In 2012, good employees are fired every day. I'm not talking about getting fired for cause, like incompetence or stealing or something untoward like that, I'm talking about good, reliable employees being let go for a variety of reasons ranging from:
- corporate restructuring
- the fact they can replace you for half the price
- outsourcing
- downsizing
- political bullshit
There was a time when getting fired from your job was akin to wearing a scarlet letter. There was shame, so you hid the fact you were fired from family and friends. But that day is long gone. Today, it's okay to be fired. In fact, it's par for the course.
I've personally known of several people who were shown the door only to receive the email and spin that they left for other opportunities. This is sometimes an option the employer will present to the person being fired. They'll offer to soften the blow by spinning it as "moving on" as opposed to "getting canned".
Corporations like spinning a departure as a good employee moving on after many years to another opportunity because it doesn't alarm the workforce that good people are getting mowed down. It doesn't incite panic from pencil pushers and, if the person is in the public eye, doesn't upset customers.
My question to you all is this: Is there still shame in getting fired?
