"Am I about to get fired?" Here's how to handle those fears.
If you’re worried about losing your job, you’re not alone. Fear of getting fired is the number one reason people reach out to Empower Work.
Fear is uncomfortable–and scary–yet it can also be a valuable signal from your internal warning system.
And here’s the good news: listening to that signal now and working to address it can help you feel better and land in a better spot no matter what.
Here are some suggestions for how to decipher the warning so you can cope with your fears and decide what to do next.
To help process your thoughts and feelings, it can help to keep a journal as you explore these questions. You could also find a sounding board in a friend, a coworker, or a professional who deals with work-related issues.
Consider these questions:
What’s causing the fear?
Before taking action, getting clear on why the fears are coming up is important.
Have you received specific feedback that worries you?
A bad performance review can trigger the fear you’re going to be fired. Or maybe you’ve had an informal conversation where your boss reprimanded you for a mistake or criticized your performance overall. If you’ve been put on a performance improvement plan (PIP), it’s normal to be concerned. Documentation can be a step in the process leading to termination. But sometimes these types of feedback indicate your employer is investing in you, coaching you to become a stronger contributor. Feedback to help you improve can be beneficial. Specific, actionable feedback can give you an opportunity to adjust. If you don't fully understand the feedback, it's healthy and reasonable to ask your employer to talk about what they specifically want you to change.
Has your boss’ behavior toward you changed?
If you’ve received no specific feedback that your employer is unhappy, you can still get subtle signs that your standing has changed. Your boss may have begun micromanaging you or the tone or frequency of instructions might have changed. They might be assigning you to unfavorable projects, overloading you with work, or cutting back your shifts. When the signals are subtle, your fears may be coupled with confusion: What does this mean for my job and future here? Am I not really qualified for my job, a belief known as imposter syndrome? Or is my boss trying to manage me out, creating conditions to push me to quit? Or maybe your boss is stressed or being pulled in too many directions and just communicating poorly. It's important to remember that even if you notice a real change in their behavior, it may have nothing to do with you. They may be under a lot of stress, or have changes happening on their side too.
Is your employer or job the right fit for you?
Sometimes things simply aren’t a fit. A values mismatch between you and your employer can make you feel like you don’t belong, and that your job isn’t secure. Do you find yourself using strong words like “toxic” or “dysfunctional” to describe your workplace? These can point to misaligned values. In the same company, one employee may feel their boundaries aren’t respected while another worker finds the company “feels like a family.”
Persistent miscommunication with your boss or coworkers can also suggest a lack of alignment on values or expectations. The same behavior could be perceived in one workplace culture as taking initiative and in another as being challenging. When you’re not on the same page, it’s reasonable to consider whether to change how you operate at work or change your job.
Even if changing jobs doesn't feel like the right move now, understanding your employer's values can be helpful to adjust your own behavior while you remain in a difficult environment.
Do you trust your employer?
Sometimes the fear of being fired isn’t personal; it’s in the air. If you see leaders violating their trust with you, your coworkers, customers, or the public, it’s natural to worry about your job security. If people have been fired (seemingly) out of the blue, it’s not too much of a stretch to think the same could happen to you.
Ask yourself if there’s anyone internally you do trust. Maybe you have a good relationship with your supervisor. Could you have a candid conversation with them about your role? A union representative might be a resource. In many workplaces, there are employees who act as informal leaders who may be a go-to for better understanding the culture. Who might that be in your workplace?
You know yourself and the people involved best. Trust your instincts.
If you do not trust your employer or others internally, speaking with an outsider–a friend or a professional–can help you gain perspective.
Are there larger economic factors that may put your job at risk?
Your fear may be about something happening in the larger economy. Right now, COVID-19 is causing uncertainty for workers in a wide range of industries, especially energy, travel, transportation, gig work, and hotel and restaurant sectors. Automation, trade policies, business needs, and changing technologies can also change employers’ staffing needs.
Explore whether the threat is short term or long term. Maybe your employer or industry is laying off one type of worker but increasing hiring for other roles. Could your skills be used in another employer that is growing? Could you pick up new skills that would make you valuable to keep on or marketable to another employer?
How can you manage the fear, get unstuck, and act?
There’s a simple reason why fear of being fired is so common: losing a job is an all-too-common experience. At some point in your working life, you may encounter an employer that unfairly terminates you, you may end up in a job that’s a mutual bad fit, or there may be a recession that leads to larger layoffs.
Being fired is incredibly hard. But there is hope. There are actions and resources to help you recover.
Many of us find it challenging to strike a balance between trusting our guts, using our reason, and being confident that we can handle whatever comes our way. Here are some key actions that can help.
Think about what you want
Sometimes it can be hard to step back and envision your ideal job at a hard moment. Yet, sitting down and getting clear on your skills, what you enjoy, and where you perform well, as well as your financial needs, can help create a roadmap for a conversation at your current job or a job search to find something better. Consider your needs in the present and your plans for the future.
What would it take for you to map that out? Think about who you can talk to about your fears, and how to make those conversations helpful. Will your partner or spouse help you think rationally, or will they take on your anxiety? What friends are most likely to encourage and uplift you? What former boss or mentor might help reflect your greatest strengths?
Prepare for the possibility that you will get fired
Most people who reach out to Empower Work have practical concerns about losing their job, in addition to uncomfortable emotions such as frustration or shame. Tackling the practical fears can help lower anxiety. Then you can consider what to do: Would you choose to proactively try to work things through? Might you want to just wait and see what happens? Or are you ready to leave the job yourself?
Workers who have lost their job have rights, and there are many resources to help you get through it. There will be even more resources in the coming weeks as legislation just passed extending unemployment benefits.
Would having confidence about what to do if you get fired make it easier for you to face up to potentially upsetting information? Some people who connect with Empower Work find that it does.
Sometimes taking small steps can help. You can review the eligibility requirements and the process for getting unemployment insurance, and calculate what your weekly unemployment rate will be. Read your employer’s policies to know how long your health insurance would continue. Also look into the cost of COBRA and your options with healthcare.gov or your partner’s plan. Do some research on the basics of severance packages if your employer offers them.
It’s easy to lose sight of your strengths and skills when worried. One simple exercise: make a list of all of skills or work you are most proud of or you have received feedback about. That can help with both confidence and resume updating.
Focus on the things you can control
There is so much in life that’s uncertain. We can’t control the economy or the actions of our boss or coworkers. But at times that feel unsettled, we can control our own behaviors and take steps to manage our emotions.
What do you have control over right now? For example, some people value focusing on preparing such as updating your resume and list of potential references. Or beginning to reach out to friends and network about open jobs. Some people feel better by taking a break, setting aside the worry at hand and focusing on something else such as a walk with a friend (maybe a social distance one via a call).
Some people value being direct and getting more information. A conversation with the boss could lead to coaching that saves your job, or it might even lead to reassurance that your fears weren’t founded; maybe your boss didn’t realize their attempts at feedback came across so harshly. Or it could open up possibilities to get feedback on skills that could help you find another role in the company.
Taking a step that invests in you can make a practical difference and increase your sense of agency.
Reach out if you need help
Are you worried about losing your job right now? Connecting with someone you trust can be powerful. Trained Empower Work counselors are a text away: 510-674-1414. They can coach you by text, for free, to help explore fears, observations about your workplace, and understanding about your values and needs in work.
