Laying off people was probably the single least pleasant thing I've ever done at work. I've had plenty of bad days, mostly falling into the miserable due to working conditions (usually weather) category. This was more bad in that these were peoples' livelihoods and I was the bringer of generally awful news. A couple saw it coming. A couple others were genuinely shocked. One person was visibly shaking.
When it's all said and done, this is a business. And business is in the business of making money. Not to expound on the obvious, but if we were in the business of giving away money then we would be a charity. We have other values, but note that the third one is still about money. This may seem like seriousness and corporate-speak, but there's an essential message for everyone who is still working with me. That message is that we are here to stay and in order to stay we sometimes need to make hard decisions and do unpleasant things. And the lesson for everyone to learn is that they need to be valuable and essential or their job could be in jeopardy when it comes time to retrench again. I have made this as clear as I possibly can to everyone. Time to see who heard me.
1 comment:
Where I work, we hire & fire people all the time. There is no such thing called "job security" in private industry any more. One cannot just put in a 40-hour work week, after 25-30 years and then walk away with a gold watch and full benefit. High quality/productivity and job efficiency/safety at minimum cost is the name of the game.
On the othe hand, one always can find a laid back job paid by your tax $$$$.
Post a Comment