Accepting that My Layoff is Not About Me
My boss is hoping that after this week, I only have to come into the office once or twice more. I had put together a schedule that had me in the office only three days next week, but she made a comment that I might not even need to come in that much. (I do need to come in Monday, I know that right now.)
The thing is, is that while I am the person who has been laid off, it’s not about me, at least not for my boss. It’s about the people who will still be here. I get that. It makes sense. I am leaving, but almost everyone else is staying, and their morale has to remain the priority for management.
I don’t mind coming in to the office (especially now that my hours are 9am-3pm). I like having something to do, and there is work I want to get done so that other people don’t have a ton of paperwork sitting on their desk just waiting for my last day. But the question is not is this easy and comfortable for me. It is about whether it is comfortable for the remaining staff. What does it do to their morale to see me every day knowing that I won’t be here much longer.
Last time around, we “made” staff come into work every day until their last day. This time, it has been decided that people can be on administrative leave until their last day and do not need to come into the office. The prolonged goodbye did not work very well, so now we’re experimenting with the sudden goodbye in many cases.
A few of the other people in my department who were let go were actually told they would not be coming back into the office. The announcement was made that their position was eliminated and that their last day was the very next day. In my case, because there is not one single person that my work will transition to, I am still a presence, until we can get the transition planned finalized and make sure everyone is trained and has the access they need. Until then, I’ll still be showing up in the office, at least once in a while.
It is interesting to see the lessons the company is learning as it goes through this process. And while I cannot bring myself to complain about being on administrative leave- paid for not coming in to work, and not having to use my PTO, it also runs counter to who I am. I like working. I like having somewhere to be. And it seems wrong to get paid specifically not to come to work.
But I also have to realize, no matter how much it’s about me to me, as far as the company is concerned, it’s not about me at all. It’s about the people who are staying.
More often than not, it seems companies go for the quick hit approach, where you are pretty much done as soon as they tell you. I think it minimizes their risk of an employee getting upset and doing something bad. That said, there have been times where it's taken place sort of like yours, where it gradually winds down. I think that actually speaks to the trust they have in you as a person.
While yes, I do think some of it is about trust, in my case, it's mostly that there isn't an obvious person to take over my duties. In fact, my duties are likely to be split among half a dozen people or more. For the staff in our department where there was an obvious hand-off of responsibilities, they've been placed on administrative leave.
I'm actually fine with not being on administrative leave yet, because I know I'll be bored. However, I am starting to plan lunches and the like with friends.