Gather 'round
It hit me.
A morning, about a week ago.
I got into work, logged in as usual. When you login, you are automatically logged into the company instant message system. The beginning of the day here, is the end of the day at home.
Not within a minute of logging in, an im appeared from a coworker at home.
Did you hear?
Umm... I don't think so, I just got in!
Let me call you
We talked, for about 20 minutes or so.
Around the country, rough times. Layoffs. There had been some within my company, but none in my office.
That day, there were 2.
Two people, with more experience than me. One that has been with the company longer than I.
I was taken back. It hit home.
As soon as I got off the phone, a member of the group here (India) asked me if one of the two people left. Word travels quickly.
Since I was still a little distraught over the phone conversation I just had, I didn't quite know what to say. I needed a couple of minutes.
If it's something I have learned to do very well, is handle things quickly and before they get out of control. I knew that, if one person was already asking, everyone would soon be wondering what happened to the two.
So, I got up, and told everyone in the group here (that works regularly with the Sandy Eggo office) to gather in the conference room.
Puzzled looks abound.
Once they all gathered, I told them what I knew. I couldn't help but know, that I probably looked a little... under the weather. I know they understood.
They asked questions. I answered to the best of my ability.
I couldn't help it, this remained on my mind the rest of the day.
Sometimes, some things, you hear about them, you read about them, but you really don't know what it's like until you experience them. You try to know, or rather you try to forget.
This was an experience I did not like.
6 comments:
It's going to keep happening too. I've seen it especially in the last few weeks at the company I work for. Only- they aren't "laying off". That would look bad. They're firing people and giving them the option to "resign without cause" and collect a severance. It's getting dirty out there in the grownup world.
Things have been out of control in teh UK too, if you're in a job you're among the lucky ones. I'm scared to look for something new at the moment, coz there is no job security anywhere.
Gretta x
Been through that scare last year. My group is currently hiring. I've got bunches of resumes to sort through and interview. I'm overwhelmed with the number of folks that have been in the biz nearly longer than I've been alive.
You handled it very well. Professionally, despite how hard it was.
I'm sorry to hear about your coworkers. I hope everything works out for them. Many other companies are doing the exact same thing.
it's scary out there, no doubt. The worst is that it's happening everywhere so there is snowhere to go.
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