Most Firms Do Their Firings Just in Time for Holidays

If you don’t get fired by Thanksgiving, you’re likely to stay employed all next year, according to a survey.

More people get fired just before Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s when managers decide who’s going to be on the following year’s payroll.

A company may think it’s doing its employees a favor by giving them the bad news early.

“Some employers often think that early advice on forthcoming termination may avoid disrupting the family holiday,” said James Challenger, president of Challenger Gray. “The decision to terminate those who will not be on the 1996 payroll is being made now as budgets are being finalized.”

There are a couple of ways employees can tell that things might be a little thin under the Christmas tree this year, Challenger said. One is that your boss stops talking to you.

“The foremost [warning sign] is a sudden absence of new projects to be worked on, coupled with a lack of face-to-face contact with the supervisor,” Challenger said. “When this happens, the employer has likely decided to discharge the individual.”

Even your boss has feelings, Challenger said.

“An employer may be avoiding personal contact because he or she may feel uncomfortable having any extensive discussions with an employee when the decision has already been made to discharge,” he said.