Business English: How do I get myself sacked from my job?

A male manager (28) wrote: I'm bored and depressed at work. My job is a portfolio manager for a large bank and the work keeps me busy for just 10 hours a week. I've been discouraged from starting new projects... von Lucy Kellaway

... so spend my time writing a script and studying. The idleness is killing me but I can't quit as I need the salary. I've decided to try to get myself sacked and use the huge pay-off to subsidise a more interesting, worse paid job. But how do I it? The company is satisfied with my work and colleagues love me.

Read what Lucy Kellaway, "agony-aunt" of the Financial Times (London), answered:

You are full of surprises. First I'm surprised that you can do your work quite so quickly. I thought that deciding what to invest in meant doing an open-ended amount of homework.

Lucy Kellaway

I'm also surprised to hear that your colleagues like you so much. In my experience, people tend not to be especially keen on their overachieving workmates. If I were sitting next to someone who despatched his work to the bosses' satisfaction in a couple of hours and then spent the rest of the day writing scripts and studying, I wouldn't feel too warmly towards him.

And finally I'm surprised that you need so much money. Isn't the point of portfolio management that you get paid quite a lot for it? Unless you are also overachieving at sowing your seeds and already have four children, then surely you can afford to take a worse paid job?

Tell your boss

Despite the above, I'm still prepared to feel sorry for you. Having too little to do is a kind of torture and is far worse than having too much to do. However, trying to get sacked isn't the option. In most countries, getting fired for doing your work badly - let alone for having your hand in the till or up someone's skirt - means you don't get a bean.

Mehr zum Thema

If you are made redundant you do get a pay-off - but if the bank isn't trying to lay people off, this may be hard. The best option is to tell your boss exactly how much spare time you have. If he has any sense he will respond by giving you a lot more to do. Or else he will mark you down as an annoying upstart and will only be too glad to edge you out when the next round of redundancies comes round.

Quelle: The Financial Times, www.ft.com