I LOST my JOB – in just 15 MINUTES

in #life7 years ago

All it took was 15 minutes. After over a decade of working for my ex-employer, it only took a 15-minute conversation with HR and I was escorted out of the facility. The only thing that’s missing was a handcuff and my feeling of being a criminal escorted into my prison cell would be complete.

It was a typical day at the office. Early morning meetings, followed by phone calls and chats to answer queries. After looking at my “ TO DO list” for the day, I started working on the more difficult tasks (I’m a morning person and so I do the most difficult tasks early in the morning). “PING!”, a message from my supervisor: “Hey Chris (not my real name of course), please come over to meeting room XXX, I need to talk to you”. I thought it was a quick “hi, got a question for you” thing.

Standing outside of the door was my supervisor, an HR representative and a security agent. I was ushered into the room and with no time wasted, my supervisor went into what sounds like a well-rehearsed story-line of cost-cutting and restructuring, punctuated by “Today is your last day. As soon as we’re done here, you should exit the building”.

I was shocked, confused, disgusted, disappointed, angry. I thought it was just a prank. It has to be. How can they lay off people few days before Christmas? But it wasn’t.

I heard similar stories before. After all, this is not the first time my ex-employer laid off hundreds and thousands of workers. “It was brutal” one coworker said. Another: “it was heartless and disrespectful. I can’t believe we treat our employees like that. They’ve been with us for several decades for f#$!@ sake!”.

I was “with them” - 100%. I felt sorry for my colleagues who were let go back then, especially those whom I’ve worked with for several years. I felt the utter disappointment and anger in their voices and saw the sadness and defeat in their faces. I thought I saw and felt it all but I was wrong. It was nothing compared to going through it yourself. “Brutal” and “heartless” are kind words in comparison.

As an offshoot of our annual employee survey, we have a “suggestion box” in every corner of the building. It was one of those “ideas” to encourage people to share their thoughts on things that matter to them and to the company. The thought process is, when employees are part of the problem-solving process, implementing those solutions are much easier, more effective and low costs. It's ingenious. The only thing I wasn’t sure though is what happens to those “suggestions” submitted by the employees. Are they really being considered by management? I’m pretty sure, laying off people to solve the liquidity problem of the company was not one of those suggestions.

Long-tenured workers who accumulated several years of steady annual salary increases of 1 to 5% made them the main target of cost-cutting initiatives. Replacing the old (high paid workers) with the new (low paid ones) is the name of the game. It makes perfect sense when you only look at the numbers.

Back to the HR room drama, I wasn’t allowed to leave the room. No goodbyes to friends and co-workers; no parting emails to colleagues from across the continents (they are probably asleep anyways; pun intended). Literally nothing. The HR representative asked if there are personal items I left at my desk. I uttered them from memory as best as I could. Moments later, the security agent came back with my personal stuff, my laptop, bags, cellphone etc. I asked if I could open my laptop and back up some files, but the answer was no. “Everything in your laptop is company property and will be purged”. Dam! It was months ago since I backed up my files.

We went over some documents at a “high level” particularly the terms of termination (translation: read it yourself at home before signing and returning them or if you’re not happy, get a lawyer). “Any questions?”. No words come out of my mouth as my brain was still blank like the blue screen of death when your laptop crashes. My brain needs to reboot.

And that was it! I was asked to leave the room and the security agent escorted me straight out of the facility.

Can we make the lay-off more humane?

It took a while for my brain to comprehend what had just happened. What an inhumane treatment of employees I thought. First, you get called into a meeting unexpectedly and unprepared. Then they rush to tell you that your services are no longer required. Next, they give you a contract to sign to avoid getting sued. No thank you, no sorry, no goodbyes, no negotiation, not even time to think it through. I feel like a worn out machinery that needed to be disposed of as junk quickly! And by the way, they make sure that you don’t bring with you any company property. The trophies and plaques for the merits and awards you garnered over the years – they are company property, not yours.

Disheartening as it is, it’s the “people” within the organization that makes these harsh decisions. And it’s the “people” who administers the firing process for the unfortunate ones. I’m pretty sure we can find a way to treat each other with respect and dignity, while we still can.

As a side note, I saw a video once about future predictions, particularly on the subject of “the types of jobs that will be taken over by AI or robots”. In retrospect, I think the HR’s job of firing people would be the perfect job for these heartless robots of the future.

Great companies look at problems as opportunities to prove that they can stay true to their corporate values. How companies approach a problem is what separates the great from mediocre. Take for example a company that had to face the same fate during the 2008 crisis. Instead of laying off its people, it opted for mandatory one-month unpaid leave for all its employees including executives. The initiative saved $20M in cost – double the amount of the projected savings from layoffs.

My ex-employer is a multinational company with over 100,000 employees worldwide. Ideas abound on better ways of solving a problem - without the demeaning and inhumane treatment – had they used such talented minds to help ideate and find creative solutions. But my ex-employer rather took the easy way out – layoff workers.

What's more demoralizing is that during our quarterly town hall meetings, my ex-employer proudly reminds everyone that employees are its greatest assets. Yet, at the first sign of financial woes, it’s workers become the sacrificial lambs. What a hypocrisy.

Life goes on

It may seem disheartening to hear all these outrageous employee termination practices (I’m surprised there are still people who stay in these jobs of firing people!), but guess what, come the next day, it’s business as usual for the lucky ones who get to keep their jobs. The most common rationalization – a necessary evil to protect the company and the “greater good” (translation – treating employees like pieces of used furniture to protect the bottom line [profits in financial terms] and meet wall street’s estimates is a good thing).

What’s also amazing is how quickly, employees who escaped the chopping board, dismiss the brutality of mass layoffs. When you come to the office the next day and you realize the hundreds of things you need to do, the financial and volume targets you need to make, and the bosses hovering around you all day long reminding you of deadlines - yesterday’s trauma evaporates 1,000 times faster than the early snowfall in late Autumn. The ticking sound of emails hitting your inbox or the chime of meeting reminders will make you ignore the empty chairs that your former colleagues used to bust their asses on to meet deadlines and bosses’ expectations - even at the expense of missing crucial life events e.g. taking care of your wife who just gave birth, graduation rites, death of love ones etc.

Remembering those precious moments that I've missed makes me cry. Emails have a better fate in a corporate setting. Less important emails can be stored temporarily and flagged for future reading but life's precious moments – if you missed them, they’re gone forever.

Life’s curve balls

Timing is everything. Not just in stock or crypto market but in almost every facet of life. Losing your job just days before Christmas is extremely annoying and perplexing. All your holiday plans and wishes vanished.

Moreover, we just bought a house. After renting the entire of our adult life, my wife and I agreed that our growing family needed more space. We thought it is a good decision after weighing the pros and cons of home ownership. But few weeks after moving in, I lost my job. Although we still think buying a house is the right decision, the timing could have been more forgiving.

Another surprise - health insurance. Insurance in the US for self-employed or unemployed for that matter is outright ridiculous. For a family of four, the monthly premium is between $1k to $2.5k depending on your coverage and your provider. Having a medical insurance shouldn’t have been a big headache if hospitals and clinics accept patients without insurance as long as credit history is good. But they don’t. Most hospitals and clinics require a proof of insurance as a prerequisite to being accepted as a new patient. Getting an insurance that is less popular and less expensive does not give you many options either.

Lessons learned

Not a full list of lessons but two quick ones that I thought would be helpful.

Be brutal and unforgiving

Constantly be vigilant for opportunities in enhancing your career within the company and be brutal and unforgiving in pursuing them. Ask for a raise, a promotion or a bonus like it was your last day. Because when you are lined up on the chopping board – your employer will not show mercy.

Write your farewell speech and keep it handy

If you are the type who cares about saying goodbye to your friends and colleagues, you better have your speech or parting email handy. It takes a while to capture those perfect words for your emotional and heartfelt adieu so take time preparing it. You won’t have an hour or a minute to write it when your time comes to be shoved out the door.

P.S.

Losing my job is a blessing than a curse. It allowed me to sleep longer and better, eat healthier and take a breather. I get to spend more time with our kids - more time to play, read stories and kiss them goodnight (as opposed to arriving home every night when everyone is asleep and leave early in the morning when all are still sleeping). The unnecessary, self-imposed pressure is gone and we are living a much better life.

A good life until cash runs out. Cash is still king unfortunately in this part of the world.

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Despite what's happening, many people just don't have the guts to pursue freedom. Thinking that you're secure working for a big company isn't anymore prudent nowadays. Whenever you have the opportunity, choose to have multiple streams of income and never rely on one source (like an unforgiving employer).

That's so true...that's very wise that you said...and that's to have multiple streams of income,....well said

Good you have family and time.
Hey you got steem too.
Keep on sharing .

All of this happens a lot at call centers in the Philippines. I once overheard an HR staff saying "I have low attrition. - I have to pump it up." - The account disappeared soon after my resignation, but I'm not happy about that. Some of my friends had to work farther from home after the company moved.

This really resonates. I'm in the UK, where we have socialised medicine, stricter employee rights and a fairly comprehensive welfare state. During a recent trip to California, I was discussing these very issues with a friend, who was being told to let staff go before Christmas.
As an expat, he was struggling to come to terms with the treatment of employees and what would happen to them in the US.

Here in the UK, we have seen an insidious erosion of workers rights and social care, all in the name of 'better business'. I have been a passionate voice, over here, against going the way of America.

California was a real eye opener for me and made me realise just how lucky we are in the UK. It also made me even more determined to fight against a corporatocracy.

A world where employees are dehumanised to fulfill the bottom line, is a world without compassion or empathy for all our fellow man.

It's symptomatic of a system diseased with greed an corruption at it's core, a cancer which is, unfortunately, spreading at an exponential rate.

I'm glad you've been able to take the positive from your experience and spend time with your family, doing things which truly matter and hope you are able to find another role, within a company who truly appreciates you.

thanks @looksfarwoman for your insightful comments. Must have been tough for your friend to be the one cleaning the ranks. Not familiar with UK labor laws but it sounds like much better than the US.

My friend managed to save a couple of jobs in the end, and managed to postpone the other lay off until after Christmas. We are very fortunate here in the UK, our employee rights are very fair, for the most part, and, although we have seen them somewhat eroded under our current government, we are still much more fortunate than our American friends.
I may be biased but I'm glad to be British; no guns, free healthcare, affordable medicine and great employment laws. I have many friends in the States, and love to visit regularly but I'm grateful for the benefits of being in the UK.

Finland is pretty similar to the UK. There is no such thing as medical bankruptcy for average income citizens here. The people who can get into trouble with their medical expenses tend to be heavily medicated pensioners whose excesses on reimbursements for medicine costs have been increased lately.

I've been in multiple situations where I've been let go unfairly. After what I believe to be the 5th time I said enough was enough, and started a new company. Now that I've found steemit, I am full time crypto and still run my business. While not financially free yet, I am going to get there and I have a feeling crypto will pave the way.

Corporations are just uncaring, inhumane money printing machines whose sole purpose is to generate profit. At least under the current rules, which were written by those that own the vast majority of stock in those corporations.

With automation about to replace nearly 50% of all paid work we are facing a major change in society. How we handle that change will determine how our generation is viewed by history.

Agreed. Corporations are all about profit. I have seen many other terrible things. Automation is actually one of the reason of the mass layoffs. Robots are now cheaper than their human counterparts and tax free.

JOB=Just Over Broke.........@sandalphon you are now more valuable than you have ever been.

I feel for you as I had a somewhat similar situation happen to me a few years back. I worked for a large company in Canada (which was #2 in its specific industry), which was bought out by the big dog (which was #1 in the same industry). Due to antitrust laws the sale took quite a while to go through and the buying company had to abide by a wide range of rules in order for the deal to be allowed, which they agreed to. As part of this they were required for a period of time to keep the 2 company separate instead of merging them all under 1 corporate name. Over the next year the main company started making tons of acquisitions of shitty little companies all over the place, wasting money like it was going out of style, and after a period of time were legally able to merge the 2 original companies into the main companies umbrella, and with this me and all my co-workers (1800) were let go at the same time, as one morning near Christmas we were greeted by a was a locked door with a note on it stating the company was having money problems and would need to let us all go, and for us to call a number on the note to schedule a time/date for a 1on1 release where we were to return any equipment we may have on us and to sign all the needed termination papers. Basic jist is corporate loyalty is a thing of the past, and these big companies would throw pretty much all their employees under the bus if it meant the survival of their waste-filled ways for an extra 5 seconds.

With all that said, that situation was a good thing in the long run as it forced me to leave the world of big business which I am thankful for as I am now working for a great small company with people I personally know, which allows me to work from home and set my own hours, and best of all do work I actually like doing. It was a blessing in disguise and knowing what I know now, I would never go back!

its ling but interesting ,

I'm glad you were able to see the positive and light out of this unexpected tormented experience you went through. I'll keep you in my prayers. There will be plenty of doors open for you and you'll be happier :) Sometimes, what we planned isn't exactly how it's supposed to... because what's unexpected is normally the better plan for us. God Bless and you'll be fine!!!!