How to get fired?

[dankenein]

I loved everything about the book--it confirmed many thoughts I'd been having as well as (gasp!) gave practical strategies and advice! However, one section that really intrigued me was the advantages of being fired (unemployment) over quitting. I wanted more details on how to make this happen. Seriously. I am poised to quit my beyond-repair job at the end of the year, regardless, but would much prefer the quiet firing.

Unfortunately, I work at an elite university where raises are NOT merit-based (so cutting back on productivity is not a fireable offense) and it's damn near impossible to be fired (you need to embezzle large amounts of money and I don't have access to finances!). Further, unprofessional and inappropriate behavior on the smaller scale (things that would be considered harassment other places) actually seems to be rewarded, not punished. Hard work, smarts, and integrity seem to be punished.

Any ideas? I suspect I'm just going to have to pull the trigger myself.

[kamakiri]

Re-read the book. The 4HWW has nothing to do with stealing, unprofessional and inappropriate behavior, or embezzlement.

It is not your employer that has those problems, it is you, and you will bring them anywhere you go. Go out and buy a Stephen Covey book, preferably 7 Habits, but any will do, read it and then put some of it into practice. Any social problems you have now will only get worse when you start to live the 4HWW lifestyle, so you are far better off getting them sorted out now.

[webgal]

Perhaps you were reading the book and your mind was translating it the way it wanted to read it. I think Tim just truly got fired. He didn't hatch an evil plot to make it happen.

Just find a different job until you can get your idea started and working. Then you can go part time maybe. I wouldn't TRY to get fired. That could backfire. And unemployment isn't a lot of money and it does run out after a set number of weeks. You also have to prove that you are actively seeking employment and they don't make it easy to get.

[badhank]

Kam and web, u make valid points, but the question is "how can i get fired". Moral and ethical reasoning aside, if you wanna get fired, its very easy to do, and gets u some cash, so without further hesitation i will give you a few ideas that range from moderate to incredibly rude

1) Dont show up, and insist that they pay you
2) as above buck insist on a raise
3) show up, but only work on ur muse on their dime
4) be a bully to ppl that u dont perticularly care for, everythign from being rude to slapping paper out of ppl's hands to delegating your work to ppl that shouldnt b doing it (while u do #3)
5) fake meltdown
6) delete important files
7) over-react angrily to anything anyone says to you by breaking monitors/computer hardware
8) write and email about everyone's dirty secrets and other nasty things (u should know some) and send it to every in the office.

Some are better for you and will eventually get u fired while u get urself set up(1-3) other will make u look like a jerk and get u out of there quicker (the rest) so its ur call. 4-8 Remember to question everything anyone says to you, talk down to ppl, and if your voice isnt contemptuous then ur not doing it as well as u could.

Enjoy the ride, dont plan it too much as u cant actually predict what will happen and remember, u didnt quit, you expect to b payed this whole time (make that clear)

[kamakiri]

Trying to get fired is a poor strategy. It is like trying to get rich by saving and
being cheap. The problem is, at the end of the day, you are cheap. Do some worst case scenarios here. What is the worst that can happen? Your crappy habits become habits. You can wake up tomorrow and quit, but you never recover from ingrained bad habits.

Either sh*t or get off the pot. Shooting for short term free lunch will do absolutely nothing to help you in your goals of a 4HWW lifestyle, and does not contribute a single positive thing to you.


Do you even have a plan for your muse? If so lets see that. Your need to prioritize things here, and not put the wagon before the horses. Having time to set you your muse while on welfare sure isn't an effective strategy.

[Thor]

great topic

[dankenein]

Originally Posted by kamakiri

Re-read the book. The 4HWW has nothing to do with stealing, unprofessional and inappropriate behavior, or embezzlement.

Sigh. I am a person with high integrity and would not embezzle money (DUH!). I was simply stating that it's very rare for anyone to get fired and that embezzling was the only way I've seen it happen.

Originally Posted by kamakiri

It is not your employer that has those problems, it is you, and you will bring them anywhere you go.

Actually, that is not true. I've had many jobs and enjoyed most of them, but not this one. Many of my colleagues feel the same way I do. I am not exaggerating the status of things. People who explode actually get raises and are catered to. I am not making this up.

[dankenein]

Originally Posted by kamakiri

Either sh*t or get off the pot. Shooting for short term free lunch will do absolutely nothing to help you in your goals of a 4HWW lifestyle, and does not contribute a single positive thing to you.

You don't appear to be very good at reading the posts to which you're replying. I DO plan to quit at the end of the year based precisely on calculations.

[badhank]

I dont understand the backlash that dankenein is getting from this post...

Look at this logically. You are in a job you plan to quit. You are being payed while there. You can time this time that you are being payed as a time to do your own legwork on some1 elses dime. Eventually you will get fired and get a bonus 2 week float.
The only downside is that you get a bad reference which you dont need since u no longer want to b chained to a job like this...

I once read a story about a man who refused to suffer his job any more, so he set out to see how he could plan his own small business (muse) while on his employers time. He eventually was fired (got the bonus 2 weeks) and became a very successful man.

Can anyone guess who im talking about? Free ice-cream if you can guess who that was

also: some1 already made up their mind as to what they want to do (which i think is a GREAT idea) and didnt ask about what you thought about it. You dont like it, dont give suggestion and word your opposition tactfully.
The question asked was how to go about it. Why would you put yourself out there and tell this person their wrong? No1 has posted any logic as to y you shouldnt get fired, its all opinion. There ARE financial advantages. There are also drawback which may or may not apply.

[badhank]

Originally Posted by dankenein

You don't appear to be very good at reading the posts to which you're replying.

well said, come guys lets keep the quality level at a certain point.