Woke up this morning feeling refreshed knowing that the end-of-the-month crap is all in the hands of the bookkeeper, and I'm off the hook for another 30 days.
Then a contractor told me he's letting one of his men go partly because of comments I made once. To be fair, he's not the most dedicated work or team player. He's just there for the paycheck, and I assume many of them are. But he conspicuously stands out in his work avoidance routines, and I mentioned that a few months ago.
It's not just my words, but others have mentioned the same thing.
So, now I feel bad knowing this guy is getting the ax. He's a young single guy without a lot of responsibilities, so maybe he'll be thankful or spiteful. Hard to say, but it's weird seeing him on the site knowing his last day is tomorrow.
I hate firing people. I've had to do it, but not in the last few years. My staff is too dear to me, and I told them if they're ever surprised by any of my decisions then I'm doing a horrible job as a manager in not communicating with them.
I've fired my share of contractors though. No problem there. If they're not working out for me or second guess my decisions then they're gone. I always appreciate constructive criticism, but if you approach me with "hey, this ain't gonna work, I can't do this" well, it's going to be a bad day for you.