He thinks he'll slide into retirement and that the well remunerated ride will make up for the regular bouts of boredom and the tranquillised mind-set. Then he gets a 5pm call from the boss and everything changes. "Your performance is not measuring up, " he is told. "Your team is not happy; you have a misfit management style/ inappropriate PC use/bad behaviour antics."

The boss exudes that "you're already gone" dismissal John has not felt since those "must try harder" put- downs in school reports.

Slowly, the blood drains from his face, his legs begin to go weak and he notices a tiny mark like catapulted runny egg on this monster's cheery tie, as his mind scans the events of the past few months.

Before he knows it, though, he's shaking hands with the man who is ending life as he knew it . . . smiling inanely and heading for the door.

At 41, as father of two, proud owner of an 06 Alpha and secretary of the School Parents Committee, it's not where he thought he'd end up when he pressed 'send' on a few emails he knew would brighten up the boys' days, and when he accessed a few sexy sites last summer for the crack.

Just as he's clearing his office of the photos and walking shoes, the CDs and hangover tablets that formed the cosy world which insulated him from complete corporate misery, the truth slap-bangs itself into his consciousness. The Big F has arrived, and it's probably fatal: he has just been fired.

It's all so much more civilised now. What doesn't get said is often more indicative of the misdeed than the blather that gets bandied about in bland 'letting go' meetings.

Goodbyes may mannered, but the fall out is profound. You know, you have really, really messed up this time. .

Whether the misbehaviour was prurient sexual voyeurism, more mundane behavioural transgression or even just over-zealous spending of the expense account, there's nothing like being fired to get the adrenalin rush associated just a few years ago with a good deal done rather than a bad deed exposed.

Why anyone would jeopardise their hard-won, well-paid career by engaging in these myriad misdemeanours is complex . . .

although, a few months down the line (when pretending, defending and justifying have been mentally mastered) realisation kicks in more often than not.

You've nobody to blame but yourself.

Years spent building up a solid reputation, are now redundant . . . like you . . . because some reckless play-acting has left you with a midlife crisis so traumatic that you'd give your left arm for the mere expanding waistline and lack lustre love life your contemporaries bemoan.

The fact is, rules exist to keep order on groups: to ensure a power relations hierarchy; to copperfasten a unified corporate image; maybe just to feed into a big cultural illusion. Most of the time nothing dreadful happens when they're broken. But then there's that one time . . . a misdeed too far, a build-up of small wrongdoings or catching the boss on a bad day . . . and you can say farewell to your professional esteem as quickly as you do the Alpha.

Research can point to many reasons for these untimely bust-ups. Feeling less rewarded than colleagues, being passed over for some opportunity, lack of motivational management, or simply lackadaisical surveillance, can all explain it.

Being bored at work can also be as bad as being overly stressed: if there's no stimulation within the job, we may be tempted to seek it in improper outlets.

An individual may also lack the ordinary self-discipline that modern organisations demand of employees.

Freudian interpretations of sackings may toy with the notion that, really, you wanted to be caught: you were seeking redemptive punishment and you're now on the journey to the true, rehabilitated you. . .

That will not sound very attractive, though, when you consider life on social welfare, the neighbours penchant for oneupmanship and the huge debts mounting all around.

Freud didn't know about Irish house prices and hadn't a clue about school fees and credit card interest rates. This is NOT what you wanted, take it from me.

The truth is you got lazy. You were too cocky by half, you underestimated everyone else's savvy or you were lulled into a false sense of security by believing the corporate mission statement hype about us all being happy, productive workers. Oh yeah.

Q I've been let go due to sending jokes to friends through the company email. They weren't very bad . . . light-hearted and not meant to offend. I am 39 and work in financial services. I feel a bit lost. What should I do?

A You have two challenges ahead.

One is to get another job. The other is to get over the fact you've been fired. Reflect on why you engaged in this behaviour at work, because you are likely to feel both guilt and anger down the line. Sort out the real reason so that you can identify and be aware of your needs and set of behaviours, and not repeat the mistake. Sign up for a reputable Workstyle/Personality style profile to identify your strengths and weakness from a behaviour/personality perspective. If you have high social needs, working alone won't satisfy you. If you're a conceptual thinker, too much detail may bore you.

Train up in personal awareness/ leadership/management or innovation, since these are useful for all jobs. It will also help explain your between-job status and give you some confidence.

Patricia Murray is a work and organisational psychologist.

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