Debt Free

Joining the ranks of the unemployed is one sure way to get deeper into debt, especially if you were rather unceremoniously informed your services would no longer be needed because of poor performance or behavior at your current job. Currently unemployment stands at 4.6%. You should be advancing your career, rather than joining those who make up this statistic.

Many of the behaviors that can get you fire are as plain as the nose on your face, yet are practiced by thousands of employees in workplaces throughout the world every day. Some things that can get you fired however are not as apparent to people, and so they continue to engage in them. Stop it! You're not making any friends and you're pissing off your boss.

Some employees are termed “just cause” and if you're one of these, your employer actually has to have a good reason for letting you go. If, however, the terms of your employment are “at will” you boss can fire you because they don't like the way you laugh, they had an argument with their wife this morning, or any other seemingly erroneous reason they so choose.

Way to Get Fired Number 1 – Poor Job Performance
Unless you're in some government or highly unionized workplaces, poor job performance can get you canned forthwith. For some beleaguered employers, however, terminating poor employees is no simple task. Due to union protections or the sanctity of certain government positions, it is nearly impossible to get fired from some jobs. Amazingly enough your First Amendment rights actually offer some protection against being let go from government jobs for such infractions as blogging during work hours, or excessive personal phone calls while on the taxpayer's dime.

Way to Get Fired Number 2 – Sex With the Boss
It happens all time, but workplace romances, especially with any of your superiors, especially if they happen to be married (to someone other than you) is a surefire career killer. The pull from your loins may be strong, and it may seem like fun now, but what do think is going to happen when the thrill wears off for your boss, or one of your spouses finds out? In most cases you and your boss will part ways, and unless sexual harassment can be proved, their job is probably more secure than yours. If they happen to be to dog at the company, you're really screwed. This is more common when the boss is a man and the employee is a woman, but it happens the other way around as well. There are many great euphemisms for this, but suffice it to say, don't dip the pen in the company ink, fish off the company pier, or any other such nonsense.

Although it seems evident that this type of behavior would be dangerous, according to a survey conducted by staffing firm Spherion and Harris Interactive in January 2007, 41% of employees felt that an interoffice romance would jeopardize their job, but 41% (not necessarily the same 41%) would consider it. In fact, according to the survey 39% already have had such a relationship. These are not all necessarily superior / subordinate relationships however.

Way to Get Fired Number 3 – Spend Too Much Time on the Web or Blogging -
Hey! What are you doing reading this? Get back to work! Although I am overjoyed that you actually are reading my Debt Free blog, the fact remains that in many workplaces throughout the world, employers consider employees surfing the web during work hours a problem, and they are willing to let someone go for the practice. Now most employers have no problems with some personal surfing, but rest assured some will tolerate none of it at all, and nearly all will crack down if they feel it is taking over too much of an employee's work time. What you may not be aware of is that many firms have installed ways to track an employee's computer use.

If you're using a company computer and are in the workplace, they are within their rights to track your every move while you're on line, and more firms are doing so. A recent survey by CNN found that 74% of companies monitor their employee's Internet use and 74% check their email. They will know what websites you visit, how long you were there and what forums and chat rooms you spend time on. They can even tell who you're sending emails to from personal email accounts, so watch it! Obviously some types of surfing will get you canned faster than others. In case you any any doubts, porn's usually a big no-no, so stay away from it.

Way to Get Fired Number 4 – Lying on Your Resume
This is a great way to give your company a reason to terminate you with cause. People still do it everyday however, just ask George O'Leary. He's just one of many examples of people who get sacked from fantastic jobs because they embellished or outright fabricated items on their resume. Trust me, if a certain college degree or trade certification is required for your position, you don't want to say you have it when you don't. If they find out, and there's a good chance they will, they can use this to fire you. Even if you are a just cause employee, in almost every case, this would qualify.

These are just 4 of the reasons you can lose you job, but there are countless others including drinking and / or substance abuse, criminal convictions, driving infractions (especially if you have a company vehicle or your job requires that you use one at times), stealing from the company, or workplace violence. While these reasons are obvious to most as grounds for termination, one that escapes many people is failing to fit in with their co workers (not as in Reason Number 2!). Alienating your coworkers, taking credit for their work, or other such behavior may net you some short term gain, but could well cost you in the long run. The cost could be just advancement up the company ladder, or it could be your job.