by him that I would NOT be doing payroll or paying bills! My only real function was to file bills and "tidy" as though I was Suzy Homemaker for the lot of them! He and his cronies fired me the day after I spoke to the owner and requested a sit-down meeting to discuss my job description and what actions I would be allowed to take. And I was NEVER able to get in touch with the owner to see what this jerk had told them about my being fired!
I attempted to file charges due to the age/sex/handicap issues, but they said I had to have witnesses and NO ONE would come forward - again, fearing for their jobs...but gee, karma's a real _itch - three years later they are ALL gone, fired for various bogus reasons, just to cover his behind. Oh, and the company isn't doing all that great, and that was BEFORE the downturn in the economy!
And the icing on the cake? Contrary to what you're told when applying for another job, even when you tell them NOT to contact a previous employer, many will do it anyway! How do I know? Because I was told by a couple of companies that they HAD contacted this jerk (even after being told NOT to) and that HE had blackballed me! Nothing "definitive", just "we would never re-hire her, she can't be trusted"......sometimes, people are just plain donkey's behinds and you have to be prepared for it! Unfortunately I wasn't!
Nov 18th 2009 @ 7:47AM TuttiFruitti
I worked for a community college that had extremely lenient ideas about absenteeism and tardiness. I was never late one time but missed 8 days total when each of my daughters were hospitalized. I had comp time that had to be taken by the end of the following month and began to take a few days here and there then discovered I had to have emergency surgery and would be out for 3 days. I got a call from my boss on the 2nd day of recovery and was told I was fired. I had kept track of how many days were missed by fellow employees and was able to get unemployment benefits due to keeping these records. I have decided to go back to work (at 56 yrs. old) because I am so sick of working for people who have no business being in charge of anything other than the color of underwear they wear. Things will be different next time. Word of caution: Please keep track of what is not considered important in your company. It may become important with you at the end of the bullseye.
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 7:48AM Marlena
The American peeps way ..........how can I scam some one ........
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 7:48AM Marlena
Go to college get a degree...........
EDUCATE is the way out !
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 11:02AM Deb
NO IT ISN'T. That is what I thought so I went back to school and have a graduate degree. It does me a lot of good when I take those orders for pizza. There just isn't any work. In the long run, education will help, but it isn't a guarantee.
Nov 18th 2009 @ 7:49AM Marlena
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER....
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 7:49AM TuttiFruitti
Excuse me --- I meant I am going back to school to get my degree, not back to work as stated.
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 7:49AM Marlena
OBAMA has knowledge be affraid peeps be very affraid !
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 11:28AM Karen
Instead of worring about Obama - learn how to spell.
If you don't, the terrorists wins.
Also, many are begining to think Obama haters are retarded.
We wouldn't want that now - would we?
Nov 18th 2009 @ 7:55AM TuttiFruitti
Oh HELL !!! We could be discussing a farting contest and some idiot would bring politics into it. Education doesn't seem to have helped you at all, Marlena.
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Nov 18th 2009 @ 8:29AM KISHA
You are soooo funny lol !!!