Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran Sparks Outrage For Saying 'I Love Firing People On Friday,' But Some Say She's Doing People A Favor

All managers have to make difficult hiring and firing decisions—it's just part of the job. But real estate mogul and "Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran's approach to that part of being a boss has raised quite a few eyebrows. Some have cheered her cut-throat approach as a model for a successful business, but others think it's downright twisted. 

Barbara Corcoran loves 'to fire people on Friday.'

Corcoran was almost gleeful about firing people in her comments to a business guru and podcaster Steven Bartlett back in December. Corcoran likes to set meetings with people on Wednesdays so they'll hear rumors about being fired. Corcoran laid out her firing strategy for Bartlett, as seen in the TikTok below.

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"I love firing people on Friday," she told Bartlett. "I would stop by someone's desk on a Wednesday and say, 'hey, would you have any time sometime on Friday?' They should have heard about the rumors."

After letting the employee stew for two days, Corcoran said she could barely contain her excitement. "I couldn't wait till I came in to fire them." Corcoran went on to say that she would usually refrain from giving a firm reason for the termination when using this tactic. "Never tell them why you're firing them, or you get in a rat's nest," she told Bartlett. "You just don't fit the company. But why? I don't know. You just don't fit the company."

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Corcoran said she specifically loves firing 'negative' employees who complain.

After describing her process and why she loves firing people on Fridays, Corcoran told Bartlett, "You know why? Because I picked out individuals who were negative." Corcoran said removing "negative employees from her business was vital to the business's success and growth, especially since their negativity tends to be contagious.

"My attitude toward the negative person was they were ruining my good people, because people who are negative have to have somebody else to be negative with them," she said.

"They got to talk to somebody [and] complain, okay?" She was quick to clarify that she does not mean people who come to her and offer her criticism. "They're invaluable so that you could get better," she said.

But "chronic complainers and negative people" are off the table. "You got to get rid of them." And telling them they're being fired for being negative just starts arguments, she says, which is why she withholds the reason. "I learned very early, after firing one negative person, never tell them why."

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Some people praised Corcoran for her approach to firing people and for doing it on Fridays.

When Bartlett himself originally posted clips of his interview with Corcoran, the comments filled up with people applauding Corcoran's no-holds-barred approach to negativity and her method for firing people. 

"She is me. Negativity is her motivation," one person wrote. "I have never fired anyone. They fired themselves. I just deliver the message," another wrote. "So true what she said."

Some felt that Corcoran was even doing her employees a favor by firing them—and by doing it just before the weekend. "Fire on Friday, Cry and Party on Saturday, Rest on Sunday," a woman wrote. "Monday search for new work." Another TikToker agreed that this was "the most respectful" day to get rid of someone.

Negativity has been proven in studies to be deleterious to the workplace. A study at Michigan State University found that negativity causes mental fatigue that makes workers less productive, reduces employee engagement, and results in higher turnover. But many thought bosses should look in the mirror to find the cause of their office negativity problems—and they thought the fact Barbara Corcoran loves to fire people was downright evil.

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Many blamed Corcoran's own leadership for creating workplace 'negativity' in the first place.  

"Why are they negative?" one TikToker asked in her stitch of Corcoran's comments. "If she is dealing with that many negative people she loves firing it sounds like a [management] issue."

The TikToker went on to point out the many reasons people can be "negative," like personal or health problems, and wondered why Corcoran wouldn't "put people first" by trying to coach them or explain to them the impact their negativity is having instead of being gleeful to fire them. 

As another commenter put it, "anyone who likes firing people, any day of the week, is a negative person in her own right," and tons of people agreed. "If they're negative you might want to reflect on yourself," one person wrote, while another added that "99% of the time the corp creates the negative culture."

And the fact that Barbara Corcoran loves to fire people left many people cold—and feeling like she doesn't understand what being a good boss is. "One should NEVER be giddy about firing people," one man wrote. "I’ve been a business leader for 15+ years. This is the one thing I hate." Another person summed the situation up by joking, "She is the villain in the story."

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John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.