Efficient At Recording Your Inefficiencies

My mom relays this story to me. Two people at her company are getting laid off, and their direct supervisor asks my mom, another supervisor, to be in the room with him when he tells these men that they are being laid off.

The first man takes the news pretty well and is very professional about it. The second man, however, is very much not. As soon as he sits down, he seems to have an inkling as to what’s going to happen; he glares suspiciously at my mom and asks his supervisor why she’s there. The supervisor explains that she is there to assist with any inquiries he may have.

The man listens to the spiel about how the company is going in a different direction and they need to increase efficiency, yada yada. When the supervisor is done, the man sits back and says, “I’ve heard your pretty speech. Now, tell me the real reason I’m being fired.”

They go back and forth like this, with the man insisting that there has to be another reason he’s being laid off. Finally, my mom says to him, “I think [Supervisor] already told you that.”

The man grows furious and starts ranting about how he’s the most productive person on the team, the company will fail without him, etc. Then, he says that he’s been keeping a folder with all of his coworkers’ mistakes and begins listing their failures.

Finally, once he’s done his rant, the supervisor tells him he should go home for the rest of the day and a security officer comes to escort him out of the building. My mom is so disturbed by how angry he got that she suggests he not be allowed back in the building. Really, though, if you’re getting laid off for inefficiency, is it really the best idea to tell your boss that you’ve spent valuable work hours compiling a list of your coworkers’ mistakes?