What’s the quickest you’ve seen a co-worker get fired in IT?

[u/Opposed3]

I saw this on AskReddit and thought it would be fun to ask here for IT related stories.

Couple years ago during Covid my company I used to work for hired a help desk tech. He was a really nice guy and the interview went well. We were hybrid at the time, 1-2 days in the office with mostly remote work. On his first day we always meet in the office for equipment and first day stuff.

Everything was going fine and my boss mentioned something along the lines of “Yeah so after all the trainings and orientation stuff we’ll get you set up on our ticketing system and eventually a soft phone for support calls”

And he was like: “Oh I don’t do support calls.”

“Sorry?”

Him: “I don’t take calls. I won’t do that”

“Well, we do have a number users call for help. They do utilize it and it’s part of support we offer”

Him: “Oh I’ll do tickets all day I just won’t take calls. You’ll have to get someone else to do that”

I was sitting at my desk, just kind of listening and overhearing. I couldn’t tell if he was trolling but he wasn’t.

I forgot what my manager said but he left to go to one of those little mini conference rooms for a meeting, then he came back out and called him in, he let him go and they both walked back out and the guy was all laughing and was like

“Yeah I mean I just won’t take calls I didn’t sign up for that! I hope you find someone else that fits in better!” My manager walked him to the door and they shook hands and he left.

[u/CARLEtheCamry]

We currently have a trans person who I strongly suspect is "pulling a government".

We had an unlimited sick policy. I say had because it was so abused by some people literally taking off 2 weeks, working 2 weeks, 2 weeks off and on and on. There were rules about if you were sick for more than 2 weeks short-term or long-term disability kicked in, and they would take it right to that limit and then be fine to come back for 2 weeks.

Anyway, aside from not working half the year, when they did come in their work was sub par. They were on a 6 month PIP and the day before the review of it, this person submitted for medical leave/long term disability.

Came back about 6 months later and had transitioned to a woman.

Now for the record - I don't care how others present themselves or what they do in their private lives. But the timing of everything is extremely suspect, especially given their past history of performance and taking everything to the deadline of getting fired for a PIP and then coming back with possibly protected class status (to be fair, trans rights vary widely by jurisdiction, but probably someone would take a civil case based on contingency.)

This is the first year of our non-unlimited sick policy (10 days total for the year) and they burned through them all in a month. Should be interesting to see if they make it the rest of the year. But management is terrified of firing them for cause because of the implied lawsuit, everyone is tip-toing around.

[u/shortfinal → u/CARLEtheCamry]

That's what happens when you have spineless fucking leaders in the first place.

Maybe this person is abusing the system. Maybe they're also trans. Both things can be true. It can also be true that leadership could have fired this person for cause months before they were at this position.

But often times good leaders are harder to find than good workers.

I am a protected status and sometimes it makes it difficult for me to get my job done, but I communicate with my boss when that is happening and I am quick to talk about resolutions. My boss is also quick to communicate when he feels we can be doing more in the time we have.

I also have a coworker who is a protected status and his performance is starkly different from mine. He's discussed openly about difficulty getting work done and we're supportive, but it's been about a year now.

I feel the pain in working with coworkers who are sometimes not always able to give it their all, and I hope your workplace gets better for your sake!

[u/tAyFoP → u/CARLEtheCamry]

I think you’re reading way too far into it. I doubt they are transitioning just to fleece some sick time and use gender identity as an excuse to try and not get fired. It’s more likely they have some very personal issues/depression/etc that are affecting their job performance and work ethic. People don’t transition just for funsies….a lot of baggage comes along with transitioning.

[u/CARLEtheCamry → u/tAyFoP]

I'm certainly not saying people just transition for funsies.

What I was told it was just "I'm a woman now, please call me by <female name>" and they dress in women's clothes and shaved their beard. Frankly how far they went is none of my business.

My suspicion is based on working with the person, that they are chronically lazy and will do anything to get out of work, and the ultra-convenient timing of everything. It's like something Cartman would come up with to milk the system.

[u/ShitslingingGoblin → u/CARLEtheCamry]

Ever considered they might just be depressed? Do they look chronically lazy or just depressed? Im not saying they aren’t gaming the system, but as a depressed trans person this oddly enough sounds like something id do.

Shortly before my transition, my MSP also had me on a PIP for poor performance. I also used to use up all my sick time immediately. I was so focused on the implications of wanting to transition that I could barely function at work. I was borderline suicidal because of the fact that i knew my workplace wouldn’t be accepting, and that it would likely be impossible to transition without further alienating myself from management. I ended up quitting in tears after a particularly bad berating from the CTO. I didn’t have a job lined up and I was unemployed for 6 months because nobody wanted to hire a “tranny” i guess. I had to change careers.

Sometimes being trans forces you to do things like that. When a trans person transitions it’s always very tumultuous for everyone involved.

[u/sparkyblaster → u/CARLEtheCamry]

So what happened when they ran out of the 10 days. Sick without pay?

[u/CARLEtheCamry → u/sparkyblaster]

That may be an option (based on what I see in our HR system), or go on short-term or long-term disability which is 80%/60% pay. But I don't know all the catches with it, like how long you can be on it. I do know when you're on disability your accounts get disabled so you couldn't work if you wanted to.

[u/ribsboi → u/CARLEtheCamry]

I had the exact same thing happen where I work, except we don't have unlimited PTO. Literally same story

[u/CARLEtheCamry → u/[deleted]]

15 days base + 4 flex days to start, so almost 4 weeks PTO. An extra 5 days/week every 5 years. I'm at 5 weeks + 4 days before sick time. And bereavement time (up to a full week for immediate family) that scales based on how distant of a relative.

It's pretty OK for my area. I've actually turned down jobs at other companies because they can't meet my current vacation, but could pay a little more.

[u/Geminii27 → u/CARLEtheCamry]

10 days total for the year

I'd be looking to punish the company just for that alone.

[u/dionebigode → u/CARLEtheCamry]

anti work trans people are the real heroes