As if getting laid off weren't dehumanizing enough, 10 percent of U.S. employees say that their company <A HREF="http://blogs.eweek.com/careers/content001/firing/companies_resorting_to_emailed_pink_slips.html?kc=EWKNLCSM092507STR2">has used email to fire or lay off employees.</A>

In the workplace equivalent of getting dumped over the phone, 17 percent said their bosses had used email to avoid difficult face-to-face interactions.

These were the findings of a survey of 752 workers conducted by Harris Interactive for the Marlin Company, a North Haven, Conn., employee communications company. <A HREF="Ed. note: Nothing says "workplace shooting"more than termination via email."></A>