Over-Complicating Termination Decisions

Posted on October 27, 2015 in Consulting

Last month I mentioned my favorite movie, The Godfather. Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite TV shows: Seinfeld. Seinfeld had a magical way of tackling a complex or taboo topic. George Costanza made me laugh the most. His ridiculous antics are difficult to forget, and he most certainly knew how to get fired:

 

  • Fired from Pendant Publishing because he had sex with the cleaning lady on his desk;
  • Fired because he pretends to be handicapped so he can use his boss’ private bathroom;
  • Fired as a kid from Dairy Queen after he put hisĀ feet in the soft serve.

Did George ever get a write up or go through progressive discipline? Did George ever get a PIP?

 

The lesson from George Costanza is this: An employer should end the employment relationship when an employee engages in a genuine act of stupidity for which there is no explanation. This is particularly true when the individual cannot grasp that the conduct was idiotic. Think George and the cleaning lady. His reaction, “I thought it was frowned upon,” not against the rules.

 

Yet, employers worry so much about litigation and strict readings of their policies that they sometimes lose sight of common sense. For example, I bet George was right. There probably was no rule against having sex with the cleaning lady. I can’t imagine that was covered in the Pendant Publishing Employee Manual. But his employer nevertheless wisely fired him recognizing that George was not likely a strong candidate for future success given his serious lack of judgment.

 

The other lesson George taught us is that being fired is not a catastrophe. People move on to find a better fit. For George it was Pendant Publishing to the New York Yankees. Okay, it was a stretch in the plot line, but I know from my 20 + years defending wrongful termination claims that most people end up making more money within a reasonable time after losing the job that was the subject of their suit.


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