Getting Wrongfully Fired
Sometimes people assume that if someone gets fired, it’s because they didn’t follow the job description’s policy. But what about if you’re a hard worker & man or woman of integrity? Bad things do happen to good people, and as long as you work for a corporation (in CORPORATE AMERICA) good workers are never exempt from being fired.
Well to spill the beans , today I just got fired.
I worked for LA Fitness for 7months until I received disturbing news from my coworkers that my manger terminated my employment with the corporation.
Her reasons were because I was a no call, no show, and had signed a contract saying the first time I missed work I will be terminated.
However, I had never just not shown up for work since being hired into LA Fitness and knowing my work schedule. I have even agreed to take many of my coworkers shifts numerous of times to earn extra money.
Even though I believe her reason for firing me was unjust, it wasn’t really why she fired me that was my issue, (even though she used the excuse, I have too much on my plate because I am in school, and too focused on building my career).
It was truly the way my former manager went about firing me that turned my stomach upside down.
I called up to my job 3 days before Christmas to see if I was on the schedule.
Someone who had just got hired into LA Fitness picked up the phone.
Since the guy who had just got hired, was unfamiliar with how to check the employee portable schedule, he told me he needed to check with the manager.
I waited on hold for about 5 minutes until , I received confirmation that I needed to come into work at 8am on Saturday morning.
Once my scheduled work day approached I saw that my associates were a little thrown off guard by my appearance.
Why?
Well this was all because my manager fired me without telling me.
I did not find out I was fired until I tried going into my employee time clock to sign in and kept getting denied.
My name, phone number, and employee number to receive commission for memberships was even scratched off the list.
I instantly called my manager on the phone, because I was discombobulated.
I mean how does someone fire another human being without informing that person ? Aren’t there appropriate steps in firing someone? Was I wrongly dismissed from my job?
Unfortunately my former manager never answered my phone call to give me an answer.
So I left a professional voicemail, in which probably sounded terrible because she could barely hear me due to losing my poor little voice from being a little sick.
Mind you, I have never called off work from being sick. The only time I called off without being able to get my shift covered was when my truck needed to get fixed because of my brakes.
Because I wanted and deserved an answer right then and there, I decided to text her ” Can you give me a call back at your earliest convenience. Thank you.”
Another hour passed, and after not getting a call or text back, while being informed that another coworker of mines had just got off the phone with her, I decided to text her again.
I was livid! Although I knew I had did nothing wrong, I still needed to have control over my composure.
I’m learning that attitude is truly everything, even if you are being treated unfairly.
My manager violated so many managerial policies by not explaining when and why I was fired and by having this conversation with other employees and not me first.
Not to mention once I heard the words of basically “you’re fired”, it was all done over a text message. Getting fired through a text message is like breaking up with your girlfriend or boyfriend over a text message.
Communication is a huge factor in work relationships and romantic ones. We need to learn how to use face to face communication more often, because no one ever wants to feel like they are not important enough to be told in person when there is a problem. That’s just too impersonal.
So how do you handle being wrongly fired?
1.)By all means necessary stay calm! Being calm helps you to make wise decisions when communicating with the person who unjustly fired you.
2.) Remain positive, because being fired from a job is never the end of the world.
3.) Understand that God has so many plans for you and being walked over and mistreated at a job is not one of them.
4.) Use this time to network more! Good networking is crucial when advancing in your career. I’m learning that it is really less about who you know but more about who knows you to get that dream job.
5.) If you want to advance in establishing your own business, now is the time to do it. Many times we become so over worked and undervalued at a job that we forget that God has given us talents and gifts to create and be in control of our own finances.
6.) It is still important that you document your wrongful termination to the HR department.
7.)Use this time to dive into what you want to do for the rest of your life! What do you love?
8.) Don’t let a temporary loss of finances get you down. Everyone in some point of time is broke, but you don’t have to stay that way.
9.) Develop a level of integrity and character as you are going through this process. Learn from all your experiences at that job good and bad that you can take with you in life and use.
10.) I know this may sound absurd but you still want to end everything on a good note. Write a very professional letter thanking your job for the opportunity and end with a nice close. It speaks highly on who you are not the corporation.
Lastly remember this is not your final destination. Even Steve Jobs got let go of when it came to Apple. You will persevere and reign!
