Top 10 reasons employees are fired

Everyone comes up against difficulties at work every now and again

BY Emily Douglas 03 Jul 2018

Everyone comes up against difficulties at work every now and again. However, making the decision to fire a worker because of unforgivable conduct is a step most HR leaders dread.

A recent report from Turner Little uncovered the top ten reasons why employees were sacked so far in 2018 – which you can see below;

Poor performance/not meeting targets (23%)
Heavy internet usage not related to work (21%)
Too much socializing during work (16%)
Being late (11%)
Taking one too many sickies (9%)
Questionable history search (8%)
Looking for other jobs during work hours (6%)
Failing drug tests (3%)
Too many coffee/toilet breaks (2%)
Falling asleep at work (2%)

Alongside these reasons, the study asked individual employees to relate their personal experiences in being terminated. We’ve listed a few below.

Priya, 26 – Advertising
“I worked for an advertising company for about a year and a half. I was very happy with the job; however, the bosses were a bit uptight. My boyfriend was recently unemployed and looking for a job in marketing. As a loving girlfriend I decided to help him look for one.

“Stupidly, I decided it would be a great idea to look for jobs on my lunch break, from my work computer, thinking it was okay as it was my own time. A week later, I was called into the office and told I was fired, as my behaviour was “unacceptable”. Now my boyfriend has a job and is helping me find one. How the tables have turned.”

Andrew, 28 - Developer
“I was going through some personal issues at home, and let’s just say, I wasn’t getting the ‘beauty sleep’ I needed, which was starting to take a toll on my work performance.

“My bosses were surprisingly understanding until one day when I completely messed up. We had a meeting with a very important client, who also happened to have the softest, most soothing voice

I’d ever heard. Long story short, that was the best nap I’d had in a while. Needless to say, it was my last day working for him.”

Hannah, 31 - Graphic Designer
“I just started working for this small company, we were about 15 employees. At the same time, I just started a water detox diet which meant I was drinking tons of water.

“Because of my new diet I would find myself going to the toilet almost every hour, if not twice an hour. I didn’t think it was a big deal until I received an email saying I was being let go. On the bright side, the diet helped me lose 8 pounds!”