5 ms·

What about quitting? I always joke about quitting

ashtonkem 5y ago
Depends on company morale. I wouldn’t make that joke if people are on edge and worried that you might quit.
lincolnq 5y ago
If one of my reports were joking about quitting, I would at least consider whether they were in a ha-ha-only-serious mode, and probably bring it up at our next 1:1. I don't think there's as much risk of hurting someone personally if you joke about quitting, but i do think it's an easy way to attract potentially unwanted attention/conversations with your manager!
roflc0ptic 5y ago
not a lot of upside to jokes like that. it's not wildly funny, and it might freak someone out.
- mk89 5y ago
  How is it funny that your manager tells you as a joke that he is gonna fire you? The truth it: neither of them is a joke. It's just pure BS that comes either out of sheer and innocent incompetence or stupidity.
  - roflc0ptic 5y ago
    I didn't say it was funny. I also think joking about firing people 1. isn't funny, and 2. risks freaking people out. A good rule of thumb is "don't make gambles where the best-case scenario is that nothing bad happens."
    - mk89 5y ago
      I think I misread your comment :) I think that another way to prevent it is by asking yourself if the other person will find it funny. That's a general advice not just specific to firing/leaving a company.
checkyoursudo 5y ago
I know a person who started joking about leaving if they gave him a pile of money and showed him the door. He was super valuable to the company and very senior. New CEO and VPs come in and start demanding cuts. A couple of months later, guess who was given a pile of money and shown the door?
- mgkimsal 5y ago
  Always strange that 'cuts' often involve spending more money. I guess the size of the pile is relevant, and I get that it's offset against potential future cost/commitment. Person X at $100k is given ... $40k to quit now, because it will save company perhaps $260k in the next 2 years. But.. that $40k is coming from somewhere now, no? Maybe some is coming from other folks cut immediately without the big pile of cash?
  - JohnFen 5y ago
    This might be related to a business truth that I learned the hard way... It's generally cheaper to make a single larger payout than to engage in recurring smaller payouts.
  - mywittyname 5y ago
    Cheaper in the long-run is an important consideration. Most large companies set aside money for layoffs in their financial filings under one-time expenses. They will usually explain what impact the layoffs will be expected to have on profitability.
  - codingdave 5y ago
    That can be to make a company look good on paper when seeking some kind of investment round. "Sure, we have some big capital expenses this year, but our operating budget for the future is X% smaller" I frequently see short-term decisions to get funding triumph over long-term planning when private investors are involved. And it might even be the right choice - grow and get all the funds, then clean up tech debt in future years. It can be frustrating, but is a valid business play.
  - 5y ago
JohnFen 5y ago
In my opinion, joking about quitting is about as good of an idea as joking about firing someone. I wouldn't even advise talking about quitting in any way unless you've already made the decision to quit (and even then, it's not a fantastic idea).
pc86 5y ago
The reason you don't joke about firing someone is because of the power imbalance. The employee will usually be in a bad spot if they actually are fired, and the company will be fine (usually better off, even). Furthermore, there's no real recourse on the employee side. If they are offended by the joke they can't really complain, because if the boss is so tone deaf as to joke about firing, they're unlikely to take criticism like that well. No such power imbalance exists with an employee joking about quitting, but I also struggle to think of any situation in which it's actually a funny joke to make.
- jan_Inkepa 5y ago
  >The employee will usually be in a bad spot if they actually are fired, and the company will be fine (usually better off, even). Boss, to employee: "I'd just like you to know that I'd never joke about firing you. I recognise that it would be needlessly cruel because, although you're reliant on the company to earn a living, the company would actually be better off without you." D:
  - pc86 5y ago
    If the company is firing someone it's [probably] because they're in a better position without them. I probably could have phrased it better but it's somewhat tautological so I didn't think it would be that offensive of a statement :)

Depends on company morale. I wouldn’t make that joke if people are on edge and worried that you might quit.

If one of my reports were joking about quitting, I would at least consider whether they were in a ha-ha-only-serious mode, and probably bring it up at our next 1:1. I don't think there's as much risk of hurting someone personally if you joke about quitting, but i do think it's an easy way to attract potentially unwanted attention/conversations with your manager!

roflc0ptic 5y ago

not a lot of upside to jokes like that. it's not wildly funny, and it might freak someone out.

mk89 5y ago
How is it funny that your manager tells you as a joke that he is gonna fire you? The truth it: neither of them is a joke. It's just pure BS that comes either out of sheer and innocent incompetence or stupidity.
- roflc0ptic 5y ago
  I didn't say it was funny. I also think joking about firing people 1. isn't funny, and 2. risks freaking people out. A good rule of thumb is "don't make gambles where the best-case scenario is that nothing bad happens."
  - mk89 5y ago
    I think I misread your comment :) I think that another way to prevent it is by asking yourself if the other person will find it funny. That's a general advice not just specific to firing/leaving a company.

checkyoursudo 5y ago

I know a person who started joking about leaving if they gave him a pile of money and showed him the door. He was super valuable to the company and very senior. New CEO and VPs come in and start demanding cuts. A couple of months later, guess who was given a pile of money and shown the door?

mgkimsal 5y ago
Always strange that 'cuts' often involve spending more money. I guess the size of the pile is relevant, and I get that it's offset against potential future cost/commitment. Person X at $100k is given ... $40k to quit now, because it will save company perhaps $260k in the next 2 years. But.. that $40k is coming from somewhere now, no? Maybe some is coming from other folks cut immediately without the big pile of cash?
- JohnFen 5y ago
  This might be related to a business truth that I learned the hard way... It's generally cheaper to make a single larger payout than to engage in recurring smaller payouts.
- mywittyname 5y ago
  Cheaper in the long-run is an important consideration. Most large companies set aside money for layoffs in their financial filings under one-time expenses. They will usually explain what impact the layoffs will be expected to have on profitability.
- codingdave 5y ago
  That can be to make a company look good on paper when seeking some kind of investment round. "Sure, we have some big capital expenses this year, but our operating budget for the future is X% smaller" I frequently see short-term decisions to get funding triumph over long-term planning when private investors are involved. And it might even be the right choice - grow and get all the funds, then clean up tech debt in future years. It can be frustrating, but is a valid business play.
- 5y ago

JohnFen 5y ago

In my opinion, joking about quitting is about as good of an idea as joking about firing someone. I wouldn't even advise talking about quitting in any way unless you've already made the decision to quit (and even then, it's not a fantastic idea).

pc86 5y ago

The reason you don't joke about firing someone is because of the power imbalance. The employee will usually be in a bad spot if they actually are fired, and the company will be fine (usually better off, even). Furthermore, there's no real recourse on the employee side. If they are offended by the joke they can't really complain, because if the boss is so tone deaf as to joke about firing, they're unlikely to take criticism like that well. No such power imbalance exists with an employee joking about quitting, but I also struggle to think of any situation in which it's actually a funny joke to make.

jan_Inkepa 5y ago
>The employee will usually be in a bad spot if they actually are fired, and the company will be fine (usually better off, even). Boss, to employee: "I'd just like you to know that I'd never joke about firing you. I recognise that it would be needlessly cruel because, although you're reliant on the company to earn a living, the company would actually be better off without you." D:
- pc86 5y ago
  If the company is firing someone it's [probably] because they're in a better position without them. I probably could have phrased it better but it's somewhat tautological so I didn't think it would be that offensive of a statement :)