Why Poor Performers Don't Get Fired

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I worked in a photography studio with one other employee who was constantly making mistakes and costing my boss money, but I was fired because I was the "quiet one." I always did my job successfully, vastly improved communication among us in the office, and caught mistakes before they turned into problems. But I just wasn't a chatty Kathy or oriented toward sales, which is funny because I worked in the back room editing photographs...?? Sometimes it doesn't matter if you're dumb...just be a people person and you can charm most anyone into letting you keep your job.

Shelly of WA 2:55PM January 19, 2010

I had a coworker some years ago who was hands down the nastiest, most unreasonable, most combative person I've ever met. If I could have legally slugged her, I would have. At my exit interview I said straight up that she was a large part of the reason I was leaving. My manager was very empathetic, but he explained that it was a unionized company, she was long past the 30-day probationary period for new hires, and that was that.

Andy of WA 1:51AM September 09, 2009

I worked at a place, and there was this one person I had to work with...Not to pleasant and constantly complained and was terrible to work with. Just wasn't happy. I could never please anyone, but I always worked. Guess who got fired? Not the unhappy complainer.

Brian of WI 11:31AM July 23, 2009

this happens in civil service all the time. poor performers are rewarded and even promoted. i personally know of some e.g. a human rights specialist who was consistently written up yet became a supervisor in the harlem office. i know of another person who sexually harassed a female supervisor and did no work yet was retained. another one talked about sex all the time yet became a director of the executive office. yet i know of one diligent human rights specialist who has an advanced degree yet was cruelly treated from the time of her arrival to her termination. in the tax department, there were constant poor performers who did nothing and yet got away with it. i am going to write an expose on the civil service system in new york state and will name names.

gwilliams of NY 9:50AM July 06, 2009

At my last job, we had two poor performers. With one, pity was a huge factor. Also, shock. The guy wouldn't show up for work until late in the afternoon Tuesday (M-F, 9-5 job) every other week from the very beginning of his employment. My boss gave him another chance and another and another, and to his credit, he actually shaped up a lot in the end. Unfortunately, this turned my boss into an absolute freak about attendance, threatening to fire anyone who came in five minutes late for any reason.
The second poor performer was truly astoundingly bad at her job and always will be. She just didn't care about any aspect of the job besides her paycheck and how soon she could leave. She made mistake after mistake, and she would sit there and let everyone around her take the blame for her errors. My boss had to hold her hand to do the simplest, stupidest tasks after she'd been there for two years. She'd never stay late to finish anything. And my boss worshiped the very ground she walked on. He couldn't pay that idiot enough money. She was unfriendly, and she wasn't particularly attractive, so even that's out. It baffles me to this day.
It was a terribly toxic environment, with different rules for everyone. Thank goodness I'm outta there.

anon of OR 8:45PM December 19, 2008

Because in the days of litigation, it's too hard to fire people. It would take about 6 months of documenting performance, working with them to improve, and then showing that they still fail. And guess what, if you give that much attention to someone, of course they are going to succeed! Well, at least until you take your eye off them. It's too much effort and almost always not worth it.

Tom of NJ 2:50PM December 16, 2008

Unfortunately, sometimes poor peformers are allowed to stick around because their managers simply don't care so long as the work is getting done. This means that overperformers are burdened with additional work, and often go from highly driven, model employees to resentful "problem" employees. In some cases, the overperformer with the "bad attitude" is the one who gets punished while the underperformer stays under the radar.

Eric of OH 8:38PM December 12, 2008

I work with someone who is a terrible performer. Seriously incompetent in every aspect of the job and has weekly meetings with managers discussing performance and strategies for improving. Problem is she is in nearly every "protected class" being a woman, ethnic minority, has a chronic medical condition, adheres to very strict religious doctrine, etc. Everytime something comes up about her performance she plays one of her discrimination cards. Heck, she's even a vegetarian and went to a manager to complain that others ate the cheese and veggie pizza before she got any and it wasn't fair and she's being discriminated against.
Long story longer the managers don't feel sorry for her or think they're failing, they are terrified of getting sued.

Rather not say of IL 8:55AM December 12, 2008

Managers are human and it can be difficult to determine someone's work ethic and character during an interview. The true test is once the employee is hired.
Poor performers breed resentment from coworkers and can create a toxic environment. If a manager is not documenting poor performance then that manager is not doing his/her job!
When an employee is given information and opportunity to improve performance yet continues to perform poorly, that employee should be terminated. This will restore a positive work enviorment and reestablish consistency.
Feelings should never be an issue. Work perfomance affects the companys ability to be sucessful and MAKE MONEY!

Anna Roughton of AZ 11:44AM December 11, 2008

Another interesting view of this phenomena is 'The Peter Principle' which states that employees are promoted to their level of incompetence, then through developing ways to appear productive and/or being productive in areas which are not part of their job remain stuck at this position. Wikipedia or google 'The Peter Principle' for more information on this.

Billy of MD 1:32PM December 05, 2008