Why they can’t be fired

Have you ever visited a business and felt like you were imposing on the employees who were supposed to be assisting you? Are you subjected to the same horrible treatment every time you visit? Did you complain? Do you know of other people who complained about the same employee? Did anything happen? Are you wondering why the boss just won’t fire them?

Here are a few possible explanations as to why that employee has not been released.

1. The employee could be related to the owners or to a senior-level person in the establishment. Even if they are not related, they may have close ties with one or more decision makers in the business. If that is so, don’t hold your breath while waiting for them to be fired.

2. The employee might just be an exceptional employee in other aspects of the business, and those aspects are enough to outweigh their bad customer service skills.

3. The employee might have circumstances in his or her life that tug on the heartstrings of the boss. It could be they have lots of children and this is the family’s only income. Or, maybe the person has had a rough life and that job is the only stability they know. Firing them could be the major setback they might not recover from, so their behaviour is tolerated.

4. It is possible that the person in charge does not want to be bothered with the time-consuming and expensive task of hiring a replacement. Hiring means advertising, sifting through applications, interviewing, and training, and in the end, there is no promise a new person will be better – in fact, it is possible that the new person could be worse! So, why go to the trouble? they ask. You know the cliché, “The devil you know may be better than the one you don’t.” Not necessarily true, but some people do believe it is.

5. And, last but not least, the employee could be a bully – perhaps they have made threats to harm, injure, or sue the company or people in the company; in which case, everyone plays it safe and keeps them working, in the hope they will eventually decide to leave on their own.

No, it’s not fair, but it is what it is. Whatever the reason, firing someone is not always as cut and dried as we would like it to be. And now you know that many factors can influence a boss’s reluctance to move in that direction.

If you have a choice, shop somewhere else and avoid them.

• Karen Hinds is “The Workplace Success Expert.” For a FREE SPECIAL REPORT on Avoiding Career Killers in the Workplace, send an email to info@workplacesuccess.com

Visit online at www.workplacesuccess.com