Alright I guess I'm gonna be the S&*% happens person. I walk on constant egg shells with work because I know at any minute they could axe whats left of my department. Just over a year ago my company had well over 100 employees just in my office in our local division. Now there are about 15 of us. During the last round of layoffs (which they tastelessly always do right before Christmas....this year it was the same day as our holiday party) we lost almost an entire office of staff at one location. I was once a part time employee and when the choice came down on who to fire in my department they fired the full timer who had been there for 7 years and basically gave me his slot. I knew in advance.
In the end its terrible. Do I feel for every one of these people, yes. Do I know I could be next? Yes. Is there anything I can do to change it? No. In the end I know that I need to do what I need to do to keep my head above water in a competitive environment and accept that it could be me next and keep an updated resume and a list of networking contacts at my fingertips at all times. Most of the people I've known personally from our staff cutbacks have taken these events in stride....3 people all got hired to work at a prestigious Ivy league university making twice the money, one woman took the opportunity to start a family, the one who's job I took started his own business...and still meets us for lunch and comes to company events. All you can do is take it in stride, offer a shoulder, if anyone was close then offer any contacts you can for networking and keep on going.
I don't mean to sound harsh but binging on pizza, gaining 10lbs and not going to work and getting yourself fired too isn't going to give anyone their jobs back and in the end will probably just make you feel worse about the entire situation. Maybe try taking your anger and emotions out with a hard workout? My advice, be as supportive as you can to you coworkers in a bind and don't feel bad that you weren't in the hat that had the pink slip names pulled out of it by the notoriously soulless upper echelons of corporate America. You didn't make the call, it wasn't your fault, ultimately it won't do any good to blame yourself.
To anyone on here who posted who has been in this situation trust me I'm not trying to lessen the fact that mass layoffs are horrible and I don't agree with them at all.... trust me any day I know I could be at the back of the unemployment line the way my company downsizes, just simply stating that torturing yourself because of a situation that is out of your control won't fix anything.
|
