I think the most troubling thing to me about my "firing" is that I was fired and not laid off. People who are fired do not get one month severance at this salary level. They do not get referrals of where to find a job.
I was fired so that they could believe the ship was not sinking. They also "fired" my boss and most of my co-workers in my section. We are all awful, I guess. They fired us for their own pride.
My neighbor is a SAHM with a small baby. I've been spending time with her while everyone is at work, I think we both appreciate the company.
A neighbor across the street went out of town and left his garage open overnight. SAHM wanted to go close it, but she didn't really want to go in someone else's garage.
To me, it was simple. Do unto others as you would have done to you. I walked over and closed the garage. Easy as that. It's exactly what I would hope someone would do for me.
If you could lay off instead of fire, why wouldn't you? Why would they harp on a missed deadline, on the mistakes we all made?
I've been trying not to doubt who I am and what I accomplished, but it's very hard. This has been a deep, lasting blow, and I will never, ever forget being treated like this.
Friday, April 10, 2009
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11 comments:
Dog - it comes down to money. They gave you notice under a supposed misconduct issue - its a liability minimilisation tactic - if you make people redundant or lay them off you usually have to pay them a greater exit package.
Honestly, Dog, this isn't about you. Not at all. At best, senior management is totally in denial, as you mentioned; at worst, they opted to screw you and your colleagues over instead of paying unemployment benefits. It's not fair and it's not right, but there's not much you can do other than contest that it was a firing in order to collect unemployment.
Dog, I am crusty and old, but here is something I've learned over time: Doing good work counts for a lot, but political savvy and street smarts count for more.
More importantly, here's something I always tell my team: It's a job. It's not your life. Do your best work and get the utmost satisfaction you can from it, but never take anything that happens at work personally. Your job will never love you back.
You are a good and capable person, Dog, and other doors will open for you. Believe it.
Sometimes it depends on the state too. In NY, there are certain things that "laid off" people are entitled to that "fired people" aren't and they cost the company a lot of money. BUT then again, in NY many times if you get "fired", you can still collect unemployment if there is no documentation as to why you were "fired"
Good luck.
Yup.. just as Dreamer said. It's about the money. I was fired when I was 28 and they fired me so they wouldn't have to pay me any benefits. It had nothing to do with my quality of work, they actually said I was the best they had had, but on my 89th day (benefits kicked in after we'd been there 90 days), I was fired. They went through this cycle with my position. Firing someone every 89 days to save money.
Did it save them money in the long run though?
If they "fired" the whole section then it wasn't a firing it was a layoff and you have the evidence to back it up. I think they did it to screw you guys out of the unemployment, they will have to pay a lot more in premiums to the state if they lay off a large part of their workforce. If it were me I'd be fighting for that money, I don't appreciate being screwed. Here the max benefit is almost $2k per month, no way would I let them take that from me. You can go with your tail between your legs or go out fighting. I say get 'em, expose their illegal and unethical methods. Sorry this is happening :(
The others have said it so well, they fired you and the other so they would not have a hit to their unemployment insurance by laying you all off. You can probably still file for unemployment and see if they contest it. Some employers do, some don't. It could be worth a try. But it still sucks non the less.
it's just about the money, they save a lot more when they fire you than when they lay you off,
As far as unemployment compensation goes (yes, I know you don't want to apply for it, but you should), being fired won't keep you from getting benefits. The standard used by UC is along the lines of you having done something so seriously damaging to the company that anyone would have fired you--believe me, a missed deadline is not enough. Interesting that your whole section, including your boss, was fired. I take it you can still list your boss as a reference?
Curse your employer--buy a couple of voodoo dolls if necessary. But then move on. It's over. Best of luck in the job search.
Your firm probably also did this to make themselves look better in front of clients. By "firing" people in small groups for "underperforming,
they may be able to hide from clients and competitors what bad shape they are in.
The exact same thing happened to a friend who is an attorney. Her firm hasn't announced "layoffs," but they have been quietly forcing people out the door in small groups at a time for minor performance issues.
Basically, you were thrown under the bus to save them. I would be furious too.
I had the same thing happen to me too. As everybody says, it's them, not you. It was really depressing for me listening to why my performance wasn't up to par, but then I had to think about how convenient it was for my company that my performance was great when the economy was good, and then suddenly nosedived at the same time as the economy.
I feel for you, Dog. I had the same thing happen to me in 2001. I transferred in by request from a branch that didn't want me to go, had a disagreement with a subordinate who acted unprofessionally and they took her side when year-end salary reviews came up. They told me it was a lay-off, but filled out the ROE as termination with cause.
The thing that helped me was that, in the end, a job is just that, a job. New ones do come up. I took a three month sabbatical and then changed careers. I went through a lot of anger and self-doubt, but in the end a new job came along.
"Laying off" an entire department is suspect. If you can, go back to them in a few days when you've cooled off and talk about a proper package. If not, you and your department can look into a wrongful dismissal.
Hang tough, and remember that it's not about you. Get the leads - it's the least they can do.
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