I think when applying this principle most of the time, it just makes vague statements more concerning. If you would usually hear "let's talk about issue 9 on Mo

I think when applying this principle most of the time, it just makes vague statements more concerning. If you would usually hear "let's talk about issue 9 on Monday", hearing "we need to talk" just makes it obvious that something bad is about to happen. On the other hand, I can see why the manager doesn't state "we will need to let you go, let's discuss on Monday!", but this is why these vague statements are so scary. That being said, there's a world of difference between "let's talk when you have 5 minutes" (= let's discuss something small which isn't worth detailing the context right now) and "come to my office on Monday, we need to talk" (= this is important, but I don't want to give you context right now).