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26 signs you're about to be fired
Getting fired is generally a pretty awful, humiliating experience. Losing your job can damage your professional reputation, self-esteem, and life in general.
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How can you deal with the pain and shock that come with getting axed? The key thing is having a bit of heads up.
If you could get an advance notice about the bad news, you could potentially set a plan B in motion — or even beat your employers to the punch and quit in a dramatic fashion (if you're feeling theatrical and impractical).
No one likes to think about getting fired, but it's important to consider the possibility. There are definitely a few clear indicators that your job is at risk.
Here are some key signs that you're about to be sacked:
Trust your gut.
"If you feel you've done everything you can, but still have that 'I might get fired' feeling, you're probably right, and it's likely time to move on," Andy Bailey of business coaching service Petra Coach says. "You may be an 'A' player, but it might have to be somewhere else. Begin seeking out other positions that better reflect your personality and work ethic."
Ketti Salemme of TINYPulse, an employee survey product, says that it's important not to disregard your own instincts.
"Sometimes the sign can be nothing more than a gut feeling," Salemme says. "Whether it be a shift in the company culture, your job duties, or your relationship with colleagues, this can be indicative enough that you may soon be let go."
Leah Machado, a director at Paychex, Inc. — a payroll and HR outsourcing company — says that a number of different factors typically snowball into a firing.
Here's one obvious sign: Your boss tells you that you haven't been doing stellar work.
"Any sign that you're not meeting performance expectations — verbal, written, or otherwise — should be an indicator that you need to change your actions, behaviors, and results, as well as develop the competencies and skills to combat those identified shortcomings," Machado says.
Don't treat feedback like a suggestion. Take it seriously.
Employee success depends on effective communication. Enterprise software company BetterWorks CEO Kris Duggan notes that interpersonal relationships in the office also rely on effectively communicating successes and failures to your boss.
"For a manager, there's nothing worse than being asked to jump in on something in the eleventh hour when an employee has been saying 'I got this' for weeks," Duggan says. "Clue them in right away."
People used to listen up when you gave your perspective on the topic at hand. Now, you get the feeling that you're not being heard.
TopResume career expert Amanda Augustine says that not being included in important discussions is a red flag.
"Not being invited to one meeting isn't cause for concern," Augustine says. "However, if you're repeatedly left off email threads or meeting invites, you have cause for alarm. This might be a sign that you're being phased out."
If you feel like your job has become overwhelming all of a sudden, you might have a terrible manager — or the organization may be intentionally trying to shed you, according to Mike Kerr, an international business speaker and author of "The Humor Advantage."
"You're being set up to fail," Kerr says. "Sometimes this is due to lousy leadership, but occasionally it can be because a company wants to get rid of you, but they need solid evidence to do so, and setting you up for disaster is one way of getting the 'proof' you longer belong there."
Lynn Taylor, a workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job," notes that formal warnings are never good news.
"You may have received a verbal warning, a written warning, and maybe even a second written warning," says Taylor.
If you've received one, know that more bad news may be coming your way.
Some managers have a less warm and friendly style, but you should definitely be concerned if things have gotten tense all of a sudden.
"These days, your manager sees you filling that coffee cup and basically leaves the zone with only a brief nod and minimal eye contact. Feeling the ice every time you see your superior?" says Nora Heer, cofounder of Loopline Systems — a company that deals with HR solutions. "This could be a sign you're about to be let go. Even the most professional and socially capable people tend to avoid situations that are uncomfortable — and firing someone is never easy."
Recently, your license to spend has been revoked.
Robert Dilenschneider, author of "50 Plus!: Critical Career Decisions for the Rest of Your Life," notes that any reduction in spending authority is a bad sign.
"Increased scrutiny is a phenomenon that is rarely initiated by the accounting department," Dilenschneide says. "The boss believes that you have wasted time or inflated expenses. Even if you are 100% innocent, it doesn't matter. Find out if you are the only person being scrutinized."
This one's a pretty major warning sign. The fact is, your manager doesn't want a ton of loose ends to deal with after you're gone.
Heer says that a sudden reduction in workload is an especially dire sign if your requests for more work go unaswered.
"Asking for more work, but hearing crickets in response?" Heer says. "This might be a sign your exit is coming."
Meanwhlie, Bruce Tulgan, the founder of RainmakerThinking and author of "It's Okay to Manage Your Boss," told Business Insider that employees shouldn't panic if business is just slow.
When you lose staff, budgets, and access to certain outside services and/or office space — or any number of tools that would enhance your performance — it could be because your employer is trying to push you out.
It seems that you're working in extremes. Either your boss is watching your every step, or they're nowhere to be found.
"If he or she watches your every step and wants updates on your projects, it may be a sign of a lack of trust," Salemme says. "On the other end of the spectrum, if they are suddenly nowhere to be found and no longer seem to have time for one-on-one meetings or to go over your metrics, you also may be in trouble."
Taylor notes that either way, it makes for a highly uncomfortable work environment.
Do you feel less important? Have your subordinates been transferred to other managers? Have projects been reassigned to your colleagues? If so, you could be getting the boot sometime soon.
If you feel that your perks are vanishing, that might be a clue that your company is planning on ousting you.
"Your colleagues are all sent to a conference in Marrakesh, but you aren't invited. You are told to fly coach after years of flying business class. Suddenly, you lose your corner office and are relocated to the bullpen," says Dilenschneider. "Perks are an important part of the job, and if you sense yours are being eroded, you have every right to worry."
Even if you performed a miracle never before witnessed by a mortal being, it seems your boss wouldn't acknowledge it now.
"To do so would run contrary to the campaign underway to remove you from the company," explains Taylor.
If you've been asked to take a leave of absence, you probably have something to worry about.
"This is a major sign that things aren't well, even if it's under the guise of being what's 'best for you,'" says Kerr. "It's the equivalent of a dating couple 'taking a break for a while' — and we all know how that usually ends."
"Your colleagues are avoiding you. The chatter around the water cooler goes quiet when you walk by," Augustine says "Your coworkers stop inviting you to lunch."
Do your coworkers seem to scurry away anytime you get close? That may be a subtle hint that something's up (or maybe they just hate you).
Steve Hunt of SAP SuccessFactors, which provides cloud solutions for HR, says that a change in leadership is especially risky for one certain type of worker — executives.
"When CEOs and other high level executives are brought into an organization from the outside they are often hired to change things," Hunt says. "So if you are on an executive team and your boss was just replaced by someone new from outside the company, then you may want to be prepared to be let go."
Some bosses see mistakes as learning opportunities. However, not all managers are so forgiving — and not all errors are so forgivable.
"Depending on the context and how your leadership team treats failures and setbacks, especially in the realm of experimenting with innovative ideas, then you might be allowed to file a major mistake under the heading 'learning experience,'" Kerr says. "But for some, this will mean an early exit out the door."
Digital marketing firm YouthNoise's Ajay Paghda notes that if you're worried about getting fired, you should keep an eye out for potential replacements. If your supervisors start cross-training you with a subordinate, that might be a bad sign.
"This might be a sign that management is considering letting you go. They want the new employee to learn as much from you before they show you the door," Paghdal says.
So, you've tried to be proactive and ask for feedback. That's a great first step.
Duggan notes that managers aren't mind readers.
"Sometimes managers lack insight into what employees are working on, so it's not that they don't want to provide feedback, it's that they don't know when to jump in," Duggan says.
Hunt agrees with the idea that critical feedback is always better than no feedback.
"If they have decided that you are no longer going to be around in the near future, then there is no reason for them to put effort into giving you feedback or guidance," Hunt says.
When a company is preparing to let someone go, they sometimes limit or revoke the employee's access to certain accounts a bit prematurely.
Beware if your email password no longer works or you've been locked out of your company's intranet, says Taylor.
Not being asked for input means your boss no longer values or cares about what you have to say, Kerr says.
"Freezing you out of the loop is often the first sign of a slow slide out the door."
After a merger, it's not uncommon for a company to make layoffs.
Salemme adds that employees should especially watch their backs during mergers. As redundant employees are rooted out, you might find yourself fired through no fault of your own.
"Sometimes it doesn't come down to anything more than profitability and the acquiring company's trust in its people," Salemme told Business Insider.
If you're company is tanking, your excellent performance won't save you.
"Look, sometimes being letting go of is no fault of your own, but just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Heer says. "Have you noticed that your company is lately reeling in on the costs? Your department budget has reduced, or those intermittent team events have totally ceased? These are all sure signs that your company is facing budget issues."
Maybe you like your job well enough, but you don't really fit in with anyone.
Bailey says that not fitting in with company culture can actually be quite dire for your prospects within the organization.
“Maybe you're an introvert at a company of extroverts," Bailey says. "Perhaps you're accustomed to working with little guidance and are being micromanaged. Every company has a culture and a way they work together. If you're not fitting into that culture and feel it could put you on the chopping block, it's time to address the problem before it boils over."
You recognize the warning signs, but you keep brushing them off. It's difficult to confront the possibility that you may be fired, but doing nothing is a big tactical error.
"In my experience, most times employees know they're about to be terminated for performance reasons," Machado says. "It's just a matter of whether or not they choose to acknowledge that fact and take immediate action to improve their performance and standing as a valuable employee to the organization."
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