Companies can have various reasons for firing employees, but most of the time, they will not do so without a reason.
As a worker or job searcher, if you want to maintain job security and professional behavior in your career, you need to recognize the common pitfalls that result in termination.
1. Poor Work Performance
The number one reason for termination is poor work performance.
Failure to meet your employer’s requirements may lead to losing your job. These include deadline misses, low quality work, and failure to meet targets.
If you are not performing well, get some feedback, develop yourself, or review your job specifications. Consider that being proactive regarding your performance can reverse the situation.
2. Infringement of Company Rules
Your compliance with the company rules is obligatory. It is easy to understand that your company creates policies to ensure a professional and safe working environment.
This could be from the dress codes to internet policies. Ignoring or violating these often results in very harsh ramifications.
To be on the safe side, look through your company’s handbook and guidelines to understand these set rules. If you are ever in doubt over a policy, seeking a clarification rather than guess and possibly break the rule is always a good practice.
3. Conflict of Company Interest
The activities that goes against the interests of the employer are in most cases reason for immediate termination.
Work for a competitor, start a side business that is competitive with your employer, or do anything that could adversely affect the company’s operations, reputation, or revenue.
Loyalty is highly esteemed, and a breach of that faith is severely dealt with. It is important that your other activities, that is investments and side projects, do not contradict with your main job’s duties and interests.
4. Drugs or Alcohol Possession at Workplace
You will agree with me that bringing drugs or alcohol to the workplace or being under their influence during working hours would be a grave offense.
It slows down productivity and is a health hazard to you and others around you. A lot of companies have no drugs and alcohol rules which are aimed at keeping the workplace safe and healthy.
In addition to being terminated, these acts can also ruin your name and affect prospective employment chances.
5. Violence and Harassment
Workplaces are safe areas, free of violence, bullying, and sexual harassment.
Behavior like that can be considered as harassment or violence and is assessed as extremely serious and nearly always results in instant dismissal.
In addition to legal implications, it creates a toxic work environment that can lead to decreased productivity and damage the company’s culture. It is crucial to report such behaviors to HR or a trusted supervisor if you are experiencing it or witnessing it.
As such, creating a culture of respect and safety at work is everybody’s duty.
6. Fraud
Committing fraudulent actions like stealing company resources, falsifying your timecards, or lying on company records is a one-way ticket to being terminated.
Not only does fraud harm the firm’s monetary position, but it also ruins its integrity and faith in the marketplace.
The consequences of getting caught may go much further than just losing your job, it may take a legal action and an indelible blot on your professional reputation. Always show honesty and transparency in everything you do.
7. Insubordination
A continual refusal to obey the lawful and reasonable commands of your superiors most of the time is considered as unprofessionalism and can cost you your job.
Insubordination does not imply that you cannot have a disagreement with your boss, however, there is a right way to express concerns without being rude or flat out refusing to do your work.
Open dialogue and the readiness to look for a shared solution are crucial. Nevertheless, constant rejection of orders destroys team dynamics and, as a result, project success.
8. Long-term Sickness
Not the fault of the worker, however, long-term absence because of illness is a ground for dismissal in some cases.
After all, companies sometimes need continuous performance and they cannot let an employee’s position stay open for an indefinite time.
The situation is touchy since laws are in place to protect workers’ rights concerning leave related to health. Nevertheless, termination is the inevitable result if an employee turns out to be incapable of performing the necessary duties and reasonable accommodations or adjustments do not help.
9. Tak Too Much Time Off
Choosing to abuse time off, by using sick days when healthy or by taking extra holidays, is a quick way to lose your job.
Policies on attendance make sure that tasks are finalized and all the team members do their own part in the work at hand. Continual absence leads co-workers to pick up the slack and is detrimental to productivity.
Although it is important for one to take time off when there are genuine health needs and for rest, abusing this will cause one to lose a job.
10. Damaging Company Property
Deliberate or careless destruction of the company property is a reason for termination. This may be as little as small damages such as spills on office equipment, through to major damages such as crashing a company vehicle.
Employers anticipate that you will handle the workplace and everything within it with respect and regard. Mishaps occur, and honesty is the best way to go. Nonetheless, when negligence is repeated and deliberate destruction, then such behavior shows an indifference to the work environment, and in this light, a worker can be dismissed.
11. Theft of Company Property
The crime of theft irrespective of the fact that what is stolen is office supplies, company data or any form of company property, is a grave offence. It is a breach of confidence and is illegal. One may be caught and then get fired and suffer legal consequences.
The theft in the office is not only restricted to physical items but it can also include the intellectual property or the sensitive data. Integrity and honesty as core principles of your professional life are critical in order to avoid such pitfalls.
12. Release of Company Confidential Information
Today in the digital age, information is as good as an asset. When confidential information of the company is divulged, whether intentionally or inadvertently, the company suffers great losses due to the breach of contract in most cases.
This could involve the disclosure of customer data, intellectual processes, product launch plans, and others. It is crucial to consider and respect the limits of information that falls within one’s role.
13. Misuse of Company Assets
Another top reason for termination of employment is the abuse of company resources for personal benefit.
This can be as little as using the copy machines of the company for personal projects to abusing your position within the company for a personal financial reward, such as taking bribes.
It also deals with the wrong use of company time like always using the work hours for private matters.
The resources supplied by your employer are for business operations rather than personal activities. Another form of misappropriation of these resources reflects a lack of integrity and professionalism.
