I may be getting fired??

HI @Emily Fox Seaton. Thanks, but I am well aware of how corrupt this world is. I am not naive. Your post is almost offensive. I am 48 years old and I have been working for 25 years full time. I am fully aware. I am simply exasperated by all of it. Plain and simple. And people have varying views on HR and on going to HR. I have found in my experience that it CAN benefit a person sometimes. And it has in the past for me. So I disagree with you on that as well.

I'm going to just say it here and now. I don't feel there's anything wrong with ME. It's this toxic organization that is incestuous practically, with loads of favortism, nepotism, and the like going on, plus a boss who is clearly threatened by me. I don't feel I have done anything to deserve this. I work hard, I am a big success with my clients, and I do a great job. I have a strong work ethic, I am moral and I am respomsible. The only thing that may have rocked the boat in the wrong direction was going to HR about a work process when my boss was out of the office. I did not know or realize that it could potentially backfire wiht me with my boss. That was the one mistake I may have made. But other than that, I've been an awesome employee and most certainly do NOT deserve tot be freaking fired.

Since you have a negative view of your employer ("toxic" etc.) and are wondering if you are going to be fired, have you started applying for other jobs?

You know I support you and am totally in your corner, rooting for you. Some thoughts to try and help you make it through til a better gig comes along:

Is it possible that you are coming off in a way other than you intend? It may be worth it to take feedback from your colleagues on how you occur for them and see if that's how you intend to occur. This is in no way an insinuation that you are intentionally doing anything or anything less than what you stated. But we often think we are behaving one way while others perceive us a different way.

It could also be that your idea of an awesome employee is different than your boss's or the CEO's. It might be worth it to ask them what they would say an awesome employee is and see if you are matching up to what they want for an employee. That is, if you want to try and make things work at all or at least to keep your job until you find a new one.

Hang in there. You are incredibly skilled and talented. If you can learn to work with others who don't have your level of integrity and work ethic and not get bothered by them (and in this case, based on the situation, not rock the boat) you will find a lot of success. And actually, as I typed it, that kind of would explain a lot, I think. It may be possible your boss views you as someone rocking the boat. No matter your skill set, if you're rocking the boat, that will put you in the hot seat.

You'll survive this. You are strong, and like I said, talented. Just have to keep treading water for a while longer.

Ugh. It is really unpleasant. So terrible.

I agree with tecomsin. You should search for a new job right now. Even if they failed to get you fired this time, they would try again later. It's such a toxic place. I know you need money, but you must also get out ASAP.

I know you're a smart woman and you must have documented everything. Show those evidence to the CEO, including the time when your boss tried to take your credits. I hope it would end well.

Thank you @seesaw.

Well you do pose good questions. The fact that I had a great annual review that was seven pages long documenting how I am a good employee, and the fact that my boss’s boss told me directly that I’m a huge asset to the team, kind of says it all right? And that happened only just two weeks ago, before I backed out of social.

This (I think) has much more to do with me backing out of social (due to my anxiety), and much more to do with my boss disliking that.

The CEO told me it has to do with their bottom line. Without social on my plate, I carry the lightest load of SEO clients. My boss made it seem like I couldn’t handle more clients. He erroneously conveyed that to the CEO. So I cleared that point up.

Then the CEO also made the point of saying they need the right people in the right positions and pointed out that I had said to my boss that I had lost my passion for the field I’m in. So I cleared up that point as well.

I believe it’s my boss who is trying to get me fired by saying these things to the CEO.

So from what I can surmise, it has to do with my level of interest and my ability to take on more clients. I made it clear to the CEO where my passion DOES lie within my field, AND told him I can certainly take on more clients. I also let HR know this because my boss gave her this impression as well.

I’ve pissed off my boss, so I believe he wants me gone. I did not ask to be placed in charge of social strategy... my boss dumped that responsibility on me. It became too much, and I told my boss it was giving me too much anxiety and that I was in over my head. The CEO is the one who hired me, and he said he likes me A LOT.

So this is the CEO’s decision.

I may have rocked the boat in a few ways, but I get along with everyone in the company and there are no open conflicts or anything of the like. I went to HR about our work process once, that pissed off my boss, and I defended my right to present my own work with a colleague who tried to steal my thunder.

Hope this helps clear up any missing pieces... I am certainly willing to look at myself and see how I can do better, but honestly, I feel this is ALL on my boss who is misrepresenting the facts to our CEO.

Thankfully, it's the CEO who hired me, and not my boss.

Thanks, yes I had a final round of interviews with a large company last week. I am definitely looking.

Thank you!! Next time I speak with the CEO I will definitely defend myself if need be.

Yeah, definitely capitalize on that relationship with the CEO until you can jump ship for good.

Sorry if I misunderstood.

No worries... I realize that I haven't presented ALL the facts and info..... I gave just pieces of the whole story.

And yes, the CEO said it twice in this meeting that he really likes me.... I also told him, I really just want to capitalize upon my strengths in my field.

My experience and what I have read elsewhere is that this kind of situation is not about what you or anyone else 'deserves'.

HR is there to protect the company, not to protect any individual employee.

Also it helps to clarify in your own mind what is your primary goal right now and act accordingly. If it is to keep your job until you find another one, or if it is to convince your CEO that you are in the right and your boss is in the wrong... or something else. Those are all very different goals and have different demands.

Thanks for pointing that out, but you have this wrong.

This is not about me being in the right and trying to convince the CEO that I am right and my boss is wrong.

This is about me standing up for myself when my boss has misconstrued information to the CEO about what I have said. My boss is trying to get me fired by basically lying to the CEO.... so I have to defend myself in front of the CEO and point out that things I've said are being misconstrued. That's what's going on here.

And I am sure as hell going to defend myself in order to save my job.

In my 7-page annual review, given to me two weeks ago, it states:

-I am reliable employee
-I produce HIGH quality work
-NONE of my work needs correction OR oversight -- every deliverable sent to each client is error-free
-I have been highly successful in retaining ALL of my clients -- none have left
-I have achieved great results for my clients
-I willingly mentor junior staff and am a strong team player
-I take initiative and want to take on more

So, this is in writing. And I received a 3.5% salary raise.

And two weeks later, they want to possibly fire me. For me, I see serious injustice going on here.

Yeah, that speaks volumes. And firing should never be a surprise unless there is unethical ornillegal conduct. Your manager is just a bad manager. And hopefully your ceo sees that.

yes thank you, Seesaw. My boss is a TERRIBLE boss. Ironic that I first thought he was the best boss ever. SO ironic.

I don't believe I have this wrong but this is all I have to say.

This statement is true, since the dawn of time and the first human resources department.

While it was originally called the 'personnel dept.,' human resources has evolved past protecting the worker's rights to protecting companies' and corporations' from lawsuits by their employees.

As this article's title indicates, "HR is not there to be your friend, it's there to protect the company."

Read this woman's blog about her yearlong stint as an Uber driver and how their human resources dept. tried to screw her over.

Yes, you had to defend yourself against your boss, golden_eve. But what tecomsin says IS factual: human resources departments no longer are there to protect the employee, but to protect the company from the employee.

Bottom line: do NOT trust a human resources dept. to help you or protect you while you are in your workplace. Their agenda is to protect the company's financials, not the employee's benefits or safety on the job.

What I meAnt was wrong was the assumption that I’m trying to prove my boss wrong. I am clearing up misperceptions.

Please.. I don’t want to have to defend myself on my own thread. Please just be supportive. I don’t need people to try and argue points with me. Thanks.

I’m already on the defensive because of work. Going to HR is besides the point. I’m being fired for other reasons, if they do fire me. My boss has lied to the CEO about things I’ve said.