4 ms·
I agree completely. Not only does theft make their work untrustworthy, their actions have a huge impact on the morale of their coworkers. I have fired an empl
by sverige 9y ago
I agree completely. Not only does theft make their work untrustworthy, their actions have a huge impact on the morale of their coworkers.
I have fired an employee for stealing lunches (with plenty of evidence, of course). I would have fired the person in this story immediately if it were within my power.
Similarly, I have also fired people for other obvious character failures, such lying about bereavement leave to take time off. (It happened so often at one job that I ceased to be amazed when I caught it.) For example, one guy brought me an obituary for his dad that was obviously altered (fonts on dates didn't match, etc.). Google immediately informed me that his dad had died three years earlier. That was a fun conversation.
For those who think such behavior should be considered a mere mistake and that firing is too extreme, please tell me how such poor character can be corrected by actions taken by management at their workplace. If the job requires good character, then the only correct response to such behavior is to separate them from the company, as happened in this case.
- mathieuh 9y agoI don't know if I would sack them right off the bat, but I would definitely keep a very close eye on them. The fact that they are adults in the workplace who steal from colleagues definitely points to their character simply being incompatible with societal norms, so who knows what other demoralising actions they are taking part in? Six-year-old primary school children who haven't been disciplined yet steal lunches. Not supposedly functional members of society.
- sverige 9y agoWhen I was younger, sometimes I would hesitate to fire people even though they had crossed a bright line into fireable territory. With experience, it became very clear that it was never a good idea, so I stopped hesitating. That sort of thing gets old, though, so I don't manage anyone now. Life is much less stressful that way.
- blackbagboys 9y agoCan't say I blame the bereavement guy. Nearly every firm in the United States has an unacceptably stingy PTO policy.
- sverige 9y agoIn this instance (and most of the similar instances), if he needed the day off, he would have gotten it with fairly minimal notice. Without pay if he had used up his available PTO, yes, but so was the bereavement. I agree, most companies don't offer enough PTO.