Being fired is a trauma that only the most hardened slacker could ever get used to. In your work life, being fired takes the place of that boogeyman who you were sure was hiding under your bed when you were a kid. It’s also a black mark on your record that you will have to explain to employers until the job you lost is a distant enough memory not to matter. Happily enough, most workers who responsed to Comparably’s question about whether they’ve ever been fired say they haven’t been. (The question of whether they’re telling the whole truth is another survey for another time.)
The data comes to us from the latest reading of an ongoing survey by Comparably. Over 10,000 employees responded to the question.
Fully two-thirds of respondents say they’ve never been fired. 18% admitted to being fired once. And a brave 3% admitted to being fired four or more times. This makes some sense if we figure that most people are competent, and that standards for continued employment are tied to what is expected of the average person.
Men and women are so close on this, they’re almost indistinguishable. The genders are within one percentage point of each other in each rank, a rare sight.
Only 25% of Asian/Pacific Islanders report ever being fired. That’s the lowest of any group surveyed. 32% of Caucasians say they’ve been fired. 50% of African-Americans say they have indeed been fired at least once, the highest of the different ethnic groups.
The number of people who admit to being fired at least once increases with age. This makes sense when we consider people who have had less time in the workplace have had less chances to get fired. 30% of people in the 26-30 age groups report having been fired. That number rises to 37% for the 41-45 age group, and to 50% for the 61-65 group. The data suggests that with more time in the workplace, the likeliness of getting fired increases.
Latest reading as of December 2.
