Community Chat

[puttypiesmom]

@Annabellethecat66  I was wondering.....when a department within the government needs to downsize due to better technology that ends up eliminating the need for certain job classifications, did any govt employee that you know of actually get laid off?  In the private sector that happened all the time.  If I could do it over again I would seek employment with the government for it seems to offer job security and less stress to the employee's family, children, etc.  Yet on the other hand tax payers are footing the bill.  

[chrystaltree]

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

I'm curious as to how the OP found out this info. Isn't this stuff supposed to be confidential? Sounds like there's at least one blabbermouth where she works. That's a no no where I come from.

Cute question.  Yes, personnel matters are supposed to be confidential but they rarely are for more reasons than I can count.  If it's a performance issue then everyone who works with that person knows the person isn't meeting standards.  It's not a secret.   If the person abuses sick days or is late chronically tardy, then everyone that person works with knows that.  And those people grumble and complain to other people in different units, so the whole floor or the whole company knows that  "Mary messes up every account she touches, she can't get anything right".  Everyone knows when someone is being counselled because offices and conference rooms today all have glass doors or glass walls.  If Mary is in the managers office with door closed, it can only mean one thing.  And then there's Mary herself.  When people are under stress at work, they talk to their lunch buddies about it or to the girl in the next cubicle. And that girl talks to her friends on the shuttle bus and to her boyfriend who works two floors down in Accounting.   There are no secrets in any work environment.  

[DiAnne]

I was a manager.  Where I worked there was a 90 day probation that you could be fired for any reason (not fitting in, unable to perform job, etc).  After the probation it was verbal warning that was documented, written warning that was documented and signed by employee.  We were given yearly drug tests - you were fired if you failed or refused to take it.  

[haddon9]

It's not always a matter of poor job performance.  Many times it's due to health issues and age discrimination....illegal but try proving it.

[Peaches McPhee]

This approach is pretty common, from my experience.  Larger organizations have policies on how to address poor work performance, and will have a system the supervisor has to follow.  This includes verbal formal warnings, peformance improvement plans, written warnings, etc. etc.  The poor performer really is given every chance to improve. Some really just cannot do the work, other times they just don't care.

I am suprised you learned that your co-worker was fired.  That is usually kept hush-hush officially, even if the coworkers suspect it. 

Editted to add my own story about HR blabbermouths.  At one place I worked, the HR person (yes, just one person -- it was a small organization), blabbed to her work friends about another co-worker's performance and that she was on warnings.  The co-worker found out and raised (justifiable) you-know-what.  The HR person was then placed under warnings for breach of confidentiality.  (All just gossip, I don't know if this really happened.)

[puttypiesmom]

Many companies have peer review and based on the outcome an employee is either let go or kept on.  

[happycat]

I have not worked in quite a while. From what my hubby says about his job, it all seems to depend on the individual. What one may get fired for, another gets a letter in a file and another may have nothing happen.

[Lipstickdiva]

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@puttypiesmom wrote:

@Annabellethecat66  I was wondering.....when a department within the government needs to downsize due to better technology that ends up eliminating the need for certain job classifications, did any govt employee that you know of actually get laid off?  In the private sector that happened all the time.  If I could do it over again I would seek employment with the government for it seems to offer job security and less stress to the employee's family, children, etc.  Yet on the other hand tax payers are footing the bill.  

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@puttypiesmom, our city has had lay-offs of employees a number of times as has our county.  It's always for lack of funds. 

[puttypiesmom]

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@Lipstickdiva wrote:

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@puttypiesmom wrote:

@Annabellethecat66  I was wondering.....when a department within the government needs to downsize due to better technology that ends up eliminating the need for certain job classifications, did any govt employee that you know of actually get laid off?  In the private sector that happened all the time.  If I could do it over again I would seek employment with the government for it seems to offer job security and less stress to the employee's family, children, etc.  Yet on the other hand tax payers are footing the bill.  

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@puttypiesmom, our city has had lay-offs of employees a number of times as has our county.  It's always for lack of funds. 

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@Lipstickdiva  thank you for replying.  I wonder if it happens on the Federal level though.  

[Lipstickdiva]

I have worked at 2 places where someone was terminated for stealing.  In both instances, when the employee walked through the door, the bosses were waiting for them. They were told to clean out their desk and they were escorted off the property.