Culture: Reality TV: Work
Never work again!   (+1)  [vote for, against]
How to lose a job in 10 days

What does it take to get fired? Contestants accept positions with US employers with the singular intention to be fired as quickly as possible. The ground rules keep it interesting... violence, abusive behavior, and gross insubordination are out of bounds.

Which behavioral quirks and performance issues will result in the speediest terminations? We'll see how far contestants are willing to go to ensure that they are promptly dismissed. And likely be amazed at how much employers will tolerate before giving them the axe.

Best of all, the contestant who has the lowest cumulative days employed at 5 assignments wins a $5M prize, and never works again!

The audition process alone should be fascinating!
-- BeeBee, Jul 18 2003

Baked by the BBC http://www.pittsbur...nment/s_148767.html
second paragraph [dbsousa, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Days? Try minutes.
-- thumbwax, Jul 18 2003


Runners-up are hired by Court TV to sue the employer for discrimination in the firing (yes, I know employers are free to fire for nearly any reason; that doesn't stop lawsuits), and "take it all the way to the Supreme Court!"
-- beauxeault, Jul 18 2003


I love the Court TV spin-off! There is probably another spin off opportunity for the managers who failed to fire contestants regardless of their inept performance...
-- BeeBee, Jul 18 2003


The latest in Reality TV. It beats that Bachelor nit-wit.
-- vendetta, Jul 18 2003


I'm sure a creative combination of defecation and an Ustard bottle could win this in seconds...
-- DeathNinja, Jul 18 2003


Out of bounds DeathNinja, remember that's how we keep it interesting! You will have to think of something much more subtle and insidious.

Personally I wonder if a foul odor (accompanied by ideal performance and conformance with the corporate culture) would do the trick. I think that I would much rather fire someone than sit down for a "maybe you should try a stronger deodorant' coaching session. -BeeBee
-- BeeBee, Jul 18 2003


How do you explain the TV crew to employers?
-- Pericles, Jul 18 2003


That's what gets you fired, maybe.
-- DrCurry, Jul 18 2003


I want to be a contestant on the show! I would enjoy this alot, and I'll make it interesting! I'm 25 y/o, in the Atlanta GA area. Please contact me if you are still looking for contestants. Andrew Cavanagh 3396 Fieldwood Drive Smyrna GA 30080 770-235-5452
-- kavinatl, Aug 21 2003


Oooh, we have our first victi ... er... contestant. We'll have to have a major credit card number, and a soc. to enter, (in order to verify your IQ and age qualifications).

What exciting mail-order catalog services can we sign our contestant up to?
-- RayfordSteele, Aug 21 2003


We need to refer our contestant to our hiring headquarters. As luck has it, we happen to have a local office in Smyrna, GA, with a daily audition schedule:

Midtown Recruiting Station
Concord Village Shopping Center
3209 S Cobb DR SW ST H-2
Smyrna, GA 30080
770-436-0560

To keep it challenging, we have randomly chosen a surprise employer not known for tolerance but also from whom it can be difficult to "get the axe."  Landing in the brig does not constitute firing.

[dbsousa], "Sack Race," what a great name.
-- bristolz, Aug 21 2003


It is easy to get fired. It is harder to do really dumb stuff and _not_ get fired. Contestants on this show would be assigned things that they had to do, then somehow get them done and still keep their job. Stunts would start low (switch your chair for bosses chair, repaint office) and slowly increase in gravity and technical difficulty. It would be fun watching really slick contenders do the stuff, then shuck and jive like crazy trying to keep from getting fired afterwards.
-- bungston, Aug 21 2003


I'm sad to see that this is 'baked', but at least it was well titled. Then again, I initially thought that Sack Race was a contest to see how quickly one can sleep her/his way to the top! BeeBee
-- BeeBee, Aug 29 2003


just use really small cameras, bugs, etc. The TV crew wouldn't really be an issue.

How about a show where contestants have to pretend to be something they're not? Plumber, CIA agent, janitor, etc. Of course there would be tasks to go along with the "jobs."
-- Eugene, Aug 29 2003



random, halfbakery