Handling your own empathy.
Making sure there's no comeback possible
Thinking of the person's consequences in their life.
At my previous employer we have very little room for grey areas so sometimes when you were in one of these grey areas the company would use very small mistakes to let people go and then hr would make me a lower level manager fire the employees
I have not been fired or in a position to fire an employee.
If you like them as an individual, very difficult. If you care for how it will affect their family, very difficult. If you view them as faceless, productive cogs on the work floor - no problem.
Not getting shot
The crying
Following the laws and not be liable.
Firing an employee shouldn't be difficult if the proper path has been take to determine strengths, weaknesses, areas of growth, training plans, evaluations, feedback, collaborative education and mentoring. If all that has been pursued and either the employee is still unable or unwilling to do the job, then it is a very clear misfit and the termination will be appropriate on both ends.
The paperwork!
Firing the employee
I've never been a manager, but I've had some experience with this. Collecting & documenting information that helped my manager build a case for firing a coworker was emotionally draining. Then of course, I was laid off 8 mos later. I can't imagine it was easy for my mgr to do either task. In fact, in my case, she did everything she could to isolate herself & the other team members from a possible nuclear reaction... which played out exactly as she thought it would. And that was her mistake: if you KNOW your employee has a severe anxiety disorder & you've witnessed anxiety attacks, you DO NOT blindside them. You surround them with their support network, & you tell everyone together. Anxiety is debilitating, but if the burden is shared THERE IS NO NUCLEAR REACTION. Mental health disabilities need different methods. The HR info can be given after the announcement while coworkers pack up the personal effects. This gives coworkers time to grieve, say goodbye, and move on.
Depends on the situation, but it's knowing that you now have the hassle & cost of finding a replacement. It doesn't make business sense to fire someone, so when it happens, know that the person did something VERY unacceptable.
Keep it professional
Retaliation!
The build up and paperwork
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