Good for you… you’ve gotten past the title and decided to read on. And yes, it has been one of those Mondays. Let’s take a peek behind the curtain to see how today’s story has been playing out:
- SCENE BEGINS IN THE OFFICE OF INFLEXION ADVISORS, WASHINGTON, DC. IT’S THE FIRST MONDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY AND MARK IS DRINKING RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF COFFEE.
- *phone rings*
- Mark: Inflexion, this is Mark.
- Caller: Hey Mark, this is (exec from large firm). Hope you had a great holiday!
- (2 mins of pleasantries discussing dysfunctional family antics, rough travel and leftovers)
- Caller: Well, we just laid off (person/function/business unit) and we’re not going to pursue (strategy/initiative/idea) after all. Man, I can’t believe the axe came down so hard. Of course we have to adjust for the (economic downtown/stock market/shrinking client budgets), but this is pretty rough, especially around the holidays.
- Mark: (vomiting quietly into office trash can) That’s really rough news. What are you guys doing to support those who were termed?
- Caller: No idea, but I heard the packages are pretty bad. You think I might be next???
- (call segues into self-preservation discussion, what I’m hearing in the market, if anyone is hiring, etc.)
- Mark: Did anyone on the exec team see this coming?
- Caller: I mean sure, we knew things were bad but didn’t really see the (shining red flashing *danger* light/need to adjust exec comp/evening news). Well, let me know what you’re hearing out there and take care.
- END SCENE
Just repeat that over and over again and you’ll get a sense of my day. Which brings me to our two “shittys”:
- The Market Is Going to Get Worse: I’m not an economist but I am a realist. Given that most of the calls I received aren’t yet public, I sense that the cascading effect will continue through at least the remainder of the year, and likely longer. We need to strap in for a bumpy ride and prepare for rough waters.
- People Aren’t Taking Care of One Another: This one is really shitty. Times are tough, most people are struggling, and I typically see attitudes of self-preservation taking hold. This isn’t even Darwinian, as the fittest aren’t necessarily the ones who are surviving. I’m seeing behavior that under normal circumstances would be considered abhorrent. Which begs the question – Have you done anything to help someone out, including just placing a call and letting them know you’re there if they need a shoulder or ear?
Believe me, I know there are more than two out there. I think what I’m finding so difficult to swallow is the instant invisibility that comes with unemployment. Friends and former colleagues don’t reach out because the recently disenfranchised embody the fear that comes with joblessness. The Golden Rule still applies people, so befriend someone in need, stop being selfish and let’s keep the conversation going.
13 Comments
Crap, you have had a really hard day. I think you need to go home and hug the puppies. Puppies make everything better. Puppies and alcohol.
@HR Minion – Thanks for the advice. If only I could get the puppies to serve alcohol, we’d have the ultimate pick-me-up. Hope you’re well!
Yuck.
HR Minion nailed it, tho. Go home. Try again tomorrow.
Jason
Kind of a mixed day for me. Didn’t get any additional calls and discover a couple of my friends have been laid-off or going to be. I’ve been helping out on their search (they live way outside of D.C). Also, got a call from my old company and they needed my assistance for the next few weeks. A mixed bag and during this time, it’s very grim of having business, unless I’m lucky.
Oh, got this from Laurie…today is National Bloody Mary Day. Have one or 2 and take a nap.
Hate to say it…but I can empathize. And, you nailed it with #2 (no pun intended.)
Marc,
I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you that I am here if you need a shoulder or an ear. (All other body parts I ain’t sharing…)
Tim
@Jason – Thanks for the commiseration. As James Bond said, Tomorrow is Another Day
@Tracy Tran – Cheers to that Tracy! Hang in there man and good luck with your old firm.
@Sharlyn Lauby – We should start a support group.
@Tim H – Save those other parts for the future Mrs. Hughes, wouldya?
Welcome to my November!
Unfortunately, this scene is playing out even more rampantly here in Michigan. I suspect my husband will be on the axed list, sooner rather than later.
Your point about needing to help others is well taken. I wish the world would listen.
@Breanne – Hopefully you’ll have a better December!
@SignGurl – My wife’s family is from Michigan so I appreciate the duress/stress you must be under. Let me know if I can help in any way.
“Hello.
“I am calling from India. My budget? …
“Um. $50.
“Hello, is anyone there?”
Mark,
As a one-person HR office, (with occasional help from the City Administrator’s office when phone and paper volume get out of hand,) I feel your burn.
Let me pass this along: The occasional help comes in the form of a person who was asked to move over to my office when the lines outside get too long. When asked what she thought of this arrangement, the person said, “I don’t want to do it, I don’t like that office and I am not comfortable in there. If you make me, I’ll do it, because I have to.”
After that, the City Administrator said, “OK, then it’s settled, you’ll work in the HR office mornings as needed.” We arranged for her to report every day to my office and to work in there until 11:00 a.m.
In the stunned silence that followed, I thought of the three people I really needed to serve our 200+ employees in 14 Departments with Police, Fire, Water, Electric, Harbors Dept.’s on 24 /7 schedules. I thought of all the best practices not being practiced.
And I thought, there must be a better way. The occasional help has cried large tears and sobs 7 times in the office so far (60 days.) I try to assuage, console, help, reassign work, care. And still…here I am slogging through. Every day is a tale of two shittys.
But your posts have aided in my inspiration. I love stories. I love posting to a social website and seeing my ideas melt down in the crucible of others’ opinion. And I especially love it when an idea flies, takes wing and soars above into the clear skies of rightness and goodness.
Like your posts. Even the shitty ones. Thank you. MD
@Mark Danielson – Wow. Excellent comments Mark and thank you for tracking me down over here at Inflexion. I love what you’ve been doing to build community on GovLoop and enjoy your stories tremendously. I don’t envy the 12% rate of sobbing from “the occasional help” though and imagine you might be dealing with well in excess of two shittys on that front. It sounds God-awful, but thanks for keeping a great sense of humor throughout it all. And keep taking pictures…they’re fantastic.
Best,
Mark