I LOST my JOB – in just 15 MINUTES

All it took was 15 minutes. After over a decade of working for my ex-employer, it only took a 15-minute conversation with HR and I was escorted out of the facility. The only thing that’s missing was a handcuff and my feeling of being a criminal escorted into my prison cell would be complete.

It was a typical day at the office. Early morning meetings, followed by phone calls and chats to answer queries. After looking at my “ TO DO list” for the day, I started working on the more difficult tasks (I’m a morning person and so I do the most difficult tasks early in the morning). “PING!”, a message from my supervisor: “Hey Chris (not my real name of course), please come over to meeting room XXX, I need to talk to you”. I thought it was a quick “hi, got a question for you” thing.

Standing outside of the door was my supervisor, an HR representative and a security agent. I was ushered into the room and with no time wasted, my supervisor went into what sounds like a well-rehearsed story-line of cost-cutting and restructuring, punctuated by “Today is your last day. As soon as we’re done here, you should exit the building”.

I was shocked, confused, disgusted, disappointed, angry. I thought it was just a prank. It has to be. How can they lay off people few days before Christmas? But it wasn’t.

I heard similar stories before. After all, this is not the first time my ex-employer laid off hundreds and thousands of workers. “It was brutal” one coworker said. Another: “it was heartless and disrespectful. I can’t believe we treat our employees like that. They’ve been with us for several decades for f#$!@ sake!”.

I was “with them” - 100%. I felt sorry for my colleagues who were let go back then, especially those whom I’ve worked with for several years. I felt the utter disappointment and anger in their voices and saw the sadness and defeat in their faces. I thought I saw and felt it all but I was wrong. It was nothing compared to going through it yourself. “Brutal” and “heartless” are kind words in comparison.

As an offshoot of our annual employee survey, we have a “suggestion box” in every corner of the building. It was one of those “ideas” to encourage people to share their thoughts on things that matter to them and to the company. The thought process is, when employees are part of the problem-solving process, implementing those solutions are much easier, more effective and low costs. It's ingenious. The only thing I wasn’t sure though is what happens to those “suggestions” submitted by the employees. Are they really being considered by management? I’m pretty sure, laying off people to solve the liquidity problem of the company was not one of those suggestions.

Long-tenured workers who accumulated several years of steady annual salary increases of 1 to 5% made them the main target of cost-cutting initiatives. Replacing the old (high paid workers) with the new (low paid ones) is the name of the game. It makes perfect sense when you only look at the numbers.

Back to the HR room drama, I wasn’t allowed to leave the room. No goodbyes to friends and co-workers; no parting emails to colleagues from across the continents (they are probably asleep anyways; pun intended). Literally nothing. The HR representative asked if there are personal items I left at my desk. I uttered them from memory as best as I could. Moments later, the security agent came back with my personal stuff, my laptop, bags, cellphone etc. I asked if I could open my laptop and back up some files, but the answer was no. “Everything in your laptop is company property and will be purged”. Dam! It was months ago since I backed up my files.

We went over some documents at a “high level” particularly the terms of termination (translation: read it yourself at home before signing and returning them or if you’re not happy, get a lawyer). “Any questions?”. No words come out of my mouth as my brain was still blank like the blue screen of death when your laptop crashes. My brain needs to reboot.

And that was it! I was asked to leave the room and the security agent escorted me straight out of the facility.

Can we make the lay-off more humane?

It took a while for my brain to comprehend what had just happened. What an inhumane treatment of employees I thought. First, you get called into a meeting unexpectedly and unprepared. Then they rush to tell you that your services are no longer required. Next, they give you a contract to sign to avoid getting sued. No thank you, no sorry, no goodbyes, no negotiation, not even time to think it through. I feel like a worn out machinery that needed to be disposed of as junk quickly! And by the way, they make sure that you don’t bring with you any company property. The trophies and plaques for the merits and awards you garnered over the years – they are company property, not yours.

Disheartening as it is, it’s the “people” within the organization that makes these harsh decisions. And it’s the “people” who administers the firing process for the unfortunate ones. I’m pretty sure we can find a way to treat each other with respect and dignity, while we still can.

As a side note, I saw a video once about future predictions, particularly on the subject of “the types of jobs that will be taken over by AI or robots”. In retrospect, I think the HR’s job of firing people would be the perfect job for these heartless robots of the future.

Great companies look at problems as opportunities to prove that they can stay true to their corporate values. How companies approach a problem is what separates the great from mediocre. Take for example a company that had to face the same fate during the 2008 crisis. Instead of laying off its people, it opted for mandatory one-month unpaid leave for all its employees including executives. The initiative saved $20M in cost – double the amount of the projected savings from layoffs.

My ex-employer is a multinational company with over 100,000 employees worldwide. Ideas abound on better ways of solving a problem - without the demeaning and inhumane treatment – had they used such talented minds to help ideate and find creative solutions. But my ex-employer rather took the easy way out – layoff workers.

What's more demoralizing is that during our quarterly town hall meetings, my ex-employer proudly reminds everyone that employees are its greatest assets. Yet, at the first sign of financial woes, it’s workers become the sacrificial lambs. What a hypocrisy.

Life goes on

It may seem disheartening to hear all these outrageous employee termination practices (I’m surprised there are still people who stay in these jobs of firing people!), but guess what, come the next day, it’s business as usual for the lucky ones who get to keep their jobs. The most common rationalization – a necessary evil to protect the company and the “greater good” (translation – treating employees like pieces of used furniture to protect the bottom line [profits in financial terms] and meet wall street’s estimates is a good thing).

What’s also amazing is how quickly, employees who escaped the chopping board, dismiss the brutality of mass layoffs. When you come to the office the next day and you realize the hundreds of things you need to do, the financial and volume targets you need to make, and the bosses hovering around you all day long reminding you of deadlines - yesterday’s trauma evaporates 1,000 times faster than the early snowfall in late Autumn. The ticking sound of emails hitting your inbox or the chime of meeting reminders will make you ignore the empty chairs that your former colleagues used to bust their asses on to meet deadlines and bosses’ expectations - even at the expense of missing crucial life events e.g. taking care of your wife who just gave birth, graduation rites, death of love ones etc.

Remembering those precious moments that I've missed makes me cry. Emails have a better fate in a corporate setting. Less important emails can be stored temporarily and flagged for future reading but life's precious moments – if you missed them, they’re gone forever.

Life’s curve balls

Timing is everything. Not just in stock or crypto market but in almost every facet of life. Losing your job just days before Christmas is extremely annoying and perplexing. All your holiday plans and wishes vanished.

Moreover, we just bought a house. After renting the entire of our adult life, my wife and I agreed that our growing family needed more space. We thought it is a good decision after weighing the pros and cons of home ownership. But few weeks after moving in, I lost my job. Although we still think buying a house is the right decision, the timing could have been more forgiving.

Another surprise - health insurance. Insurance in the US for self-employed or unemployed for that matter is outright ridiculous. For a family of four, the monthly premium is between $1k to $2.5k depending on your coverage and your provider. Having a medical insurance shouldn’t have been a big headache if hospitals and clinics accept patients without insurance as long as credit history is good. But they don’t. Most hospitals and clinics require a proof of insurance as a prerequisite to being accepted as a new patient. Getting an insurance that is less popular and less expensive does not give you many options either.

Lessons learned

Not a full list of lessons but two quick ones that I thought would be helpful.

Be brutal and unforgiving

Constantly be vigilant for opportunities in enhancing your career within the company and be brutal and unforgiving in pursuing them. Ask for a raise, a promotion or a bonus like it was your last day. Because when you are lined up on the chopping board – your employer will not show mercy.

Write your farewell speech and keep it handy

If you are the type who cares about saying goodbye to your friends and colleagues, you better have your speech or parting email handy. It takes a while to capture those perfect words for your emotional and heartfelt adieu so take time preparing it. You won’t have an hour or a minute to write it when your time comes to be shoved out the door.

P.S.

Losing my job is a blessing than a curse. It allowed me to sleep longer and better, eat healthier and take a breather. I get to spend more time with our kids - more time to play, read stories and kiss them goodnight (as opposed to arriving home every night when everyone is asleep and leave early in the morning when all are still sleeping). The unnecessary, self-imposed pressure is gone and we are living a much better life.

A good life until cash runs out. Cash is still king unfortunately in this part of the world.