By Allen Teal

Takeaways

• Lying about important personal facts will get you fired.
• Stealing is a reason that many people are let go.
• Poor attendance is one of the leading causes of employee termination.

Very few people get fired for strange and unusual reasons. Almost everyone who gets fired does so for one or more of these same few causes. Getting fired is not the same as losing your job due to outsourcing or downsizing. Getting fired is the result of something specific happening that could have been avoided in most cases. In theory, getting fired is always the outcome of an employees failure to live up to the standards set by the employer.People get fired for not coming to work.Missing work is one of them common reasons for people to lose their job. Excessive absenteeism or tardiness will always cost you your job. The amount that you are allowed to miss can range from none to a week or more per year. However, many people miss 10 or more days per year without even realizing that they have bad attendance. If you miss one day per month or more, it will eventually get you fired from most companies. If you want to keep your job, you need to miss less than 5 days per year unless it is an unavoidable extreme emergency. Set the bar high for what you will allow to keep you from going to work.Doing poor work will cost you a job.You are being paid money to produce a service or product. Your employer has a right to expect you to do what you are paid to do. If you cannot or will not do it, you will almost always be asked to move on. You may have your job description changed. If you do not quit, your employer has the right to expect you to do the new job or jobs. You will be expected to do them well. If not, find a new job because this one is going away.Failure to get along with supervisors and coworkers will get you fired.Besides being at work and doing a good job, employers want employees to contribute to the overall morale of the workplace. Employees who like to antagonize coworkers and constantly complain to the boss will rarely be tolerated for long. You may be fired for some other cause, but the reason will be that you simply do not fit into the mix at the workplace. You need to try to get along and be a positive force on your job to keep your job.Stealing will get you terminated.Some companies will fire you for taking an ink pen home. While most of them will overlook a few office supplies, stealing on the job is always considered a reason for termination. Even unemployment claims will be denied if theft is proved. Do not steal from your employer or coworkers.Abuse of company equipment will result in being fired.Companies have lots of expensive equipment to produce and deliver their service or product. They depend on this equipment to remain in service to produce revenue and profit. Large repair bills, machine down time, and equipment replacement cost can erode a company’s profits very quickly. Employees are expected to help keep the equipment in running condition or at least not cause it to fail because of a deliberate act. When companies begin to see an employee as a liability and not an asset, they will eliminate the cause of the cost by getting rid of the employee.Lying about your qualifications or job history can cost you employment.Honesty is an important quality in society. Companies depend on employees to be honest. When an employee is found to have lied about some significant personal fact, it will usually result in a firing. The same is true for employees who lie about coworkers or clients. An employee who lacks integrity is not considered a good thing for a company.Undermining the boss will get you fired.If your boss decides that you are doing things to try to hurt their career, you will be fired. Not only will that not be favorable for your boss, but any other supervisor or manager who hears of it will not consider you for future employment. The reason for this is that most employees who sabotage their own boss will usually not have the company’s best interest in mind either.