Who Would You Fire?

Say you have four employees in front of you and you have to get rid of one. Which one would you fire?

1) Young, Good Performance, and Cheap to employ
2) Young, Average Performance, and Cheap to employ
3) Middle-aged, Average Performance, and Expensive to employ
4) Older, Excellent Performance, and Expensive to employ

In 2001, a study posed this question to hiring managers in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Here’s how they answered:

Which country are you most like? Obviously, real life is much more complicated, and other factors come into play when it comes to downsizing. But I would have chosen either of the average workers, and if this was a cost-cutting measure, the average and expensive person would be on the cutting block. [via]

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