Sadness
11 of my colleagues leave Friday.
Today, we say goodbye to them before the tears and final hugs. I really hope I can keep it together.
“For the first time since I was 17, I don’t have to get up and work on Monday morning.”
“I’ve been in this building since I was 19.”
That’s just from two of those people. Two people who have given much if not all of their careers to the same place. And this is the sort of thanks you can expect for loyal work. A nice little check, a cake, and a farewell.
It’s true that the industry in which I work has evolved, even in the 14 years I’ve been working in it. And for the last handful of years, the glassholes have been scrambling to put the beast back in the cage, though the damage has already been done, can’t be repaired by their old-school methods and thinking.
I know when I complained to either my father or my late grandmother about my jobs, both of them would tell me that you’re not supposed to like your job. The old school says you should spend your entire life in one career, and preferably with the same company, doing the same thing.
Now I don’t have a choice. I really don’t want to be doing this any more. The industry will have to exist in some form after I leave. Must exist in some form, or there will be no way to keep all the liars across the country in check. People must stay informed. But I’m tired and I’m sick at the thought of losing several coworkers, knowing that this is but round two, and there could be more to come. I don’t want to be thought of as a piece of meat, in the pasture for now, but headed to the slaughterhouse next time around.
Anyway, I wish my coworkers luck. For some, it may mean retirement or at least a long break off. And it might mean new opportunities. And that’s no bad thing. I need to get my ass in gear myself.
It’s impossible to keep the liars in check, I’m afraid. Even with the Internet–maybe because of the Internet–we’re all up to our necks in a sea of utter bullshit.
Sad to hear about the layoffs though. God, that is tough. My dad always told me the same thing: “you’re not supposed to like your job,” but we’re from a different generation. In our early to mid-thirties, we’ve probably already changed jobs more than our parents did at our age. There’s nothing wrong with it. We all want a little something more than a paycheck and health insurance. It would be nice to have stability, but even that isn’t what we want. We want a job that fulfills us.
Update:
I just went to the farewell. I was hoping I’d be OK, and I was. The goodbye was mostly light with lots of laughs. It also helped that I stood between one of the buyouts/retirees and the very biggest boss. I knew I couldn’t embarrass myself.
Still: 11 people represented 320 years of work for company. And most of them had been working here since before I was born. In several cases, many years before I was born.
Favorite quote from one of the departees, to me:
“Monday afternoon, I’m going to do something I’ve always wanted to do. Have a margarita at 4 in the afternoon.”
Cheers. Laugh all the way to your retirement, Bob.