Losing a job is always unpleasant, especially if the phrase "You are fired" sounded to you like thunder from a clear sky. However, it is important to understand that such a decision is never made overnight, which means that alarming signals sounded much earlier.
Our expert Valeria Domanskaya, career consultant, explains the signs that indicate you are about to be fired.
How to Understand That You Are Being Fired
1. Your workload is decreasing — and only for you
If you notice a reduction in your usual responsibilities — do not rush to rejoice. This is a dangerous trend that often indicates a certain decision by management. Especially if part of your immediate functions and tasks has been temporarily redistributed among other colleagues.
Almost always, this "symptom" indicates that management is planning a soon parting with the employee. In such a situation, it is better for the employee to calmly clarify their position in the organization.
2. You receive more criticism — and again, mostly directed at you
Along with the first point, another aspect may manifest — the workload has decreased, but the number of critical remarks has noticeably increased. Management is now constantly dissatisfied with your professional actions and even nitpicks about things that never bothered them before (laughter in the office, being a minute or two late after lunch, bright makeup, and so on).
If you notice a sharp increase in scrutiny directed at you, constant checks of your work for suitability, and a sharp tone from management — it is likely that dismissal is on the horizon.
3. The team has started to treat you differently
It is no secret that news spreads like wildfire in a team. That is why colleagues may well be aware of decisions that management has only planned. This knowledge often reflects in their behavior, such as hints, leading questions, or conversations from which you suddenly find yourself excluded.
Changes in the usual social interaction are a warning sign, prompting serious reflections on the employee's future in the specific organization.
4. Exclusion from active professional environment and informal events
If you have already been mentally said goodbye to, you are usually excluded from activities — both work-related and social. An employee who is about to be fired is typically no longer invited to meetings, conferences, and their ideas and plans are no longer of interest.
At the team level, you may also be pushed to the background — not invited to after-work gatherings and not discussed in upcoming holidays and corporate events.
5. An offer to take a vacation — this is not always good
Sometimes management offers an employee to take a vacation, planning to fire them. Such a request from management should always be objectively assessed. Firstly, the offer to take a vacation indicates that the organization is doing just fine without you — and that is bad.
Secondly, management may be trying to simplify the dismissal process with such a tactic. Sometimes this moment merely reflects the desire of a considerate employer to give a tired employee a chance to rest, but such cases are quite rare in practice.
If you have doubts — call management for an honest conversation. In some cases, such a decision allows not only to clarify the situation but also to change it, while in others, it becomes a reason to update your resume and look for a new job.
