Getting Laid Off Sucks

I lost my job today.

The worst part is that the decision had practically nothing to do with me as an employee. I was nothing more than a name in a spreadsheet that was put together by someone who had never met me.

Yet here I am holding the short straw.

How It Happened

Shortly after the day began I received a terse invitation for a vaguely-named meeting that was scheduled to start in just a few minutes. I stood up and peered over my cubicle wall to ask a coworker if they had any idea what the meeting was about. They responded with confusion, "What meeting? I don't have a meeting."

We realized that the same conversation was happening in the row next to us, and the people next to them, and the people next to them. We exchanged bewildered looks until to the realization of what was about to happen started to set in. A couple of minutes later I found myself shuffling into a conference room along with several dozen other people. I remember that moment because nobody was saying anything, but the silence was deafening.

There were just two people in the room waiting for us to get seated: a woman that I recognized from human resources, and a bored-looking man that I had never seen before. He was busy scribbling something down in a notepad while she sat next to him with her arms folded and a grim look on her face.

He introduced himself and got right to the point. We had been called together to be informed that our positions were eliminated effective immediately. We would be given a few minutes to clean out our desks before being escorted from the building. His entire speech couldn't have taken more than sixty seconds before he simply asked, "Are there any questions?"

Not even a half-assed expression of sympathy. No mention of severance, payout for unused benefits, or unemployment assistance. Essentially, "You're fired. Get your shit and get out."

I was too stunned to speak. Not just because I was being laid off, but because of the cold nature in which we had just been dismissed. He had already returned to scribbling in his notepad and seemed somewhat annoyed that people were upset.

Twenty minutes later I had collected my things, said a few goodbyes, and was headed out of the building. On the way through the lobby the same woman from human resources shook my hand and wished me the best, after which the notepad-scribbler also offered to shake my hand.

My small act of rebellion was briefly meeting his eyes before ignoring his outstretched hand and turning to walk out of the building.

Jackass.

Why It Felt So Cold

While I'm being a little dramatic here, I have to admit that this layoff was not an entirely unexpected event. The company had been sold a few months prior and efforts to merge the businesses were ongoing. Everyone was quietly worried that there would be layoffs.

However, the new owner of the company came to visit our office about a week after the acquisition and tried to make this big show of providing lunch and telling us that we were now "a part of his family". It sounded like a hollow platitude then and it sure feels like an outright lie now.

Remember kids: your employer is not family. If they tell you that you're family without also treating you like family, they're just trying to manipulate you for their benefit.

In the end I think that most jarring part of the whole experience was the manner in which it was conducted. I understand that, for whatever reasons, a business decision was made that required cutting jobs. What I don't understand is why you would let them go in such a casually dismissive way.

Don't be so flippant about distrupting people's livelihoods. Don't forget to be a human.

Getting Off My Soapbox

Anyway, people get laid off all the time and the world keeps spinning. Maybe that's the problem.

There's already been a kind of "support group" Slack chat formed where people are reviewing each other's resumes, writing letters of recommendation, and sharing job postings. In moments like these a little class solidarity goes a long way.

I'll spend a week or two feeling sorry for myself and then get to work figuring out what comes next.