Getting fired for poor performance. How do I cope?

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But carthago, you're saying what the social norm is for how much time to take off when a grandparent passes away. When in fact that's a very personal decision.

It's only personal to you. The workplace is anything but personal, there are norms to adhere to. Most of the challenge that we face is to balance our personal needs with workplace norms. If that means you need to change the bulbs in your office, it shouldn't be any problem, but taking time off work that your manager and coworkers think is excessive will draw everyone's ire in the best case scenario, or lead to your termination in the worst.

I agree - I was definitely overreacting and that wasn't acceptable. Though I'm not being fired for not being able to take criticsm, I do agree that it is an area of concern. That being said, I don't have to agree with the assessment. Ultimately, my boss made that decision to give me that time off and that's got nothing to do with my work ethic, my professionalism and my expectations of the working world. In my country, you are legally allowed to take time off work (unpaid, of course) if there is a family crisis (and in this case, I became a temporary carer for a very vulnerable adult). Now that he's in a care home, I am relieved of that duty.

But I agree for the most part that I reacted far too impulsively in response to Yigeren and for that I hope people here can accept my sincerest apologies.

To Miestersinger, I pretty am just doing what you suggested, though I have different option, being in the UK. Leaving my job is considered to be intentional unemployment and therefore I would have no chance of receiving any sort of jobseekers allowance or employment and support allowance. My employer said that there was no guarantee that I would still be in employment by February anyway because I was there to cover for someone's maternity leave. She may be returning and if that happens, he'll probably just say that my contract ended as they can't really have more than three people working in that department. It's a small company. Plus, he's a nice guy and while I don't necessarily expect he'll be easy on me, he seems to be committed to making this termination as amicable as possible. To be honest, it's the best decision for him to make because they're not meeting the deadlines due to me and I'm personally very distressed i this job, despite the fact that I like the company, I like the people who work there and I have always been a devoted employee.

By the way, Yiegeren, I have just seen my GP about an ADHD referral. I have been grappling with this since youth but never thought much of it for a number of reasons. It was never caught when I was a child and I'm not sure why because there are videos of when I was little where I would get distressed about something and then suddenly forget what I was doing because I got distracted. I have always had difficulty organising myself. When I was in primary school, it wasn't so bad because I was in a special unit that was very structured and also had a smaller classroom size. When I went to mainstream classes,however, I had to use loads of effort to stay on task and not drift off. I think secondary school was the first sign of real trouble, especially when I couldn't just wing it anymore. I kind of got good grades because I was interested in the subjects and I was able to use that last push to get the desired grade. But once I got into 5th year, suddenly you have to learn how to skim read and pick up the relevant materials and retain loads of info and organize your time and study every subject every day. basically, enthusiasm isn't enough. I had to go to college because my grades were terrible and I couldn't hack it at uni. I failed a year and had to redo it and I know I'm smart enough to have gotten better grades at uni when I did go - I just couldn't get the final bits together.

I mean, don't get me wrong - I am proud of my grade, but the execution of my portfolio and dissertation? Nuh uh. Somehow I managed to make it through the skin of my teeth, as I always do. This time, results mattered big time and I couldn't hack it, yet again. So, who knows - maybe I have it and maybe I don't, but I just can't go about my life not knowing.

Thank you everyone for your patience and advice.

Back in 2013, I briefly worked as an independent contractor for a start-up transcription company. When I say start-up, I mean it was only a year old at the time. I was eventually terminated for poor performance on several transcription assignments and not meeting the 98% accuracy rating. Looking back, part of it was my fault for not telling this person about my disability and I now feel that transcription wasn't my thing. I still do work time to time on another site called Scribie, but they're a larger company and their files are at the most 6 minutes long. Even though the payout rate is low, it's a bit more convenient than just working one on one with another person. Now, I'm just trying to make enough money to start my own business. I know what I wanna do and I realized that I have this creative muse I'm trying to unleash. I know that the bank nor the federal government isn't gonna give me a business loan or grant (our government doesn't give the latter of those out for one stupid reason or another). Besides, it's not like I wanna start my own brick and mortar store. It's more like an e-business with a lot less overhead. Actually, I want my own website. LOL. But, seriously, I've been thinking about this for a while.

I figured about a little over five years now that it's probably best I become self-employed. I don't have much work experience as the first two people told me, so it was gonna be hard for me to get a job. Anyway, just know that if you do lose this job, it's not the end of the world. Everything may feel like it's crashing down, but just pick yourself up and move on. For many people, life can be hard. It took me a long time to get over being terminated mainly because this never really happened to me before. Now, I wished I would've quit on this person before they decided to quit on me. It would've all been for my own good. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck.

It is not necessarily that you are a failure, but more likely that the job or place of employment, or boss, is not right for you, and possibly has short comings of their own.

Unfortunately many companies these days do not understand the concept in investing in their workers. They instead try to get the most they can, for the fewest dollars. This often entails hiring those who are inexperienced, and providing them with a sub-optimal level of training, in hopes they can come up to speed in what is often an unrealistic amount of time. This often results in high turn over rates and ends up costing the company more in time and money than it would have if they invested more in training their workers and allowing them sufficient time to become skilled at their tasks.

In applying for your next job, of the questions to ask, you might want to include "What is the turnover rate like here?". "Why did the previous person who held this position vacate it?", and "How long were they with the company?" and then the same for the person before them.

There is a job out there that is right for you but it might take a few tries before you find it.

It goes with the territory. Some jobs last longer than others. Things are tougher than they were 20 years ago. Don't let some jerk manager get u down. They have their own self serving agenda. Do y best and if deal not workout perhaps better one somewhere else.

I completely empathize. I'm sure I've lost jobs due to executive brain function, and you're so right, how do you know what you don't know?! I'm lucky to have an autism specialist for a co-worker, and he's recommending check lists. My therapist recommends keeping a structured routine (something I suck at). If you live in the US you might want to apply for a 504 (a legal document that provides protection for those with disabilities). Wherever you live see if anything like that is available. Have faith that you will work things out. Best of luck!

You are Young, the work world is harsh and demanding.

It is good to know that many people are made redundant at least once in their work-life. They rarely speak out about it because, like you, they consider it as a big failure. People firing you may also have experienced a redundancy, it is good to keep it in mind to relativize.

It happened to me as well. It helped me to improve and to see better what job corresponds to my abilities.
Just try to spot your weaknesses and strengths and plan improvement.

When i was fired, i took some intensive languages courses. Learning something new boosts your self-confidence, and this is important to feel confident to find another job.

Good luck !

Perhaps you mean it well, but I can imagine this message strikes the wrong cord with TS.
Certainly wouldnt help me or make me feel better.