"If you're in HR and you are agreeing to letting people go for these minor types of infractions for a short-term benefit … what exactly is that going to do to your long-term prospects as an organization and as an HR organization?"
Ever use the office copier for something other than official company business? Or availed yourself of a paperclip or pencil?
If that’s you, maybe you should watch your back.
Lately a string of companies, from Meta to EY to Target, have parted ways with workers for the most minor infractions, raising questions about whether it’s really a shady way of reducing headcount while putting a spotlight on issues like trust and integrity in corporate culture.
Rebecca Trotsky, chief people officer at workforce management platform HR Acuity, warns that it can have devastating consequences for organizational goodwill. “If you’re in HR and you are agreeing to letting people go for these minor types of infractions for a short-term benefit … what exactly is that going to do to your long-term prospects as an organization and as an HR organization?” she said.
“It’s dishonest,” said business coach Dominic Monkhouse. “Nobody will work hard where there isn’t a culture of trust. If you need to reduce the headcount, don’t sneak people out through the back door.”
“Losing a job in this economic climate is quite severe — it threatens root survival in comparison to whatever minor ‘loss’ the company experienced.”
Recent examples of petty firings have made for a steady stream of headlines, with employees being terminated for everything from using office meal credits from home to jumping the line to buy merchandise — and yes, misappropriating the office copying machine. (Petty theft seems to have become a particular issue at tech companies, whose employees have grown used to generous perks but may, in some cases, have taken advantage.) While these violations may technically run afoul of corporate policy, the harsh punishment has raised more than a few eyebrows.
Samantha Reynolds, director of marketing at the workforce management platform Helpside, points out the obvious unfairness of such situations. “Losing a job in this economic climate is quite severe — it threatens root survival in comparison to whatever minor ‘loss’ the company experienced,” she said. Reynolds singles out the case of retail workers being terminated for purchasing merchandise out of turn — at companies where they often earn less than $15 per hour.
The impact on employees who remain can be damaging. “The message it sends to those who stay is that it’s all just about how everything has to be exactly by the book 100% of the time,” Trotsky said. “And then employees will say, ‘OK, I’m not going to check my email over the weekend’ … It’s not going to be about achieving goals anymore; it’s going to be about a very transactional relationship.”
Even though it’s questioned whether petty firings are a way for companies to cut payroll while avoiding the negative publicity often associated with layoffs, recent research from the workforce management platform Orgvue suggests that executives actually struggle with workforce reductions, with more than half (54%) saying they would rather relive the pandemic than to carry them out.
Using minor infractions as grounds for termination is even more dubious when considering that more than 4 in 10 employees have either observed or experienced some level of work misconduct, according to HR Acuity’s research — suggesting that companies may be selectively enforcing policies while ignoring bigger employee issues.
HR leaders face critical choices in such matters. “To those HR people and those HR teams, I just say, do better,” Trotsky said. “Stand up and say, this is not going to work. We need to put a little more effort into this, because it will impact our brand reputation and our ability to recruit in the future.”
For organizations that have no option but to reduce headcount, Trotsky emphasizes the importance of best practices, including clear communication about reasons for the layoffs and transitional support and outplacement services for those impacted. “What we found in our studies is, I do believe that most organizations put effort into achieving a layoff result in a way that is as humane as it can be,” she said.
A long-term perspective is critical, she stresses: “If you’re hoping to create a workplace where people are connected and energized by the work and fully invested in the mission of the company, then it should be fairly easy to say, ‘OK, well, how are we going to treat people when times aren’t as good?’”
Perhaps most importantly, organizations ought to do everything they can to avoid having to execute layoffs to begin with, Trotsky maintains. “Don’t over-hire,” she said. “Be thoughtful about bringing people on board so that you never have to get to that place.”
