One does not simply fire someone in a position of leadership. Loose lips sink ships.

Going into your DMs with someone who’s left the company feels like walking into the perfectly-preserved bedroom of someone who passed away before their time. Eerie, reverent, forbidden.

Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe you weren't quite ready. Maybe you had a lot going on. I know it feels awful, but I promise, no one thinks you’re a failure. Believe it or not, someone probably took great care in what happened to you. Because they know it wasn't all your fault. They wanted this to be as easy for you as possible.

When you’re the one who makes sure that everything is done by the book, there’s no one left to manage your exit correctly. That often means that you’re more likely than anyone to be underpaid or have your exit mishandled. 

Unless you fired them for something super unethical or illegal (like sexual harassment, fraud, violence, or microwaving cabbage soup), there’s no need to report it. Let the state make the call.

There is something that payroll administrators can do to mitigate the Big Check Suckerpunch. It’s not shady and doesn’t expose the departing employee to risk.

Termination isn't just a button in your HRIS. It's a tightly regulated event. It's the kind of process where everyone is watching. That’s why HR and managers feel so much pressure to keep it confidential. But too much confidentiality means the people responsible for execution don’t have enough time to get it right.