Wednesday, June 29

a turn of events and a new me

So, last Monday morning, when I got online, I saw a meeting notice from my manager for a one-on-one that day.  Immediately, I cringed.  You see, for the past three years (literally, since I started at an unhappy company) they have been in a constant state of Work Force Reductions (WFRs) and BEST Shoring (a fancy term for off-shoring your job to China, India, Argentina, Puerto Rico, etc  i.e. countries where they can all but steal labor -- how can a US employee that already makes less than nothing compete with them paying less than $5000 a year for someone in in India).

Anyways, I saw that meeting notice and I knew that meant my time was up.  Fortunately, I work from home most of the time, so I was given the news while I was at home  (which has been my wish forever).  This meant that I got to assimilate the information with my husband, in private.  WIN (if that's possible in this situation)!

The funny thing is, after 3 years of seeing other people (constantly) get let go, and living with that kind of stress, I was actually surprised and happy that my number one emotion was RELIEF.  I felt like a HUGE weight had been lifted off of me and my stress level went way down!  Don't get me wrong, I am NOT HAPPY to have lost my job, that's never a good thing.  But I am happy to be unshackled by that job.  Where I work, NO ONE keeps anything (or very few things) of personal nature in the office, because everyone who works there knows that it is much easier to clean out an empty desk than a full one.

From the first day that I started at that global computer company, I had this overwhelming gut feeling that this job was an absolute mistake.  I have never worked in such a toxic environment, because make no mistake, that was a VERY TOXIC environment.  Imagine interacting daily with hundreds of people, all of whom are in constant fear of losing their job.  People throw colleagues under the bus (sometimes without even realizing it, but usually they know what they are doing) without even blinking an eye.  People are forced to adapt very quickly in that kind of dog eat dog food chain, and they become very skilled. Myself included, even though I made a concerted effort to never deliberately throw someone under the bus, I know it's happened, usually to defend myself.

Who wants to exist in that kind of an environment?

And I was there for THREE YEARS, hating it from the FIRST DAY!

Fortunately, when I started there the economy (especially in battered Detroit) was in a FAR WORSE PLACE than it has been in the past 6 months or so.  There are job postings now, whereas before there was primarily a void.

Here are the positives that I see:

  • I got "WFRd" at home.
  • I had very few personal effects at the office (in fact they all fit, with TONS of room left over, in a large lululemon shopper
This is what my personal belongings fit into

  • I knew it was coming (for the past three years)
  • I don't miss the job
  • It happened on Monday, June 20, which means that I get a summer vacation.
  • I already registered months ago for the Detroit Freep Marathon on Sunday, October 16.  So now I HAVE. TIME. TO. TRAIN!!!!
  • SUMMER VACATION (and I fully intend to enjoy every single second of it)!
  • Time to get the house TRULY organized, which has been weighing on me for about 6 months now.
  • The economy is in a much better place now than it was a few months ago, so I know I will find something.
  • I have time to be more discerning in my search for a new job.
  • My husband is wonderful and supportive.
  • So are my parents
  • My 90+ grandma just moved into an assisted living facility that is only a few miles from my house, so I will have time to pop in and visit her, frequently :-D
So, there you have it -- I choose to look at this as a window opening, rather than a door closing!

--happy living

2 comments:

  1. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I think this is for the best. I think you're going to find something that you like much more. And I'm truly jealous that you're getting a break! I hope to join you soon, my dear :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I sure hope so (and think so, too)... :-)

    ReplyDelete

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