Have you ever been fired from a job?

[everydayiloveyou]

Lately I've been having the feeling that I'm going to be fired soon. My bosses have been acting weird over things I've been doing the same way every day for the past 3 years, and a bunch of new people are getting trained for my position. It's been really stressful to deal with the uncertainty. Plus my 21st birthday is in a few weeks, so I'm extra sad about it.

I'm scared that they're gonna frame me for stealing or something else similarly bad in order to get rid of me, since we're a unionized store so it's harder to fire us in the typical at-will style. I can't sleep, and lately I've started tearing up during my shift since I'm so worried. I've even looked up lawyers in case they arrest me for some kind of stealing I didnt know I was doing, which I know is definitely a crazy overreaction.

On one hand, the whole situation is making my desire to ctb even stronger, since being fired will affirm all of my negative thoughts and negate all of the progress I've made since I got a job. But on the other hand, I know that realistically, getting fired from a retail job isn't really a big deal, even if I do get framed for something bad. I'm still young and in school, I still have options, and people who are worse off than me manage to get jobs again. And there's also the possibility that I'm just being super crazy and I'm just hearing things and stuff. So I'm trying to be prepared for the worst but hoping for the best, as they say.

Have you guys ever been fired? How did you deal with it? If you've worked for a couple of years at the same job, did you know that it was coming? Did you prepare yourself? etc. I want to hear general advice from fellow mentally ill people I guess lol, I feel super alone in this rn

 

[RC90]

Yes I was, depression and panic attacks were preventing me to go to work, so I would not show up for a few times. After too many of those without a Doctor letter I was sent home for good. They can't fire you for stealing if you're not stealing nor they got any evidence of that.

 

[muffin222]

Yes. I was fired from my first job several years... then re-hired again months later when I went back to ask for my job back

 

[AvaAdore]

Only one time, I was a waitress at a sushi restaurant for one night and the owner said I wasn't fast enough. If you get fired you should file for unemployment.

 

[BipolarGuy]

Lately I've been having the feeling that I'm going to be fired soon. My bosses have been acting weird over things I've been doing the same way every day for the past 3 years, and a bunch of new people are getting trained for my position. It's been really stressful to deal with the uncertainty. Plus my 21st birthday is in a few weeks, so I'm extra sad about it.

I'm scared that they're gonna frame me for stealing or something else similarly bad in order to get rid of me, since we're a unionized store so it's harder to fire us in the typical at-will style. I can't sleep, and lately I've started tearing up during my shift since I'm so worried. I've even looked up lawyers in case they arrest me for some kind of stealing I didnt know I was doing, which I know is definitely a crazy overreaction.

On one hand, the whole situation is making my desire to ctb even stronger, since being fired will affirm all of my negative thoughts and negate all of the progress I've made since I got a job. But on the other hand, I know that realistically, getting fired from a retail job isn't really a big deal, even if I do get framed for something bad. I'm still young and in school, I still have options, and people who are worse off than me manage to get jobs again. And there's also the possibility that I'm just being super crazy and I'm just hearing things and stuff. So I'm trying to be prepared for the worst but hoping for the best, as they say.

Have you guys ever been fired? How did you deal with it? If you've worked for a couple of years at the same job, did you know that it was coming? Did you prepare yourself? etc. I want to hear general advice from fellow mentally ill people I guess lol, I feel super alone in this rn

No, never been fired.
But I've resigned or simply walked out of 3!

(No, not in anticipation of being fired)

 

[islima]

I'm in a similar situation as you, but I have been given a two weeks notice that a contract that they are cancelling work contract. I have never been given any warnings whatsoever.

 

[Chupacabra 44]

I've worked in some HR capacities before, but I'm in no way a proper HR professional, by any means.

I'm going to rapid fire type while wearing my quasi attorney hat.....I will rapid fire questions as these pop into my mind. I can assist you to hopefully alleviate some fears perhaps, if you want to answer the think about the following (don't mistake my tone - I'm on your side and am trying to help).

Have you been documented by your company?

Has your boss or others sat down to review your behavior recently? If so, who attended (job titles)? Did they take notes?

Is an employee potentially alleging theft on your part? What is their position within the company?

Does your store have cameras? How many and where are these aimed?

Why exactly do you suspect this is happening to you - just cause they are acting weird to you and nothing else? Have your friends at work noticed too? What did they say?

Could your boss be acting weird because he feels stressed himself/herself and is afraid they might lose their job?

How do you know these people being trained are being trained for your job? Could they be additional staff? If you have multiple locations maybe they are being trained for a different store?

Do you have an employee handbook? What does it say about employee theft? Most companies would fire anyone immediately suspected of theft, if their ducks are all in a row ( meaning if they have credible evidence from information from another employee or if they have video footage), then typically they confront you immediately, IMO. Any potential theif in a retail environment is a huge threat, because of one's ability to steal merchandise fairly easily.

You can just read my questions as most are kind of Rhetorical and I'm just trying to illustrate the process; or you can answer some or all for me and I will keep suggesting stuff.

Have you ever received a written warning? How many, how long ago and what did these say - in general?

Does your company have a reputation of treating it's employees poorly?

Most reputable companies are not going to Trump up fabricated stories to get rid of someone.

Would the new employee be making signicant less money per hour then you? How much less?

Did you call your union rep for help?

Here is what I recommend immediately. After your shift, date and time in a journal at your home. Note with detail exactly what felt weird to you. Make good notes.

The problem with being so anxious in a retail environment is it will impact your performance to some extent. Your "auroa" will darker. I suggest you meditate each night to try and find peace, so your energy will feel better at work.

Don't make the fear of being fired the reason for being fired!

If HR or your boss calls you into a meeting write down the conversation in great detail.

If you are in the states google "legal aid" in your city and call them to see if they can give you free legal advise.

It sucks when you're stressed at work. But, if you have never stolen I would guess with near certainty that stuff won't be made up with out some perceived evidence on their end, IMO, unless you are potentially working in small mom and pop company, IMO. But, you're unionized.

Keep us posted.

Good luck, in case you don't type answers. My questions were mostly for you to think about stuff to help alleviate fear.

 

[SnowWhite]

With the exception of one job at a pub, I think I've been fired from every place I've every worked. I'm quite unorganised and often oversleep so it's usually understandable why employers yeet me out of their business

 

[whywere]

Hi! I am 64 years young and i have been fired about 5 or 6 times, can not remember for sure. I have severe depression, border line personality disorder and panic attacks. I have always tried to do %100 my best in a position, have NEVER stoled, drank did drugs..etc..on the job. Now with that said %100 of my times that I got fired was becasue of office politics. Most of the time i became friends with someone or more and kept in contac afterwards. That helped me alot. Sometimes they would also tell me that the person that either fired me or got me fired was him/herself let go. What comes around goes around!! Also those friends would help me network and find a new position. Now one also might want to keep in mind that a company, large or small, does NOT want bad press or a bad reputation, so doing anything like trying to frame a employee would be bad news for them. I cope with a firing by keeping faith that most humans are nice and caring. For those that are not it , at least in my cases, seem to find out the hard way that being a jerk does not pay. You sound like a very smart, caring person, who cares about others and you will do just GREAT! As you go through life and the more experience that you pick up, you might find that you will always be in demand , as far as employers go, and with some savings built up to help between positions, you will be on game and at the top! I care for you and I know you will do GREAT things in life!!!! Love and peace to you my great sanctioned suicide global family member!

 

[Chupacabra 44]

Hi! I am 64 years young and i have been fired about 5 or 6 times, can not remember for sure. I have severe depression, border line personality disorder and panic attacks. I have always tried to do %100 my best in a position, have NEVER stoled, drank did drugs..etc..on the job. Now with that said %100 of my times that I got fired was becasue of office politics. Most of the time i became friends with someone or more and kept in contac afterwards. That helped me alot. Sometimes they would also tell me that the person that either fired me or got me fired was him/herself let go. What comes around goes around!! Also those friends would help me network and find a new position. Now one also might want to keep in mind that a company, large or small, does NOT want bad press or a bad reputation, so doing anything like trying to frame a employee would be bad news for them. I cope with a firing by keeping faith that most humans are nice and caring. For those that are not it , at least in my cases, seem to find out the hard way that being a jerk does not pay. You sound like a very smart, caring person, who cares about others and you will do just GREAT! As you go through life and the more experience that you pick up, you might find that you will always be in demand , as far as employers go, and with some savings built up to help between positions, you will be on game and at the top! I care for you and I know you will do GREAT things in life!!!! Love and peace to you my great sanctioned suicide global family member!

Office politics are the worst part of working, IMO. I always struggled to keep my head above water with this aspect. Never good at doing it for long and always "ended up drowning" in the end.

Thanks for your candid reply.

 

[Mr2005]

Yes I was fired by my own auntie for throwing up in a bin

 

[everydayiloveyou]

I've worked in some HR capacities before, but I'm in no way a proper HR professional, by any means.

I'm going to rapid fire type while wearing my quasi attorney hat.....I will rapid fire questions as these pop into my mind. I can assist you to hopefully alleviate some fears perhaps, if you want to answer the think about the following (don't mistake my tone - I'm on your side and am trying to help).

Have you been documented by your company?

Has your boss or others sat down to review your behavior recently? If so, who attended (job titles)? Did they take notes?

Is an employee potentially alleging theft on your part? What is their position within the company?

Does your store have cameras? How many and where are these aimed?

Why exactly do you suspect this is happening to you - just cause they are acting weird to you and nothing else? Have your friends at work noticed too? What did they say?

Could your boss be acting weird because he feels stressed himself/herself and is afraid they might lose their job?

How do you know these people being trained are being trained for your job? Could they be additional staff? If you have multiple locations maybe they are being trained for a different store?

Do you have an employee handbook? What does it say about employee theft? Most companies would fire anyone immediately suspected of theft, if their ducks are all in a row ( meaning if they have credible evidence from information from another employee or if they have video footage), then typically they confront you immediately, IMO. Any potential theif in a retail environment is a huge threat, because of one's ability to steal merchandise fairly easily.

You can just read my questions as most are kind of Rhetorical and I'm just trying to illustrate the process; or you can answer some or all for me and I will keep suggesting stuff.

Have you ever received a written warning? How many, how long ago and what did these say - in general?

Does your company have a reputation of treating it's employees poorly?

Most reputable companies are not going to Trump up fabricated stories to get rid of someone.

Would the new employee be making signicant less money per hour then you? How much less?

Did you call your union rep for help?

Here is what I recommend immediately. After your shift, date and time in a journal at your home. Note with detail exactly what felt weird to you. Make good notes.

The problem with being so anxious in a retail environment is it will impact your performance to some extent. Your "auroa" will darker. I suggest you meditate each night to try and find peace, so your energy will feel better at work.

Don't make the fear of being fired the reason for being fired!

If HR or your boss calls you into a meeting write down the conversation in great detail.

If you are in the states google "legal aid" in your city and call them to see if they can give you free legal advise.

It sucks when you're stressed at work. But, if you have never stolen I would guess with near certainty that stuff won't be made up with out some perceived evidence on their end, IMO, unless you are potentially working in small mom and pop company, IMO. But, you're unionized.

Keep us posted.

Good luck, in case you don't type answers. My questions were mostly for you to think about stuff to help alleviate fear.

The reason this all started was because I was training one of the cashiers for my position at the service desk. She had been put there randomly and was telling another coworker (a manager whos in charge of me but cant fire me or anything, all of us make 25 cents above min wage) how weird that was. She asked him why she was being trained, and he said, "it's good to have people trained for the service desk. I know the real reason why theyre training you, but it's none of my business" and he glanced at me. She asked him to text her about it later, and he left. Later another one of the managers came over and asked me how I've been opening a certain door, because I had broken the key to it a couple months ago. A careless mistake I know, but when I broke it, I told the manager (none-of-my-business guy) and another service desk coworker. The service desk coworker said it wasnt a big deal in the end, because we had a backup key. Me and that service desk coworker have used the backup key to access that door for a while now, but I guess the other service desk/manager people were unaware of this until recently? I was never talked to formally about this though. I had written a note and taped the key to it when I broke it just in case it'd be an issue. In fact, the manager who asked me about the key was telling the girl I was training how it was funny that I did all that.

The other day I did get a paper to sign because I accidentally typed in a money order as a lottery sale. When we make mistakes like this, or forget to save receipts, we always sign a copy of the mistake, but I got really nervous that maybe theyre gathering evidence against me. This was a typing error, the codes are a digit apart, but I know I shouldn't be making mistakes like that. But what made me especially nervous about stealing was that we recently had someone get busted for faking bar codes or something for years. In another store, a service desk worker was busted for stealing goods that we keep locked behind every service desk. I don't steal things, I feel confident proving that since we have cameras everywhere. But I was really afraid that my careless errors, like mistyping codes, would be interpreted as malicious.

I don't have any friends at work. I don't talk to anyone unless I really need help, or to ask for something to do. Or if Im helping customers of course! I rarely am late, call out only for super emergencies, and have no-call/no-showed only three times in 3 years, and still those were because I slept in. I ended up rushing to work each time. I got written up twice in my entire time of working here. Once for misstyping a coupon, and again for accidentally doing a price match (I misread a training sheet about it and thought it could apply to any item). These happened more than 1 year ago, each about 6 months apart. So I don't think I'm a huge problem employee. But, no one would stand up for me if something happened, I don't have anyone besides my parents, who are broke and have no connections in this country. So for some reason, I figured that these people who must be really sick of dealing with me after so many years must want to get rid of me in this kinda way, because they know they have the upper hand.

I guess its more reasonable that they will finally remove me because of my shyness, which is fair and reasonable I guess. But that would suck too of course, and even that possibility gets me super stressed. But thanks to your post, I can see how I was being unreasonably paranoid at some points. My parents have told me before that if I was gonna be fired for my issues then it would've happened by now, but with the union, people pretty much only get fired if they steal. Idk the specifics though haha, our employee handbook says nothing about this sorta thing.

Thanks so much for the clarifications, I can rest much easier now! And if anything does happen, at least I can prepare myself. Seriously thank you!

 

[Deleted member 14573]

Yes, my first job at a start-up company. I was 18 and I joined when it was very small. I took on a few different responsibilities, and learned a lot of things on the job.

As the company expanded they hired experienced professionals who could do what I was doing but better. So I wasn't needed at that point.

They let me go and I went home crying lmao. But my boss did say he looked forward to working with me again one day, so I'm assuming I could apply for a job there again with a good chance.

It was great experience, and it was nice to see the company grow from a small startup to a fairly big company.

But I already have part time work that I enjoy that fits well with my studies. Depression and my suicidal ideation has gotten in the way a few times but I still have the job, though I thought I'd lose it.

I get really anxious when I have to deal with the admin side and emails.

 

[Chupacabra 44]

The reason this all started was because I was training one of the cashiers for my position at the service desk. She had been put there randomly and was telling another coworker (a manager whos in charge of me but cant fire me or anything, all of us make 25 cents above min wage) how weird that was. She asked him why she was being trained, and he said, "it's good to have people trained for the service desk. I know the real reason why theyre training you, but it's none of my business" and he glanced at me. She asked him to text her about it later, and he left. Later another one of the managers came over and asked me how I've been opening a certain door, because I had broken the key to it a couple months ago. A careless mistake I know, but when I broke it, I told the manager (none-of-my-business guy) and another service desk coworker. The service desk coworker said it wasnt a big deal in the end, because we had a backup key. Me and that service desk coworker have used the backup key to access that door for a while now, but I guess the other service desk/manager people were unaware of this until recently? I was never talked to formally about this though. I had written a note and taped the key to it when I broke it just in case it'd be an issue. In fact, the manager who asked me about the key was telling the girl I was training how it was funny that I did all that.

The other day I did get a paper to sign because I accidentally typed in a money order as a lottery sale. When we make mistakes like this, or forget to save receipts, we always sign a copy of the mistake, but I got really nervous that maybe theyre gathering evidence against me. This was a typing error, the codes are a digit apart, but I know I shouldn't be making mistakes like that. But what made me especially nervous about stealing was that we recently had someone get busted for faking bar codes or something for years. In another store, a service desk worker was busted for stealing goods that we keep locked behind every service desk. I don't steal things, I feel confident proving that since we have cameras everywhere. But I was really afraid that my careless errors, like mistyping codes, would be interpreted as malicious.

I don't have any friends at work. I don't talk to anyone unless I really need help, or to ask for something to do. Or if Im helping customers of course! I rarely am late, call out only for super emergencies, and have no-call/no-showed only three times in 3 years, and still those were because I slept in. I ended up rushing to work each time. I got written up twice in my entire time of working here. Once for misstyping a coupon, and again for accidentally doing a price match (I misread a training sheet about it and thought it could apply to any item). These happened more than 1 year ago, each about 6 months apart. So I don't think I'm a huge problem employee. But, no one would stand up for me if something happened, I don't have anyone besides my parents, who are broke and have no connections in this country. So for some reason, I figured that these people who must be really sick of dealing with me after so many years must want to get rid of me in this kinda way, because they know they have the upper hand.

I guess its more reasonable that they will finally remove me because of my shyness, which is fair and reasonable I guess. But that would suck too of course, and even that possibility gets me super stressed. But thanks to your post, I can see how I was being unreasonably paranoid at some points. My parents have told me before that if I was gonna be fired for my issues then it would've happened by now, but with the union, people pretty much only get fired if they steal. Idk the specifics though haha, our employee handbook says nothing about this sorta thing.

Thanks so much for the clarifications, I can rest much easier now! And if anything does happen, at least I can prepare myself. Seriously thank you!

Thanks for the detailed response it helps on my end.

My reaction is this does not sound like a very enjoyable work environment. The people there sound overly anal retentive about a stupid key. SMH

I could tell that you're very conscientious and that is an extremely valuable asset to possess as an employee.

I think it's wise that you have counsel from your parents. There are certain things in life that one can't buy and that includes wisdom that comes from experience.

Since you know your parents have your best interest at heart, I would trust their judgment. Plus, they know your personality and will adjust their recommendations based on how well they know you and how well you tend to interpret your surroundings. They have observed these behaviors in you since the day you were born.

However, with that said you have to trust your instincts in part as well.

What I recommend doing is asking your parents if they recommend for you to send out some more resumes and some more applications just in case something happens with your current job. That way no matter what you'll feel empowered if you have other companies offering you employment positions. When this happens you're negotiating from a position of strength vs a position of weakness so you have much less to lose and much less fear with your current employer.

Someone recently listed the movie Office Space as one of their top four movies of all time. This movie somewhat indirectly showcases working as an employee from a position of power. Recommend you watch it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Yes, my first job at a start-up company. I was 18 and I joined when it was very small. I took on a few different responsibilities, and learned a lot of things on the job.

As the company expanded they hired experienced professionals who could do what I was doing but better. So I wasn't needed at that point.

They let me go and I went home crying lmao. But my boss did say he looked forward to working with me again one day, so I'm assuming I could apply for a job there again with a good chance.

It was great experience, and it was nice to see the company grow from a small startup to a fairly big company.

But I already have part time work that I enjoy that fits well with my studies. Depression and my suicidal ideation has gotten in the way a few times but I still have the job, though I thought I'd lose it.

I get really anxious when I have to deal with the admin side and emails.

Helping to grow a startup business into a big company is an extremely valuable experience. This should make you more marketable in the future.

I hear you with the emails. Being bombarded non-stop with emails completely ruined my attention span, while I was functioning as a controller within one company in my past employment. The reporting hierarchy was so messed up in this company that I reported to each of the three owners. While one owner was emailing me to jump, another owner was emailing me to sit down, while the last owner was emailing me telling me to roll over and play dead. Lol

Stuff like that just eats me alive.

 

[BRBRB]

My mental health due to burnout and a nervous breakdown & manic episodes...& my so called "bestfriend" is the reason I got fired. it's pushed me to my breaking point. I helped Her get this job & she ruined mine. 4 years of my life wasted. I really want to kill her but I've decided to do it to myself

 

[Mynameisnotimportant]

I got fired for missing work because I was taking my sister to the hospital after being sexually assaulted. I didn't want to talk about the reason I missed work so they assumed I just fucked off

 

[whywere]

I am 64 years young and YES, I have been canned from various positions. Everything from the bosses son in law did not get to interview me before I got hired, so he fired me, to having to give up what i was working on, in a sales mode, to another employee who the owner of the company liked alot and came in the next day and was fired because I did not have enough stuff to work, and so it goes. Always remember that some people are greedy and egotistical and down right jerks.

 

[kovkay]

I got fired after getting hospitalized. I think they weren't happy with my performance to begin with, so the hospitalization was kind of the last straw.

Another job made me miserable. One time, we were doing inventory for a store in their backroom which was really hot and cramped. The supervisor let all the people go, but for some reason chose me and this other woman to stay behind. It got progressively more unbearable as the hours went on and I just stopped caring about accuracy.

After I was finished, the supervisor had to re-do my sections. The HR guy sent me an e-mail letting me know. I then didn't show up to work for the next couple of shifts. The HR guy sent me another e-mail saying it's ok I made that mistake and I could return to work, but I said fuck it and didn't go back. It was a really shitty job with a high turnover rate.

 

[BluesRunTheGame]

Yeah cos of drinking.

 

[stygal]

Yes, while in uni I wanted to make some extra cash and started a job at a local gym behind the counter to give out drinks and locker keys to people.

Two days later I got fired for "not smiling enough" "looking uninterested" and "sitting down" (literally nobody was around and I dared to sit down for a second but apparently you aren't allowed to sit in a gym).

 

[GoneGirl]

My mental health due to burnout and a nervous breakdown & manic episodes...& my so called "bestfriend" is the reason I got fired. it's pushed me to my breaking point. I helped Her get this job & she ruined mine. 4 years of my life wasted. I really want to kill her but I've decided to do it to myself

Similar story here.. I was in a hypomanic state when I started a new job. About a month or two in I rescued a puppy (genuinely) & the people I rescued the puppy from called my work to report me for theft. I got fired.. but actually because I was flitting between hypomania & full blown mania I didn't care. I still don't care if I'm honest. If I was put in that position again I would still rescue the puppy.

Most workplaces are toxic & underhanded.. so I've decided I'd rather be self-employed than work for anyone ever again.

 

[Tired_Tired]

You are young. If you don't have any responsibility for your family and you have your own place, do not need to pay rent. You should not stay at a place that you don't feel happy. Why worry been laid off? As long as they don't frame you and you got criminal record. Just stayed as long as you can or just quit the job. Life is so predictable. Who else knew COVID-19 devastating the world economy?

 

[BeansOfRequirement]

Couldn't do simple tasks since all of my energy went to holding back mental illness so I got fired once.

 

[megafire]

yes, like a week ago, for "insubordination", because I said I wouldn't go home yet because my ride wasn't here, so I could finish up the close.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Does laid off count as getting fired? I got laid off from my student assistant front desk job because I'm already graduated anyway and they don't need as much staff when we're still quarantining.

 

[ohhgeeitsme]

Yeah, for calling in too much when I was too depressed to get out of bed or some kind of mental health issue. If it's because of anxiety, I can't even bring myself to call in so I've had my fair share of no call, no shows.. which also exacerbates the anxiety. I got lucky at my second to last job which I managed to keep for five years because of the way their attendance policy worked. You didn't have to call in, and didn't get in trouble for coming in late or leaving early as long as you had the time to cover it either with unpaid time, paid time, or vacation. Also, management really liked me so I got away with more than most and they sometimes secretly fixed my time, but I did work really hard and was an excellent worker when I was there.. usually..

Don't beat yourself up over it. Like you said, you're still really young and it's only retail so even if you do get fired, you'll be okay. I know it's worse when you're the one dealing with it though. Best of luck to you!

 

[kkatt]

I stole from pretty much every workplace I've ever been to.Never got caught but eventually,I found a stash that someone else had stolen and hidden,presumably to take out at some point. I was looking to see if it had moved and the management had put a camera there and they thought it was me. So I left before they could sack me.
Should have happened much earlier really.

 

[Sherri]

Yes my first job, reason took many cigarette breaks.

 

[Deleted member 22693]

Never been fired but have walked out on plenty with no regrets, there are so many jobs these days that are more drama than thier worth, I have worked for plenty of managers who look down on thier staff and arent even subtle in thier approach, there is no need for that, but employers have majority of the power nowadays and know they can easily replace us and are usually quick to tell you so too, unless it is a very specialized field, most of us are replaceable, the employee holds no trump cards, quite depressing

 

[Symbiote]

First job I ever had, I got fired after 3 weeks due to a scheduling error. I worked in an arcade at the mall, fixing machines or giving out toys to little kids. But anyways, my boss had cut my hours that afternoon and supposedly wasn't scheduled to come in till the evening. Well I wasn't aware that my coworker changed my hours and then rattled me to the boss that I got fired. Fuck that dude, hope he's flipping burgers at Checkers or some shit and fuck that hoe too for believing him!