It might not seem to be a brave thing at first glance, but I have seen bravery in plant managers who are willing to fire someone for a safety violation. It’s brave because it is not a popular decision. It’s brave because the employee involved was trying to keep production up when he reached into the machine. It’s brave because other employees who reported the action now feel at fault, and may never speak up again.

But where I’ve seen it done, it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Whenever I am involved in orienting employees, even when safety is not my direct accountability, I make it a point to let them know how I feel about my accountability for their safety. In short, if they don’t regard their own safety adequately, then we can’t afford someone to watch over them. One hundred out of one hundred times, I will go to an unemployment hearing over a perceived wrongful termination than to the funeral of an employee who I could have stopped from killing himself.

How courageous are your supervisors? Do they have the permission to be bold?

Thanks for reading, and let’s be careful out there.

The reactions are interesting, and reflect my experience. It seems that some people know it’s coming and are committed to fulfilling the assumption. Others are shocked, tearful, angry, and even in deep denial.

It is difficult to predict the outcome of a meeting like this, which is why I recommend that some sort of security action take place. If I am working somewhere that has security personnel, we generally stage them nearby. If not, we ask a few people in the immediate area to work in a different office and put some supervisors nearby in case they are needed. While I have been nervous quite a few times, I’ve never had a fearful experience.

So I always get a kick out of the end of Top Chef, when one of the contestants is told “Please pack your knives and go home”. I don’t really want a fired employee to first get a hold of their most dangerous tool before they walk out the door. One precaution I would take is to say “We had your knives packed up while you were in here, and they will be delivered to your home”.

But reality TV is not so real, and I’m sure they aren’t considering this approach as an example of the right way to terminate an employee.

What security steps do you think are necessary in a true termination? Have you ever been truly afraid at work during a time of layoff or reduction?

It’s all a part of staying safe. Let’s be careful out there.