Has anyone ever tried to get fired from their job?

[Susan]

daveblackeye15 wrote:

 I
> was just watching Office Space yesterday and for anyone who
> hasn't seen it, it has a character that is sick of his job and
> eventually he says he doesn't care anymore (how he stops caring
> I don't feel like explaining) and he wants to see how long it
> takes for him to get fired.

That's not just a movie dave, that's my life. I work in an office, and this movie is the holy grail of office movies. You begin to wonder just what it takes to get fired considering all the screw ups, then when somebody does nobody can figure out why..it becomes the office gossip, it's usually the person least expecting it and doing a good job.

But guess what dave, you'd be suprised what crap you will put up with when you're spinning on the dartboard. I can't afford in today's economy to just up and quit because my supervisor is an imbosil. You learn the term "suck it up" real quick, because rent and food sorta play an important role in your life. Then you say well...the benefits are good too. When you're fired you can't collect unemployment. You don't want termination on your job record, that can come back to bite you. Getting fired isn't getting revenge on your boss, in fact it totally gives them the power. I would never give them the satisfaction, it's far more rewarding to go out on your terms, partifcularly when they need you most. Oh yes, plot and plan on leaving if that's the way you want out.

So you spend your days doing little acts of rebellion, just enough to reap some satisfaction but not enough to get the axe. I enjoy doing little things that ultimately make my supervisor look like the fool that they are in front of their boss, exposing weaknesses is my speciality. BCC on emails are wonderful things. ;-)

Suck it up folks....it's the real world



Post Edited (06-17-04 22:35)

[AndyC]

ulthar wrote:
> 'willful misconduct' clause that would nullify it?  I've never
> understood them anyway, if someone has done something worth
> firing them over, they CERTAINLY don't deserve extra stuff as
> reward.

Can't say I've understood it either, particularly in the example I gave of the city administrator who got scammed for about $35,000,000 in extra interest. Wasn't all his fault (the whole council got booted in the last election, and an inquiry determined the financing company pulled a bait and switch), but people were counting on his expertise while he was getting wined and dined and lulled to sleep. Not the first guy I've seen get a golden handshake for screwing up, but by far the worst. Screwed the taxpayers twice, as far as I'm concerned.

I agree, the willful misconduct thing is why it probably wouldn't work if you only had a couple of weeks to get fired. You can't just tell the boss to get bent and be rude to clients. You'd have to start screwing up, which would be forgiven the first couple of times. And if it becomes a pattern, any good boss would try to work it out. Depending on how important you are, they might even give you some time off. In any case, there would probably be a lot of discussion among the management of what to do with you, especially if a severance is involved. Could take a while, and most new employers don't want to wait while you screw your old employer out of a severance package.

[jmc]

All I gotta say is, I'd kill for a job like the one in OFFICE SPACE.    I've never really understood the point of that movie--someone who has a cushy desk job which, though annoying, is better than the work conditions most other people have.  I've never had a job with a desk in my life.  I've worked in an industrial setting and right now am working in retail, which although it pays much less than my old job is less annoying.  At least most of the time.  One thing I do like about my current job is that it's easier to show recognition for good performance--I had my name mentioned by a customer when doing a phone survey and got a $45 gift card as a reward.  
My last job was unionized and they weren't allowed to do any kind of incentive program or anything like that.

[Eirik]

All good points, dave.  I was in a pretty unique position of having a real jerk for a boss and a better job lined up to jump right into.  That's not a situation you'll often find yourself in.

[Eirik]

"All I gotta say is, I'd kill for a job like the one in OFFICE SPACE. I've never really understood the point of that movie--"

jmc - If you recall the movie, Initech was getting ready to clean house of its experienced programmers and farm it out to recent grads and overseas for a lot less money.  It wasn't until after he found out that his friends - loyal employees - were going to get screwed over that Peter began to plot against the company.

The first part where he stopped caring had to do with him being personally unsatisfied with the job and giving up on it.  Maybe you'd kill for a job like he had, but the grass is always greener.  And in the end it wasn't like he quit working, he just found something he liked to do better... and obviously a job that would keep him in the same salary level since it's what the guy who could afford to live next door to him did.

[daveblackeye15]

Eirik:

Oh yeah I should add in: I'll onlt screw around if I was also 1)expendable or easy to replace 2) If I were to be fired or quite working ,but still go to work, I would screw over a nother person(s) and get them fired because I don't want to get other people fired because I want revenge agains the boss.

[Susan]

jmc wrote:

> All I gotta say is, I'd kill for a job like the one in OFFICE
> SPACE.    I've never really understood the point of that
> movie--someone who has a cushy desk job which, though annoying,
> is better than the work conditions most other people have.

The grass is always greener on the other side...and there is nothing cushy about my job which is very high stress all day long. I never have a moment of boredom like some desk jobs (i have a friend who plays on th net all day). I have compounded stress of deadlines, audits being done on me, qualitying my work, following up with a billion emails and supervisors and meetings. On top of that th A/C likes to crap out once in awhile so we're either in a sweatbox or they're trying to freeze us out. You sit in a cubicle all day staring at muted grey walls and feel th sanity slowly slipping away. A simple thing like hearing someone suck on a piece of candy loudly for 4 hours straight can send me right over the edge

Not to mention i'm always 2 days behind on everything and work floods in faster than I can keep up. I'm training, learning job duties that ARE NOT my job (just the other day i learned how to run quotes just because they are short staffed in that department and i have to pick up for their slack..which is annoying since i have my own slack and nobody EVER helps me)

By the end of the day my brain literally HURTS. I feel like a nimrod sometimes because my mental facilities start to shut down around 3:30 and by 4 i'm struggling to remember words like "door" in any given sentence.



Post Edited (06-19-04 17:47)

[JohnL]

I can't say I'd ever want to get fired intentionally, but IF I did, I think just not showing up for a week would do it. If you want something more fun, show up drunk and pee in the boss's trash can.