This is just for fun, so don't think you're actually going to be fired if any of these happen to you-you're probably just really unpopular. 1) In the latest team/office/department photo, the photographer tells you to stand well away from your colleagues so you can be easily photoshopped out later on.
2) When you ask your boss for advice on what holiday to book this year, she advises a Round-the-World Trip.
3) Your boss turns into a soap opera character-you can tell he wants to tell you something but he just. can't. spit. it. out.
4) This year's Christmas Party has already been booked and it's going to be at an Italian restaurant. Even though the social secretary knows you're allergic to olive oil.
5) Your colleagues are already talking about you in the past tense.
6) Your boss starts talking up the virtues of daytime TV whenever you're in earshot.
7) Someone leaves directions to get to the Job Centre on your desk.
8) Colleagues actually start taking cases from your caseload on the sly instead of you having to slip them into their 'to-do piles' on the sly.
9) Your boss starts buying you lunch every day and telling you to 'save your money'.
10) You walk into your office one day and sit down at your desk when you suddenly notice that Lord Alan Sugar is sitting directly opposite you with his finger in mid-air...
And now for the 'seriously though' bit. Seriously though, if you sense that you're about to be dismissed or made redundant, talk to your boss. It's not about begging to keep your job or dumping the company before it dumps you-it's about communication. Talking things through may give you and your boss a chance to jointly find an alternative to you leaving the company altogether, or it may help you in starting to come to terms with-and planning for-the inevitable. It may even turn out that your fears are unfounded. Of course, if you sense that you're about to be fired and you just don't care or you're even happy about it, then that might be a sign that you're ready for things to change anyway. Again, this doesn't necessarily mean leaving the organisation, even though that may of course be a valid option. It may just mean that you're ready for your role or your hours to be altered. Again, talking things through is the key. Don't just wait in either fear or impatience for the finger to be pointed at you-keep the lines of communication open at all times!
