So, Thursday, my company had a RIF (maybe 175 world wide out of 3,800). No, not "Reading Is Fun-damental"! "Reduction In Force." My job is as safe as any, but everyone is a little on edge. Survivor guilty was the order of the day. And this is going to echo and reverberate and totally crimp some of the more forward looking projects that I've been working on.A few thoughts:
1 – You hate to see anybody lose their job, but when it was someone you didn't like and wanted to see leave, it's even worse, because you feel bad for NOT feeling so bad.
2 – Thanks for telling me ahead of time so that I can plan, but I planned for it to be local and limited. Knowing the general scope ("General Scope" :-) ) would have caused me to plan a little differently.
3 – When you are getting pulled out of meetings by people you don't normally work with, it looks suspicious. I have the damn BlackBerry in my hand. Send an email to me that says, "My office / 3 minutes." I'll slip out of the meeting.
4 – If you have been let go from your job, hanging around for 2 hours afterwards just makes the people trying to do their jobs feel uncomfortable. Say a quick good-bye. Maybe announce where you will be having lunch / drinking if anybody wants to join you, and then depart. Someone will pack your stuff for you.
12 comments:
YEESH. Totally awkward for sure!!
But, on the bright side, my good bloggy buddy, Veggie, emailed me something interesting this morning which I think might perk you up a tad. I'll forward it your way, shall I?
I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what that could be! (*wink*)
Please do send it along.
That explains the comments from yesterday...
I worked for a company that went from 1200 employees to 0 over 2 years - every Friday was horrible because you never knew if your name would be on the The List. Oh, bad memories...
I worked for Arthur Andersen as it went from 80,000 to a conference center in a year, so I've been thru this before, too.
But I'm so going to get killed today at work, because I have a huge grin on my face.
I'm listening to SASS on the radio! See my Quick Hits! for the links. Ends in about an hour. Upset that I won't be able to stream this on the CTA (Tried, the BlackBerry browser doesn't support the player! :-( )
Ugh! All of those are horridly awkward. I hope things can get back on track for your and your forward-thinking projects...I'm dealing with that at my place of business too...budget cuts and consolidations like nobody's business are effing up my big plans (which incidentally are supposed to go a long way towards getting me promoted but aren't going to come to fruition now!). Hang in there, and I'm glad you're not dispensible!
It's a harsh ol working world right now. I hope I don't lay myself off today.
That may have double meaning. I don't know that yet.
lol happy friday.
I have been through a ton of lay-off, especially when I worked at Sun Microsystems. It is tough all around.
It sucks that people are losing their jobs, but a little "jerk" cleansing can go a long way for the people left behind!
For the first time in my life I work for a company big enough to lay people off.
Great timing, right?
; )
S&C
Welcome to the new "job place" where everyone is watching their backs and scared to death. Nice. Great for morale and production.
ooh vicious guilt circle going on. mabe the people hang around intentionally, like
"you fire me, i'm darn well going to make everyone uncomfortable and not leave til you throw me out!" mabe they should sob loudly while they pack?
Scope,
I appreciate you stopping by my blog and the comments. I've actually been lurking for a little while now. I found you through Sass. Sorry for not leaving more comments but I enjoy your blog :)
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