Progressive discipline has helped in managing problem employees. Going through the steps of verbal coaching, written warnings, and unpaid suspensions before termination have salvaged a great many working relationships, and provided the needed documentation when severing those that need to end. Sometimes, though, a different tactic is needed and a day of contemplation may help. This is a one-time paid day off from work in which the employee seriously contemplates his or her future with the company. If the employee decides to return to work, s/he will use the time to write a letter acknowledging the problems and a specific plan on how they will be fixed, with a clear understanding that in reverting to the old problematic ways, the employee will be effectively firing him or herself. The day of contemplation conveys the gravity of the situation while making the employee responsible for changes that are made, whether it results in a new outlook at work or leaving the company for a better fit.