Section Four
Another suggestion is to exercise care in the timing of
terminations. Employees frequently want to take positive action
to obtain another job as quickly possible. Therefore,
terminating employees before a weekend or during a holiday
may be unduly stressful because they cannot pursue job search
activities at this time. Further, during these times, the
employee may have too much time to brood over the
termination. Managers also should consider the impact of a
termination on other employees because how a coworker is
terminated may have a lasting impact on employees’
perceptions of the company. Terminations should be conducted
only after prior warning, real attempts to improve the
employee’s performance or correct unacceptable behavior, and
a thorough investigation surrounding the last-straw incident.
Managers often delay too long before terminating employees.
One reason for delay is that managers tend to feel guilty about
terminating employees and may blame the employee’s failures
on themselves.^86
In conducting the termination session, the manager
should describe the conditions of the separation, benefits, and
the nature of recommendations the company is willing to make.
A practical suggestion is that the severance package and
explanation of benefits should be in writing because the
employee may not “hear” the information during such a
traumatic time. In the termination session, the manager should