Firing crappy workers

ARGHHHHH -
had to fire a worker y'day and it is just so discouraging to me.  30 yo guy who had been showing up, working hard, going home, for 3-4 days per week over the past 3 months. Task by task seemed reliable, friendly, interested in regen ag, good with animals, built some trust, completed some key projects.... We have community lunch on the farm. I care for the people I cook for, and share a meal with...

I was gone for several days to an event out of town.  We had a plan for what would happen on two days of work while I was gone.

I returned home to find the farm truck with 450 extra miles on it, smelling like weed.
Card in the truck (for gas) used for gas and also for $75 of personal purchases at Walmart and other shop, no comment, no explanation; I found it by checking the card account. No work done on the two days we agreed.  Specific tasks with specific timing criteria ignored, with unfortunate consequences.

This is such a bummer.  Disappointing.
(I really do believe that everyone is doing their best all the time, and if they could be doing better, they would. And I have made my share  --some might say more than my share--  of bad decisions, poor choices and regrettable actions in my time...  so I understand that sometimes things go sideways...)
Ugh. Once someone shows you who they are, then it is there to be dealt with.  It is really unwise to ignore, because it happens again.
There are the situations where (maybe it's not so bad???) it seems like a clear Come-to-Jesus talk about the problems would ensure that nothing like this happens again. I would love it if my experience showed that this worked - but that has not been my experience. Whatever the 'IT' was, it happens again, on a bigger scale and perhaps with more subterfuge.

So he is fired and I am sad.  I like people. I want them to succeed and thrive.  We have had some GREAT peeps out here at the farm.... And when it does not work out, I am really sad.

Anybody with comments to share on this? I could use some encouragement. Confidence in humanity is having a drought moment...

Giving folks too much trust never seems to work out.

We recently went on a trip and dear hubby and I had a long discussion about locking things up.  I won, things got locked up.

I am sorry to hear that this happened.

Chin up, you made the best choice. It's too bad, but deliberate theft and neglect of duties is a deal-breaker. It could have been much worse. But once trust has been broken, it's tough to rebuild it.

Well, understanding why he did what he did might help or just give him an excuse to wheedle himself back into the job. I can't imagine in any version of reality that you wouldn't notice the extra charges, uptick in mileage, or the weed smell, but apparently he didn't think you would. Maybe if he came clean when you got back and offered to make amends, I'd consider keeping him on, but the weed would probably be a deal breaker because it meant he was driving high and probably high while working--if he was working at all.

Firing is no fun. You could possible let him know the reasons for firing, but he probably already knows it.

People can be flaky. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

T. Woolf wrote:Firing is no fun. You could possible let him know the reasons for firing, but he probably already knows it.

People can be flaky. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Yeah, true. I wonder if this was his "swan song." It seems like he was done with this gig, but left the hard bit to the employer. Lovely.

Kara Ann wrote:
Anybody with comments to share on this? I could use some encouragement. Confidence in humanity is having a drought moment...

Just wanting to confirm that you have proof of him as the guilty party.... Did he admit to it when you fired him?  If there is no confession, but you have other present or past workers that are in the vicinity and know about both the truck and the credit card, any chance it could have been another person?

John Weiland wrote:Just wanting to confirm that you have proof of him as the guilty party.... Did he admit to it when you fired him?  If there is no confession, but you have other present or past workers that are in the vicinity and know about both the truck and the credit card, any chance it could have been another person?

I hear what you say, but there is no HR department to conduct an investigation. If he did not do it, he would have protested his innocence. But who did? If he was under the influence of others who did it, he is a potential liability because (as the OP notes) this will escalate. 450 miles and intoxicants and credit card theft? I don't see that the OP had any other rational option. She is liable for everything that could go wrong.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:......If he did not do it, he would have protested his innocence.....

Yup....Understood for the most part.  The wishy washyness of my statement here comes from the rare possibility of a personality trait that *tries*, but when confronted with failure or accusation is fatalistic enough to just walk away without comment, irrespective of guilt.  But what I was additionally curious about is whether or not this was a 'communication exchange' firing.  The classic 'pink slip' is unidirectional firing.....no exchange.  I'm going to assume that the OP engaged in a communication exchange firing which would give the terminated employee a chance for rebuttal.  (I worked in a place where the only opportunity for rebuttal to termination was lawyering up.)  No response by the accused could indicate guilt of the actions or fatalism quirk.....either of which would likely recommend termination for reasons already illuminated by the OP.  But again, all speculation and assumption until we may hear/read additional info.....  Bottom line for Kara A. is it's dissappointing either way as repeat occurrances are undesireable and often costly.

Thanks to all for the commiseration and the commentary and the questions... I really appreciate not feeling so alone in my sadness about this tonight. And thanks for the acknowledgement of the liability - this is such a core issue for the farm owner - the buck stops here.

Oh golly, pink slip, I have been laid off that way in the past in the techie world... grim, nope not doing that.
The firing was after a clear conversation along the lines of me saying 'This is what I seem to have come back home to: truck + miles + weed, work not done, unexplained charges on card. Can you tell me about what happened while I was away?'

There was a clear admission... yes, it was me, seemed like ok at the time but realize it wasn't, sorry did not communicate well during those days, thought we would work it out when you got back, etc.
No doubt about what went down, no argument. I guess I should be glad it wasn't worse.

When things don't work out, I tend to harass myself: how could I have prevented this? Where did I not interview properly or screen appropriately? Where did I not communicate expectations accurately?  
Is it so unreasonable to expect: do what you agree to do or communicate that you are not able to and what might happen instead... don't take stuff that is not yours... don't operate machinery under the influence...
Sigh.

What are your best interview / screening strategies to keep out of this unpleasant scenario? I would welcome some wisdom..

I had a similar incident recently where I extended the hand of assistance, I finished up disappointed.
A couple living in a shed, I offered a home and 4 hours of paid work a week.
Charged them rent.
They paid rent ok, he had 3 car crashes, lost 5 pairs of glasses in 10 week.
He was bashed by her! and she tried to turn that around, I told her I did not believe her and she was lying.
She just backed off after that.
Cops came 4 nights in a row and finally took her away.
He was not capable of working, other than for 8 hours at the start because of her demands.
She had him getting milk at 2am in a rural area.
Just madness
He was not addicted to anything, but had to fix cars, walk or ride a push bike I lent him to shops 8 km. after the cars were wrecked.
He got an electric scooter, did not wear a helmet I lent him, crashed in loose sand and finished up in hospital.
They did not damage the house but left about $4000 of clothes, DVD's and  shoes.
And finger marks across the walls.
It was a shock to see how they lived and the decisions they made.
I met a person who work in welfare and she advised she was careful with whom she shared compassion.

Ay yi yi yi, John - what a story!  I guess we walk on thin ice when we assume that others share our reality, value system, functional capacities.
Your bottom line from your social worker associate of be careful with whom we share compassion is wise.  Thanks for sharing that.

Kara,

You can look on this differently. You gave this person a job and a chance to prove his worth, in time he failed. You did the right thing, he did not. I did something similar here, gave a neighbor the opportunity to work with me. I was told by others before we started, this neighbor has a bad resume. I feel it is my human responsibility to treat everyone equally, let things play out. This working relationship between my neighbor and me did not work but I gave it a chance, and I feel good about this.

Thanks, Doug, for sharing your experience and how you thought about it - this is a helpful reframing of the situation that I can keep in mind!

Doug, another interesting story.
I dont think I am angry either, just disappointed.
It was an eyeopener as well.
I did not throw them out, he explained he had mixed with some bad people and did not want them to come to my small farm place.
He chose to go back living on the streets, it was past winter.

My department works with the company's money. I instill an honesty policy in them every chance I get, even telling them if they need a stamp for a letter, let me bill them for it rather than take it, because stealing is wrong and is going to be fireable on the spot. I tell them to never give anyone a reason to not trust us.
That said, your guy stole from you.
Firing him was correct.
When you hire the next one, give him or her the right decisions before you leave them unattended. For instance, "no drugs, period, as you'll be fired. Call me if you need something for personal use, because taking without asking is stealing. I can always payroll deduct. Never give a person a reason to not trust you with their money and property. You're responsible for everything while I am gone so make me proud." Those comments are helpful but it still depends on the worker at the end of the day.
I hope the next hire goes good for you.

John C Daley wrote:It was a shock to see how they lived and the decisions they made.
I met a person who work in welfare and she advised she was careful with whom she shared compassion.

Even though I have compassion (and deep sadness) for fellow humans who have fallen off the edge, I am forced to recognize that they may need more extensive help than I can offer. There are a lot of beat-up people out there, for many reasons, and as noted above, their norms may be skewed beyond their ability to embrace the offer of a humble home and a large garden.

Elanor Gardner wrote:
When you hire the next one, give him or her the right decisions before you leave them unattended. For instance, "no drugs, period, as you'll be fired. Call me if you need something for personal use, because taking without asking is stealing. I can always payroll deduct. Never give a person a reason to not trust you with their money and property. You're responsible for everything while I am gone so make me proud."

Hey Elanor - thanks very much for this specific wording. It makes expectations crystal clear, nothing nebulous or subject to interpretation. And I really like the last sentence. In a counseling training class I took, one of the skills taught was 'future positive communication'. By framing whatever needs to be said within the context of 'we have a good thing here (whatever connection or relationship) and I want it to keep going and even get better, so let's talk about x,y,z and help that to happen.'  If I could roll back time, and said exactly what you have written here to this fella as the last thing before I got on a plane, I wonder if the outcome would have been different.  I will be glad to have this for next time!!!  Sending you a little bouquet with my appreciation!

John C Daley wrote:
It was a shock to see how they lived and the decisions they made.
I met a person who work in welfare and she advised she was careful with whom she shared compassion.

Sorry you went through that.

This reminds me of a situation where I had to stop dealing with a close relative. Basically until the person learns basic life lessons--the easy way or the hard way--and changes so they improve, they're going to keep repeating the same damaging behaviors. Sometimes they can't see the path out--that's where you can come in. Sometimes they have other problems such as mental illness, addictions, etc. Those things you can't change, unless the person gets professional help. Even then, that's a tough road. The person with those problems are going to have to battle those problems their entire life. Can someone with an addiction or a mental illness be a good worker? Absolutely. But they need to acknowledge their problems and be committed to working on overcoming their disease. They may fail at times, but there needs to be honesty when they have a setback. That way, you know when there's a problem and it doesn't get out of control.

As usual disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or a psychiatrist, but these are my own experiences.