can you fire someone for being racist? by Alison Green on February 26, 2025 A reader writes: Recently, my company hired someone who was extremely racist. He worked with me on his first day, where he dropped an awful racial slur six times. I was shocked so did a little social media sleuthing and found his horrifying Twitter page full of xenophobic and racist tweets and posts. We fired […] Read the full article →
should we offer severance to a belligerent, hostile employee? by Alison Green on January 15, 2025 A reader writes: I recently had to fire a manager for a belligerent, profanity-laden outburst during a board meeting. He has not been doing his job and has been suspected to be drinking or have been drunk while working (although no proof). To further complicate things, his manager has not done his job by documenting […] Read the full article →
is it better to quit without another job or be fired? by Alison Green on November 14, 2024 A reader writes: Which would make it harder to get another job — quitting without another job or getting fired? If you have a job where requirements have changed radically and unreasonably, where every day is a nightmare, and people with long track records of good work are being threatened with being fired, I know […] Read the full article →
was it reasonable to fire a new hire who was too overwhelmed to work on day 3? by Alison Green on November 7, 2024 A reader writes: The clinic I work for filled a medical receptionist position. The new hire had worked as a receptionist for other offices for over 18 years. Sure, they had to learn the ropes of a new EHR (electronic health record) program, but they should already know enough to not be so overwhelmed that […] Read the full article →
can I ask why my coworker was fired? by Alison Green on October 29, 2024 A reader writes: I have always thought of my job as a place where people didn’t get fired unless they were obviously and consistently bad at their jobs. I have been here for six years and I know that when we get the “goodbye so-and-so” emails from HR about people unexpectedly leaving, that probably means […] Read the full article →
I got fired for attending a conference that I wasn’t invited to by Alison Green on September 25, 2024 I’m off today, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2017. A reader writes: I started working at my job eight months ago, not long after I completed college (thanks in part to your write-ups about cover letters, resumes, interview questions and job searching). A few months ago in […] Read the full article →
my boss was suddenly fired and my employees are freaking out by Alison Green on September 18, 2024 A reader writes: I work at a small company and my team is even smaller: it’s just me, two people who report to me, my boss (until yesterday), and the much more senior person who leads the team. My boss has always been incredibly competent, done great work (by my own account and by my […] Read the full article →
my husband’s boss was fired after he told the truth about her in an exit interview by Alison Green on September 9, 2024 A reader writes: I’m writing on behalf of my husband, Bob, who recently left his job after two years. During his exit interview, he explained exactly why he was leaving. The reasons included his supervisor’s disorganized management style, expecting him to answer texts and phone calls at all hours, expecting him to log on to […] Read the full article →
I’m supposed to fire my husband’s ex-wife by Alison Green on May 21, 2024 A reader writes: I have recently accepted a job I am excited about. I have been working a long time to get to this level of position. I am taking a week off before starting my new position. While I was interviewing for the new position, they mentioned that one of my potential direct reports, […] Read the full article →
how to get severance pay when you’re fired or laid off by Alison Green on January 23, 2024 If you’re fired or laid off, can you expect or negotiate severance pay? What about if you’re resigning? You probably know that severance pay is an option in some situations, but you might not know when gets it, when, why, or how to take full advantage of your options. At New York Magazine today, I’ve […] Read the full article →