A friend sent me this article, Terminated: Desperately seeking plan B. Having been at least peripherally involved with thousands of terminations, but never having (yet) been laid off myself (my day too, will come, I’m sure), I found it fascinating. Especially this part, where the staff realizes that layoffs are happening:
In seconds, we are all back in the parking lot, slapping a Post-it on Jana’s car — “Meet us at Rotelli’s” — and fleeing a quarter-mile down the street on foot so that when the boss comes back out, there will be no one here to fire.
I can just imagine the freak outs on the part of managers and HR when they go to collect the next victim and find the whole office has gone to lunch.
Go read the whole thing.
This is some of the best writing I’ve read in a long time. What a fantastic piece.
I agree. It was a fantastic article.
“You shouldn’t be talking to him” would be hilarious were it not so believable. My reaction to this kind of insanity (Chronic Hall Monitor Syndrome) is, “Didn’t Lincoln free the slaves?”
I should say that when I was laid off (along with 33% of my coworkers) after an 18-year career, my grandboss (who’d been in his position less than six months) treated me with gentleness and respect. Company policy required him to sign stickers for any boxes I’d take out of the building; he handed me four or five, already signed, and said, “Let me know if you need more.”
A coworker in another department, someone who loved her job and the company, had her boss watch as she packed her stuff. She’d been there two years long than I had.
Leonard Cohen said there ain’t no cure for love. Not much hope for bone-bred stupidity, either.
Dave–I think your “grandboss” made the absolute right decisions. We tell managers, in the case of layoffs, “you trusted this person yesterday. Why wouldn’t you trust him today?” Sure, if the person starts acting irrationally, we step in, but otherwise, respect is so important. Let the person pack his boxes, say goodbye and leave with dignity.
The author’s evil HR lady sent him an email. Check it out for some additional information that adds a lot to the HR side of the story.
Thanks Dave! Poor Annie the HR lady. That is inappropriate behavior on the part of the management.