Question: It has come to Santa’s attention that one of the elves, Herbie, has been telling the others that he is going to quit Santa’s Workshop, Inc. and pursue another career. The elves say he doesn’t like making toys and wants to be a dentist. Herbie hasn’t officially resigned. Can Santa let Herbie go?
Answer: While Santa has the right to decide who works at Santa’s Workshop, Inc., especially in employment-at-will states like the North Pole, the best practice would be to talk with Herbie and confirm his intentions about leaving the workshop and understand the reasons why he is considering leaving. Based on your question and his unenthusiastic attitude about making toys, it may be that he is not an employee Santa wants to retain. In this case, Santa can use this meeting to inform him that the uncertainty surrounding his status impacts Santa’s ability to plan workload and future toymaking projects. Santa can determine whether it makes sense to develop a transition plan so that the workshop can find a suitable replacement for him or move forward with the elfin employment termination now.