discussion Should I quit or wait to be fired?

[BionicWooHoo]

A few months ago my company’s CEO announced that unfortunately we lost millions of dollars in revenue due to underperformance. In my mind I already thought oh sh*t ppl are going to be dropping left and right soon. 
 

So on Friday my boss tells our team to join a meeting at 12:30 but sends the invite at 12:29. I was on lunch as was half the team so only half showed up. 
 

I return at 1:00 to angry messages from my director screaming at me about job abandonment and how this has been a pattern for me of not responding to messages. In reality, I did the math and it takes me like 5 minutes on average to respond to messages. She also was not happy about how in our last team meeting, I made a comment about how returning to the office is pointless and she went off on me about that. She also started screaming about how I’m not living up to how I presented myself in my interview and how I’m underperforming.

 

We jump onto a call and my manager is there along w the director. The manager doesn’t say anything and just nods. When I try to point out that the invite was sent a minute before the meeting she yells at me for not taking accountability. She said how will we move forward but I’m so shocked I don’t know what to say. I said I will come up w a plan of action to follow up. 
 

She scheduled a follow up this Friday at 9AM but I’m afraid I’m gonna open up that zoom and HR will be there too. Im thinking if I quit, then at least I won’t have to explain being fired to new potential employers but then there’s no chance I can get unemployment. If I am fired, I don’t think I can collect unemployment there either bc they will say I committed absenteeism/misconduct and in my state those bar you from collecting unemployment. I can appeal it but even that would be hard bc my company’s email won’t even let me email myself the papertrail of how my manager literally two weeks ago did my yearly performance review and said only positive things. 
 

Im ******* scared AF and I don’t know what I should do
 

 

[wehavetostan]

5 minutes ago, BionicWooHoo said:

I can appeal it but even that would be hard bc my company’s email won’t even let me email myself the papertrail of how my manager literally two weeks ago did my yearly performance review and said only positive things.

I'm not 100% sure how you can, but your top priority right now should be to save the performance review before you quit or get fired. Quitting right now allows for a less awkward interview process with other companies, however, losing out on unemployment could be really financially draining (depending on your situation)

[BionicWooHoo]

7 minutes ago, wehavetostan said:

I'm not 100% sure how you can, but your top priority right now should be to save the performance review before you quit or get fired. Quitting right now allows for a less awkward interview process with other companies, however, losing out on unemployment could be really financially draining (depending on your situation)

I have a paper copy of the performance review thankfully. But yea I feel like getting fired will definitely hurt my ability to find a new job so idk. 
 

Im just scared worse case scenario: I can’t get unemployment AND I have to explain to ppl the circumstances of being fired 

[Navy4Life]

If you have enough savings to get you through while you look for a new job quit, if not then wait and see what happens. They might not even fire you and are just trying to intimidate you because they know they will need people to pick up the extra slack after they fire other people. 
 

Any case just start looking for a different job and make sure you have a paper trail of everything from this point forward. I always send a summary email after every phone call, Teams meeting, in person meeting etc. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Navy4Life

[BionicWooHoo]

1 minute ago, Navy4Life said:

If you have enough savings to get you through while you look for a new job quit, if not then wait and see what happens. They might not even fire you and are just trying to intimidate you because they know they will need people to pick up the extra slack after they fire other people. 
 

Any case just start looking for a different job and make sure you have a paper trail of everything from this point forward. I always send a summary email after every phone call, Teams meeting, in person peeting etc. 

Unfortunately I can’t even email stuff from my work email to my personal. The most I can do is take screenshots with my phone :( I just feel so ****** 

[ProudLBS]

Start looking for another job right now.

 

Even if they don’t fire you, they treat you like crap, so if I were you I’d jump ship ASAP.

 

Have you tried Airdropping the files (Macbook-iPhone) or sending them via Bluetooth (Windows-Android)?

[Guest]

The one thing no one is saying in here, that is of utmost importance, if the job is manageable (as it pertains to stress) and doesn’t consume you, wait it out. 
 

IF you get fired, you’ll (hopefully) not only get paid your PTO/Sick Time, a severance and extended health benefits. On TOP of that, you can file for unemployment. 
 

If you quit, the ONLY thing you’ll get is your PTO/Sick Time paid out. 

[Raptus]

What are the chances that if you tell them you quit they will ask you to stay and act surprised about why you would want to quit now?   Because this would be the best case scenario

[BionicWooHoo]

Just now, Raptus said:

What are the chances that if you tell them you quit they will ask you to stay and act surprised about why you would want to quit now?   Because this would be the best case scenario

Honestly kind of slim. I find it extremely suspicious that my direct manager never said any of this to me. Usually if an employee does something wrong, they would do like a 1:1 coaching or something. I feel it is extremely strange how she has been feeding all this negativity about my to my director behind my back. 

[JustHoran]

Wait until you're fired and collect unemployment. You should absolutely still be able to get unemployment if you're fired. I wouldn't quit.

[Raptus]

2 minutes ago, BionicWooHoo said:

Honestly kind of slim. I find it extremely suspicious that my direct manager never said any of this to me. Usually if an employee does something wrong, they would do like a 1:1 coaching or something. I feel it is extremely strange how she has been feeding all this negativity about my to my director behind my back. 

Corporate culture is so psychologically draining. And then they have the audacity to tell employees that  companies care about them 

[SoldierofLove]

I hope I’m wrong, but it sounds like they’ve already made up their minds to fire you. They’re setting you up for failure at this point.
 

You shouldn’t quit unless you have something better lined up. 
 

Can you print your emails? If not, start saving those screenshots now. 

[Raptus]

1 minute ago, JustHoran said:

Wait until you're fired and collect unemployment. You should absolutely still be able to get unemployment if you're fired. I wouldn't quit.

But then he will be in tricky position -  they will ask him about being fired in job interviews and it is seen as very bad to talk s*** about your former employer. So how can you  defend yourself it that case?

[Navy4Life]

25 minutes ago, BionicWooHoo said:

Unfortunately I can’t even email stuff from my work email to my personal. The most I can do is take screenshots with my phone :( I just feel so ****** 

What I meant is emailing it to whoever you had a meeting with. So if my manager had a meeting to discuss me calling sick too much in a certain period I would email something like: 

 

Dear Whatever, 

 

Thank you for taking the time to discuss my attendance in the past quarter. As we have both agreed I am still within the company limit of 15 days per year. I am willing to revisit this topic when/if that limit has been breached. 
 

Kind regards, 

 

Whatever. 

 

Or something like that (obviously I took like 3 minutes to write this). This way they would either have to reply and say they are trying to punish me for using something I’m entitled to or not reply which implies they agree with what I said. 

[stoopidjenna]

Definitely don’t quit. There is nothing wrong with being fired. It may depend on what state you live in, but in most cases it’s not easy to be disqualified from unemployment unless you did something borderline illegal to get fired.

 

You don’t have to say you were fired in future job applications either. Just don’t use your boss as a reference. For background checks most employers will only validate dates of employment.

[Cain]

Girl getting fired is a way better deal, take the money

 

You also won’t have to explain anything to your next employer 

[Guest]

Additionally, as it pertains to copying intellectual property, there are certain ways to get around it.

 

I’ve had instances over the years with global high end tech companies, where their internal code and knowledge was only to be known by internal employees and no one else. Which is done to not only protect the integrity of the company, but also prevents you from making a clone of their own company and making WAY more money than they would ever pay you. 
 

The only way I’ve known is to use OneNote, Word & Notepad++ is to your advantage. Some way are writing or typing your interpretation of what the code is doing, so well, that you’re able to replicate it. After that, export the files and email them to yourself. 
 

[Gorjesspazze9]

Nah, Put in your 2 weeks. You can always get another job with a decent resume and references. Getting fired makes employers judge you before anything else. Unless your benefits are good

Edited March 29, 2023 by Gorjesspazze9

[TaggedGalaxy]

Don’t quit, let them fire you so that you can collect unemployment or a severance. Also document everything, print out emails, check your state laws on consent to record conversations, some states are only a one party consent. When you are interviewing for another job just tell them you were let go due to the company underperforming and having to cut staff. 
 

Check your state laws on what a former employer can and cannot say to a prospective employer if your new employer contacts them. They may or may not be able to disclose the reason for your termination however they can’t lie or embellish or they open themselves up to legal action, that’s why documentation is so important. Most companies have policies that say they can only confirm your employment and the dates your worked for them I order to avoid a lawsuit.

[MardinBeksloy]

Wait until you're fired, keep getting those paychecks hunty! 

[loveisdead9582]

1 hour ago, BionicWooHoo said:

Unfortunately I can’t even email stuff from my work email to my personal. The most I can do is take screenshots with my phone :( I just feel so ****** 

Take those screenshots. These days, a lot of unemployment agencies (state run) don’t look kindly upon sudden write ups/firings or obvious setups to lay off employees. The one time I was “fired” my ‘employer’ initially tried to contest it until I provided screenshots and sent in my statement. Afterwards I was approved within a week.
 

If you can’t email stuff from your professional email to your personal, why not? Unless it’s sensitive info, there shouldn’t be an issue with you sending emails unless of course they’re trying to find some sort of way to improperly write you up/fire you for breach of contract (which you’d still get unemployment for). All I can say is that if they try to fire you for bullshit reasons, there is recourse. 
 

Also, in the USA employers pay into the state a (I don’t want to call it a tax because it isn’t) but basically a fee so that if someone does file for unemployment, it’s not the business paying out of pocket but they’re drawing on what has been submitted to the state from said business. The only reason employers try to contest it is so that they don’t get more strictly looked upon/to protect themselves if said former employee does try to sue them for other things. 

[BionicWooHoo]

21 minutes ago, loveisdead9582 said:

Take those screenshots. These days, a lot of unemployment agencies (state run) don’t look kindly upon sudden write ups/firings or obvious setups to lay off employees. The one time I was “fired” my ‘employer’ initially tried to contest it until I provided screenshots and sent in my statement. Afterwards I was approved within a week.
 

If you can’t email stuff from your professional email to your personal, why not? Unless it’s sensitive info, there shouldn’t be an issue with you sending emails unless of course they’re trying to find some sort of way to improperly write you up/fire you for breach of contract (which you’d still get unemployment for). All I can say is that if they try to fire you for bullshit reasons, there is recourse. 
 

Also, in the USA employers pay into the state a (I don’t want to call it a tax because it isn’t) but basically a fee so that if someone does file for unemployment, it’s not the business paying out of pocket but they’re drawing on what has been submitted to the state from said business. The only reason employers try to contest it is so that they don’t get more strictly looked upon/to protect themselves if said former employee does try to sue them for other things. 

Thanks for this. I just also realized when I go into the office tomorrow I can literally physically print out the emails for a hard copy as well. The fact that you mentioned unemployment agencies are aware of these obvious set ups makes me feel slightly better. 

 

As to why I can’t email, the company’s email security system. Can’t send anything to an outside email it’s incredibly annoying. 

[imabadkid]

1 hour ago, JustHoran said:

Wait until you're fired and collect unemployment. You should absolutely still be able to get unemployment if you're fired. I wouldn't quit.

yep was gonna say exactly this. and the economy is weird rn so who knows how long it’ll take you to find a job, you’ll wanna make sure u can get unemployment tbh

[aesthetic bih]

I don't work yet so I'm not 100% you can rely on but imo...

 

If you have another certain employment to back up on, you can just quit.

[getBusy]

 

2 hours ago, BionicWooHoo said:

Im thinking if I quit, then at least I won’t have to explain being fired to new potential employers

Honest question: how would anyone know that you were fired?