How To Get Canned

Jeanne Sahadi has a good article on CNN Money. Titled "Secrets Your Company Doesn't Want You To Know", its discloses some of the misconceptions surrounding how your actions at work affect you. Here's a snippet.

The typical rationale for layoffs is the need to reorganize and cut costs.

Pish-posh.

Sometimes those reasons are genuine. But Shapiro has seen companies push select employees out of their jobs or layoff an entire department just to get rid of one or two people without incurring liability.

And those select employees may never know they made a manager's blacklist.

One easy way to get on it is to insult the boss or be overly negative about the company on email, in a meeting, or at the water cooler.

Being a top performer may provide some protection. But if you and your boss don't get along and he has to get rid of two people, he's likely to go for the people who make his day difficult, Shapiro said.

Being among the most highly compensated employees in your office will only give him added incentive.

Treat difficult bosses and colleagues as you would if you were a small business owner dealing with annoying clients: professionally at all times, she said. Otherwise, you'll lose the account.

You're also at greater risk of a layoff if you've:

• First announced that you're pregnant or need medical leave to someone other than your boss. If she hears about it from someone other than you, she could lay you off and claim she had no idea about your personal situation.

• Taken a medical leave or filed for worker's compensation recently.

• Filed a complaint against the company or your boss.

Ok, so this isn't really an article on how to get fired. Maybe I'll work on that some other day. In the meantime you can read the rest of the article here