By: Dustin J~7 min readEven if you do everything you can, sometimes jobs just don’t work out. While there are things you can do to increase your job security (like working hard, being a team player, and getting along with colleagues), no job is truly 100% secure.
If the signs in this article ring true to you, you may have reached the end of your journey at your company—and it’s good you’re here. Recognizing ahead of time that your job may be terminated gives you more options. Whether your next step will be job hunting, quitting before you can be let go, or taking action to try to improve your standing with your company, this article will help you learn and recognize the warning signs that your job might be on the chopping block.
1. Your company has financial troubles
Maybe you’ve heard people talking about the company’s dire financial straits, or perhaps there are new, dramatic budget cuts underway. A company struggling financially is unfortunately one of the biggest indicators that job terminations could be coming soon. If the company can’t pay everyone’s salaries, they’ll be forced to make some hard decisions about which employees are most valuable and most dispensable.
2. There’s a change in work assignments
A shift in projects is a common sign there’s something afoot—if your manager is planning to let you go, they may reassign your work to others without explaining why.
Now, this isn’t to say that any change to projects is a problem. After all, if your workload is overwhelming, a good manager might help lessen the load by moving something off your plate. Or perhaps your particular set of skills are needed for a more difficult assignment.
That being said, if you’re being pulled out of projects left and right, you may want to ask your manager why it’s happening. Just make sure to keep your questions calm and professional.
If you’re being pulled out of projects left and right, you may want to ask your manager why it’s happening.
3. Your manager starts putting everything in writing
This is a sneaky sign you might not see coming. If your boss is suddenly taking notes on everything you discuss and sending constant follow-up emails, they might be setting up a case for HR—and here’s why.
Human Resources wants to prevent future lawsuits, so if your manager expresses a desire to let you go, someone from HR may ask for proof that your performance has worsened over time. Ideally, they’d like to have something in writing.
If this happens, make sure you’re creating your own paper trail. When you reply to these emails, clarify the facts—and be careful not to sound argumentative. If it turns out that HR is reviewing documentation, it’s important that your messages show just how professional you are.
Note: some managers simply prefer to keep things in writing for clarity (and some micromanage more than others), so you’re really looking for a notable, unexplained change in behavior.
4. Your boss and HR set you on a Performance Improvement Plan
This may be one of the clearest signs on this list. A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is a formal guide given to an employee who is not succeeding in their role, with the intention of helping them improve.
Or … that’s what your manager claims, anyway. At well-meaning companies, PIPs are only used when the manager is committed to helping an employee improve. Unfortunately, PIPs are commonly used as a way for frustrated managers to begin the termination process.
Unfortunately, PIPs are commonly used as a way for frustrated managers to begin the termination process.
If you’re placed on a PIP, assess the level of support your manager provides along with it. If the plan seems attainable and transparent, it’s possible they really do want to see you succeed.
5. You worry that you’re underperforming compared to your team
It’s hard not to notice when all of your team members are hitting their goals and you’re not keeping pace. It’s important to take some kind of action if you’re struggling to reach your objectives every quarter, especially if you’ve heard word of it during performance reviews. You’ll either need to figure out how to get your numbers up, or consider whether this is the right role for you.
6. It feels like you’re being set up to fail
Impossible tasks, an unreasonable workload, being left out of key meetings related to your project … these could be potential forms of sabotage.
While some managers may make it obvious when they’re displeased with you (and hopefully work with you on how to make amends), others take a different, more others take a different, more passive-aggressive approach: making your job harder or less pleasant in the hopes that you’ll quit.
Please note that if your employer intentionally creates working conditions that are so intolerable that you have no choice but to resign, it would likely be considered constructive dismissal by a court. This on its own does not necessarily merit a legal case, but you could likely still file a wrongful termination claim even if you quit.
7. It seems like you suddenly can't please your boss
If you've been consistently delivering results and are suddenly receiving nitpicky, negative feedback from your manager, this could be a bad sign. For example, say you hit your sales quota as usual, but your manager says they don’t like the way you did it, even though nothing about your process has changed. This could also come in the form of negative feedback based on “attitude” or “fit” when there’s been no change to your performance or workplace demeanor.
If you've been consistently delivering results and are suddenly receiving nitpicky, negative feedback from your manager, this could be a bad sign.
8. Work relationships start feeling distant
Have your coworkers been acting strange around you lately? Has your manager been unavailable for weeks, cancelling your 1:1 meetings? Maybe you’re even hearing rumors from some of your closer work colleagues that someone might be let go soon. Rumor-spreading is especially common in smaller companies.
This particular sign can be interpreted in many ways—and it can be difficult to determine exactly what’s going on. Only give this one weight in combination with other signs in this list.
9. You’ve got a gut feeling
It’s important not to disregard your instincts. If you just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something wrong—AKA, if you found this article because you were searching "Am I getting fired?”—it might be time to start setting up a Plan B.
A negative shift in company culture could lead to a toxic work environment.
If it turns out that you aren’t getting fired, it’s quite possible your gut feeling stems from something else. A negative shift in company culture could lead to a toxic work environment, or your company could be facing budget issues that could lead to downsizing. Any of these reasons could set off your internal alarm, and they’re all good reasons to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Update your résumé, start adding to your emergency fund, and consider starting the job hunt. Sometimes it’s easier to start a new professional relationship than fix a bad one.
Commonly asked questions about employment termination
- Can employers disclose that you were fired?
In short, yes. There’s no federal law stating that employers must keep the reason for your termination confidential. Some state laws regulate what employers can share about you, but in many places, the only thing ensuring an employer will stay quiet would be a signed agreement. (This language could possibly appear in a severance agreement.)
While some employers may choose to practice discretion when they confirm your employment at the company, it’s best to assume they’ll share all the details and prepare accordingly.
- Can an employer tell other employees why you were fired?
Yes—but carefully.
Employers may want to explain to remaining employees why you were let go, both to give employees closure and to calm any concerns they may have about their own fate at the company.
While employers are allowed to disclose why an employee was terminated, they need to avoid making any statements that could potentially result in legal action from the terminated employee based on claims of defamation. That means employers must be careful to ensure that what they say is true.
- Should I put a job I was fired from on my application?
If the job is relevant to the role you’re applying for, and you were there for more than a few months, it’s best to include it on your résumé. A significant gap on your résumé is something you’ll have to explain anyway, and you likely gained skills during your time there.
You don’t need to include that you were fired on your résumé, though. Just include what you learned, your job responsibilities, and your dates of employment. Be prepared to speak to why you left the company during job interviews.
Final thoughts from JustAnswer
Chances are, if you’ve made it to the end of this article, you’ve begun to suspect that your time with your company may be ending.
Regardless of the outcome, your gut instinct that something feels wrong at work shouldn’t be ignored. Now might be the time to set up a discussion with your manager on ways you can improve your performance, or it might be time to freshen up that résumé and start a new job search.
Remember, being fired doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end of your career. Being fired can be scary, but it doesn’t define who you are or where you’re headed next. You’re on to bigger and better things.
