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Surviving the Chopping Block?
2names asks: "Having been involved in cutbacks at several companies, I am finding it more difficult to remain focused on my job tasks even when I am not the subject of the cutback. For those of you who have survived the chopping block (sometimes repeatedly), how do you continue to produce quality work in the face of constant staff reductions?"
Just continue doing your work and focus on what matters. Sure it's hard, and you do need to give yourself time to grieve and be pissed off. But, if you let yourself wallow in it and get distracted, you just increase your chances for being chopped soon. Focus on the interesting stuff and stuff that needs some mental thought so that you don't have enough time to wallow.
It does help to avoid getting into a bitching session with coworkers. Black topics and moods tend to multiply when you and others pay attention to them.
All that said, it's still a good idea to keep your resume polished and your ear to the ground.
... work my ass off and hope for the best. I refuse to suck up. I just treat everyone like an equal, which many "higher-ups" appreciate. They like it when their employees say "Hi" and crack jokes and ask about their kids' soccer games. Some of them don't, I'm just polite to them.
I haven't been laid off yet.
I work for a well known telecommunications company. We're not well known because we are a huge company that is in every household in the country...we're well known because we had a large bankruptcy shortly after the Enron debacle.
In the past 5 years, I have watched about 8 different "lay-off" periods (situations in which over a hundred people (sometimes a few thousand) were given their walking papers) and survived each of them.
The interesting part to me is that about 80% of the people who were let go were no surprise to most of the people who worked with them. Several of them spent most of their time worrying about how to protect their job rather than actually doing their job. In fact, if some of them put as much energy into doing their job rather than fearing their lay-off, they'd probably still be employed.
I'm not saying that everyone who got laid off deserved it (several good folks were lost due to whole department eliminations).
During two years there was (significant) uncertainty that we would survive as a company, relegating all of us to the unemployment line. The way to survive a lay-off is to ensure that you are focusing on the company's goals. If you're not, don't wait to be chopped. Start hunting now and get out.
I will say that if you look at who remained and still remains at my place of employment, you will find that 99% of those folks did their job to the best of their abilities, never complained, took on more work than they were asked to take on, and most of them never feared being let go.
I have to chock it up to attitude. I watched several folks with better degrees, more experience, more technical knowledge, and more skill than I get let go. But I remained because I work well on a team and am willing to take any task with a smile on my face.
I apologize if this sounds like a "buck up, camper" kind of speech, or if I come off not sympathizing with those who have been let go (I really do. I've been there!). But if you go to work worried about getting fired...you're probably going to get fired.
"God is dead!" - Nietzsche
"Nietzsche is dead!" - God
I've been in both situations: the one passed over for getting the axe, and one of several who did get the axe. All I can say is that no matter how secure you think you job is, always have a few tricks up your sleeve. Keep up with your professional contacts, maintain the skills that your current job doesn't use.
Waiting until farmer comes out to the henhouse is way, way too late. Companies today are less adverse to firing people no matter how long they've been working there. Often it's not even a manager's decision, it's bean-counter's decision somewhere that ten people will need to be laid off here and there to make year-end budgets.
Also, just because a company is large and appears stable, there's no guarantee that anyone will be working there a month from now. It's like playing Russian Roulette; somewhere out there, someone is falsifying financial statements. Are they in your company? Is it going to turn up tomorrow in headline news, sending the stocks through the floor? You just can't guarantee anything.
If you have no options elsewhere, the only chance you have is to just be a good employee, don't ruffle anyone's feathers. Never accept an upcoming slack period in the schedule; always seek out interleaving projects if your managers aren't finding you any. If you're always in the middle of two or three projects, you're more likely to be put on the "needs to stay for now" pile. But there is no surefire way to stay.
Just keep up your contacts and be on the lookout for any positions elsewhere. Investigate what it takes to become a consultant in your area. Companies no longer feel the need to offer loyal employees any long-term job security, so we should no longer have to feel guilty for jumping ship to suit our own needs.
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Look, I already told you! I deal with the goddamn customers so the engineers don't have to! I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!
I for one welcome our new unemployment office overloards......
First of all, update your resume. No matter what you do, how good you are, sometimes you will end up out of work anyway. Take any reasonable offer, even if you would have stayed on, someone else can be transfered to your position who would otherwise be out of work.
I know one person who handed her 2 weeks into her boss. He closed the door, and told her to tear it up. One week latter she was laid off, with 2 months severance. Thats your best case. (Note that she was in management, most of you don't have a boss high enough in the chain to help you like this)
Make sure your boss knows you are willing to do other things. Another person I know survived a couple rounds because the department was eliminated, but another department was hiring, and a few people got transfered. If the boss doesn't know you are willing to do work for that department he might not suggest you for a position. (these positions were not posted)
Keep contact with those who are let go. Hard to do for some I know, but it is a good plan. When they get a job, odds are it is with a company that is looking for more people. When you are hit, send them your resume. One place I worked hired a lot of people by the manager going to one person and asking who would be good for a position. That guy gave them a name, and position was 90% filled before the person named even knew it existed.
Don't worry about it. Worry affects your job performance. If worry motivates you, worry about getting your current job done, at least your are seen as worrying about the right things.
Save your money! Pay off dept, and don't take on more. If the worst case strikes and you end up flipping burgers to make ends meet, your savings might have to fill in. Take the burger job after unemployment ends, and well before you run out of money, better to have some income than none. You can make good money (not great, but enough to live comfortably) if you move up in the burger world, but it takes time, so start before you are out of savings.
If you are laid off, consider volunteer work. You can often meet the spouses of important people this way, making it a good path to a job. If nothing else you generally meet people in other areas, and they can show you more about life. If you have kids, chaperon their field trips, a good way to see museams and things that you didn't apprecate as a kid.
Re-evaluate your life. Are you married with kids? Perhaps you should be a stay-at-home dad/mom. If nothing else remember that when you are not working you don't have to pay for day-care.
If you are single, can you pack up and leave? Europe is beautiful and worth seeing, sell just about everything, store the few things you can't live without at the parents, pack a bag and disappear for a while. You might or might not come back. If you live in Europe, substitute North America. Actually anyone can substitute any other area they have never been. Asia, Africa, New Zealand (you can spend a long time in that tiny country and not see it all), South America... If you can't pack up and leave, there are nice areas close to home that you should explore.
Check the local library. Get those books on starting your own business, even if you don't want to run one. Get books on tatting (making lace) and start a new hobby. And get books in your own field and update your skills. Not the word "and" above, do all of the above. If your local library is small they often can borrow from other libraries if you ask them to. You can buy the books you like of course.
Get religion. (or re-get if you have it) It may or may not help with any other part of life, but it can answer some other need you have. Obviously this is personal, but you should be giving it a thought anyway just in case. Don't make this a primary goal, but once you have one, you have a bunch of contacts who can help with a job search.
Do not fear losing your job. It will happen. It may or may not be your fault. How you deal with is up to you though. MIT says their graduates switch careers 7 times in their life. I've already had 3 and I'm not yet 30. (though I love the one enough that I'm trying to stay in it) Don't be afraid to switch.
Quit. Think about the assholes you will never be forced to listen to ever again. Always remember the pent-up aggression and frustration. Gone. Sure, replaced with a large amount of anxiety but anything is better than the soul-sucking dread and constant pinkslip juggernaut.
Move on. Don't hang on. Don't ride the gravy train. Don't be a yes-man kowtowing to the axeman. Staying only serves to destroy your soul piece by piece. Stand up and reclaim your sense of self-worth.
Corporate culture promotes a hothoused atmosphere where you are deliberately blinkered to believe things suck all over. They don't.
Retrain, flex your intellect, rediscover yourself. The world is now your oyster for the first time since you left school. This is an opportunity, not a setback. Seize the opportunity to live again.