Yesterday, United States Attorney Sally Yates was fired and her job loss has three lessons for employees.
- All employees are replaceable.
- When new management team comes in, old employees are often replaced.
- Even you do a good job, you can still be fired.
All employees are replaceable.
Often employees with important jobs often think they are irreplaceable. After all when you have an important position and people look up to you it is easy to go to your head. There is something ego boosting about being in a power position at work. When you do a job that is important and that few other people can do it makes you feel as though you are irreplaceable. It makes you think that your employer will have to keep you around because no one does it better. In reality, no matter how good you are at your job you are replaceable. Your job most likely existed before you came along and if you quit tomorrow, the business would continue to exist.
When new management team comes it, old employees are often replaced.
In business, change is a constant. Supervisors, managers and company executives come and go. Each time a new regime comes in, there are personnel changes. It is not uncommon for the newcomers to wipe out the old timers. There are many reasons for this and some of them are valid. This means that no matter how good you are at your job and no matter how log you How long you have been on your job, if a new team comes in, you may be on your way out. It is not a reflection on you or your job performance. It is just a reality of the modern work environment.
Even if you do a good job, you can still be fired.
This means you can be fired for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all. In Pennsylvania where my business is located, my husband once fired someone for being a Dallas Cowboys fan. That is perfectly permissible in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is important to do a good job. In fact, when it comes to work, you should do the best job possible. You owe it to your employer to do a good job, the best job you can. You owe your best efforts. At the same time, it is important to realize that no matter how good you are at your job, you can still be fired.
A smart person can learn something new every day if she tries. So remember, ABL – Always be Learning.