What it feels like to fire people
I have had to do it twice, once in the private sector, once in the public sector.
My work career before becoming a teacher was in data processing, where at various times I was a programmer, programmer analyst, systems analyst, consultant, supervisor, and manager.
The first time I had to fire an employee was while a manager at a private company then the world's largest vendor of project management software. The employee actually had been at the company longer than I had been. There had been personal hygiene issues that we had had to address, but that was not the cause. The quality of his work began spiraling downward, he began missing deadlines. He had personal issues outside of work, but he refused the company's willingness to provide him with some support. In a small company we could not afford to carry him. I gave him a choice of getting some help with his problems, even possibly taking a leave of absence for up to one month. He refused all assistance, so reluctantly we discharged him.
The second time was while I was a supervisor in local government. The young man in question was still a
