In the era of “the great resignation,” many employees are quitting. Many small business owners see their quitting as being disloyal and make the dumb mistake of firing employees on the spot, thinking they are somehow punishing them. Noting could be further from the truth. The following article was written by Tuck Aikin several decades ago, but it was true then as it is today. I hope you enjoy it.
A wry bit of humor that used to circulate among the citizens of the former Soviet Union was “They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work.”. “They,” of course, was the government for whom everyone worked since there was no private legal enterprise at all. This comment, however, points out that even under a communist/socialist system, a working agreement existed between the employer (government) and the employee (citizen) that is not fundamentally different from the employment “contract” that exists in a market-driven economy such as ours. In its narrowest definition, our job contract is an agreement that we will work under reasonable conditions at the direction of our employer, and in return, our employer agrees to pay us an agreed-upon salary or wage.
Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? Under a socialist system, it undoubtedly was, but look at what it produced: an incredibly low standard of living – long lines, little on government store shelves, special bureaucrat privileges, hypocrisy, and corruption. Since western market-driven economies don’t produce this kind of malady, we as employers apparently view our relationship with our employees (or “associates” to be politically correct) as much more than a simple “you work, we pay” contract.
We have learned that inspired, respected, recognized, and rewarded employees are a force to be reckoned with in a competitive world, so we look to satisfy our employees well beyond the simple issue of pay. We work to earn their respect as employers by providing solid leadership, giving the opportunity to make mistakes, conducting full training and education, keeping them “in the know,” allowing for individual differences, and treating them as adults. Or at least that’s what we should be doing.
Regrettably, however, there is still one primitive employer practice that continues to plague us, and it seems to reside principally with small businesses. That is, when an employee gives notice that he or she will be leaving their job, the employer often fires them on the spot. What on earth are these employers thinking about firing employees for quitting?
Recently a young veterinarian college friend of my daughter became disenchanted with the large veterinary group that hired her out of graduate school. There were long hours, inconsistent rules and direction, responsibility without authority, apparent favoritism, and little consideration given to her desire to develop a rewarding working relationship with clients. During her first year of employment, she attended several workshops and trade seminars, and during a casual conversation with colleagues, a smart one said he was impressed with her and asked her to let him know if she ever decided to seek veterinary work elsewhere. Not wishing to seem ungrateful or disloyal, she stuck with her present employer for another year but finally resigned herself to the fact that she was truly unhappy at work and needed a change. Appreciating that it would take some time for her present employer to replace her, she gave several months notice that she would be leaving.
In the immediate grilling that followed, her employer learned that she would be working for a nearby practice, so they fired her effectively immediately. Unfortunately, this is only one example of what seems to be an all-too-common practice. Unfortunately, these justifiably angry and abused former employees are the ones we later employers hire, and what a discouraging prospect it is for us to try to build back a trust that we will treat them fairly and with respect. I’ve found it takes at least two years, sometimes longer, sometimes never. As the saying goes, “Once burned, twice shy.”
Just what is the logic that causes some employers to behave this way, firing employees? The only thing I can think of is petulant childishness. It’s the old “you don’t want to play with me any longer? OK, I’ll just take away my toys and find somebody else to play with!”. It’s an attempt to punish for the perceived affront of disloyalty. Smart employers know that loyalty is not paid for, it’s earned through respectful and fair treatment, and even then, it shouldn’t be relied upon as the foundation for a good working relationship.
For the temporary pleasure (if there’s pleasure in it) of punishing an apparently “disloyal” employee, such an employer:
Overburdens existing employees with additional work suddenly left uncovered
Eliminates the individual with the best knowledge of the job who could provide the best initial training for the replacement employee
Casts out into the working world an individual with a very low opinion of the employer they just left (and research shows they will tell at least nine other people about it)
Exposes their business to disruptions in service
Gives notice to remaining employees of what will happen to them should they decide to leave. How much helpful advance notice would any of us give if we knew we’d be fired as soon as it was known we were even thinking of leaving?
So as an employer, if firing employees this way has been your practice, even occasionally, think about it and don’t do it. Give your departing employees and the rest of us employers a break.
Tuck Aikin was a former SCORE colleague of mine for many years until his retirement. Tuck is a prolific writer and wrote small business-themed articles for the Colorado Springs Gazette for many years. As a co-mentor, Tuck was my inspiration for me starting this blog. The preceding post is reproduced with permission from the author.
