I knew this was coming; it was only a matter of time. Our company has been in a steady decline since the new upper-management took over two years ago. We were enjoying modest stock prices and turning a profit. It should come as no surprise that the stockholders and the board of directors thought that modest wasn't good enough. So they staged a coup and ousted the founder of the company as Chairman and made him Vice Chairman.
Last week, after small groups of layoffs, spread out over the past 7 months, they did another round over a few days. And then it was the remaining corporate staff's turn. Each department/group was getting called in by their top manager. It started on Monday, so partial facts, whispered from those who came first, had turned it to apocalyptic rumor by Wednesday.
My own team was nervous and on edge. I call us "Team Awesome" and I can guarantee you, we live up to that title! I've been lucky to work with one of the finest managers for the past 8 years; we started working together in my prior incarnation at this same firm on a special project he was heading and I came back specifically to work for him (and learn from him). He's calm and quiet, and one of the hardest working people I know. I'm the passionate, out-going character of the group - for those that know me, this comes as no surprise. We have 4 others in our group. They bring a lot of talent and we all work together very, very well and we genuinely like each other.
Back to Wednesday...the first group was called into their manager's office. When they returned to their desks, there were whispers and messages sent via non-company tools. It had come; the reduction of hours and/or salaries. Our team was next; one-by-one my cube-mates' phones rang and they went to our manager's office. My phone didn't ring. I waited; I stopped the very detailed new project I was working on, and I waited for the phone to ring. Those were the worst 25 minutes. Why would I be separated from the team? Was I being laid off and everyone else had been saved? My palms were cold and sweaty; it was hard not to imagine the worst and feel the swell of panic rising up. I've been laid off before, but I had invested so much of my time and career here, it was hard to imagine what was coming.
I was finally called in and upon seeing my tightly wound features, my manager said "let me assure you immediately that you're not laid off" He realized they should have called me in first, not last. I was called in separately because HR had cleverly found a way to reduce both my salary and my hours. Otherwise, I would have had only the hours reduction and my take home would have stayed fairly decent. They determined that I was being paid over "market rate" for my job description; I was handed a new job description and a letter informing me of the changes to my pay rate and the reduction of hours per week. I think my manager is almost as bothered by this as I am; he doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve like I do, but I know him pretty well to recognize the signs.
This is better than being laid off for the time being. One of our team is being moved to another team. I'm sad about that, mostly because we're "Team Awesome" all together and a little bit because we have to take over her stuff. More work, less pay and less hours. No overtime unless strictly approved. A small silver lining - our vacation is in 2 weeks and I won't have to deduct a full 40 hours. Also, if we work 40/week, management said we could take an extra day off. Our department isn't people by monsters, thank goodness! Other departments have more ruthless and short-sighted managers making decisions. Other groups cut people, took deeper cuts to their hours, etc. Our Corporate Controller was given an amount he needed to reduce by and he found a way to save us for the time being. But he was open about the fact that we're in crisis mode; his hope is that people can revert back to full-time by year end.
Here's what I believe - I think the company is beyond crisis mode and we'll be full-time by year end only if we get other jobs. If that doesn't happen for someone like me, I'll end up on some sort of plan to help shut us down. I always end up shutting companies down; usually most of accounting does....
I lost hope the other day. It's a rare thing for me to lose the faith and hope. My situation's not as bad as others and I still like the work I do and the people I work directly with and yet I'm struggling with a feeling of deep hate for the people who put us in this situation. This, too, shall pass; it's not in my nature to hate; it will turn to pity and a prayer (or curse) that they reap what they sow.
But truly, at this point, my loyalty is only as strong as the economy is still weak. I think my time is coming to fly free and pursue my career dreams and happiness elsewhere. And I have much less to lose than some of my peers. That keeps me grounded (mostly); I don't have children to feed (except my furry children) and I don't have a house to lose. I have family and friends who've offered the best support emotionally.
For those of you looking or worried, you have a sister/friend here and we will get through this time. If nothing else, we can pursue some of these more interesting career options!
Have an interesting job with a cool title to impress your friends!
Odd Jobs
Earn a little extra income to save for a rainy day!
Extra Income
A blog about odd jobs?? Awesome!
Sir Jeremy John Bell - Knight of Toasting