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It’s Friday. A day that many of us look forward to. A chance for people to wind down the week and prepare for the weekend. A time to ENJOY. But not for everyone…
8.5 Million Jobs have been LOST since the start of the economic downturn
Unemployment as of February is at 9.7%
Roughly 14.9 Million people are out of work
Some people may be finding themselves included in these numbers on this day. As a manager, supervisor or an HR representative, you may be the one to inform them.
The numbers are disheartening. More so if you can put faces and names to the numbers. Increase that feeling when you can relate those numbers to people you personally know and console going through it.
It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.
A common phrase. An easy cop-out to dismiss ourselves from the thing that is actually happening on the other side of the desk that you sit. Someone’s life has being changed and in their own world ~ shattered. But it’s OK. They’ll be OK. Won’t they? I mean, how you can empathize, when it’s not you. I get it, doing so helps make it easier to look at things as just a number. We can’t attach ourselves to every situation. Doing so would make it impossible to cope with the job you hold.
Watching “Up in the Air” (Trailer) made me think about my own situation as well as many other professionals within our field that have been faced with giving the bad news. It’s not your, my, or our fault. I get it. But so many think it’s easy to focus on the numbers. To use that as a precursor to explain the situation to the employee as if it will make them feel “okee dokee, thanks I will be ok.” To chalk layoffs up to budgets. Decrease operational lines to save the factories’. To look only at the bottom line…
The Bottom Line
The movie and its true-to-life lay-offs only drove a point deeper. (Prepare yourself for a long-grammatical incorrect sentence) With the talk of “the traditional resume is dead,” “social media will replace typical recruiting practices,” to the entire approach of technology overstepping and replacing the way we have typically approached employee relations and business in the workplace… the bottom line is this:
Statistics cannot be used to show sincerity.
You cannot replace a human interaction with a transaction that is inhumane
Think about that as I leave you with the following. The words of an individual being laid off in the movie, which was played by the actual unemployed. If I had the clip it would be more powerful than the words on the page.
How do you sleep at night, man? Huh? How's your family? They sleeping well at night? Electricity still on? Heat still on, refrigerator full of food? Gas tank full of gas? Going to Chuck E. Cheese this weekend or something? Not me. No, my kids, We're not gonna do anything.
What do you think? As difficult as it may be, I’d like to hear your thoughts, stories, frustrations and worries. I think that in times like this, sharing is almost as good as medicine.
Thoughts on Up in the Air ~ Adversity (Video)
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Comments
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03.15.10
I felt like the universe knew I was not fulfilled professionally despite the fact that I did my job well. I was shocked when it happened, but more than anything relieved. I was able to do some soul searching and figure out my next move. I got a blog. Leveraged my education in communication my expertise in traditional digital media and jumped into social media head first. Now I'm currently freelancing as I continue to apply for positions that meet MY criteria.
I think it's important to remember that we AREN'T just what we do for a living. Life is so much more than just a title, a profession or a name.
03.15.10
Being a layoff veteran, and having been laid off business giants, like "Neutron" Jack Welch (as in "neutron bomb", the people are gone, but building remains), "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap, and "Flameout" Carly Fiorina, what's missing is any kinf of empathy about the total dislocation of the lives of the people that are being laid off and their families, and any kind of help to start over again.
The best example I can think of is the Great Aerospace Slaughter of 1988. When over 100,000 aerospace workers were laid off in SoutheTrn California in October of 1988, Los Angeles was plunged into an economic abyss, capped off by the Rodney King riots and the Northridge Quake. Thousands of families lost livilihoods, homes and hope, with many leaving Southern California and never returning.
The companies doing the layoffs continued on, shrugging at the thousands of layoffs, saying "It's just business", and ignoring the plight of those who had poured their lives into building the companies and also building the finest weaponry for "the Arsenal of Democracy" for decades.
With such a train of incidents going back to the mid-70s, is it any wonder there's so much cynicism and skepticism about companies' committment to their workforce? Time and again, management has shown that they will cut people at the hint of a drop in quartly profits.
03.15.10
I loved Up In The Air and wrote my own post about it:
http://www.dmbosstone.com/2010/02/oscar-watch-up-in-the-air-is-about-loy...
I feel like I'm following Andrea's comments all over the place but she again makes a great point- we aren't what we do for a living and if you think you are- then I challenge you to step away and look at your work-life balance.
By trade I'm a video producer but by passion I am also a Blogger and Stage Manager. Three things that each describe a different part of my life.
03.15.10
Andrea - True! It can be traumatic. The key is to do something with the time after the lay-off. Never question yourself only your motives and wants for the position you are looking for!
JRandom - Not sure I agree that all companies or management only chalk things up to budgets but know that everyone, regardless of level, will focus more on themselves and increasing the productivity of a company then those lost in the shuffle. It is easy for all of use to forget. Out of sight, out of mind.
Patrick - It is easy for anyone to say that they "aren't what they do for a living" but the truth is that for many, we are. Like being a father, a girlfriend, a daughter or a husband... a factory line working, union rep, account executive or CEO it is not all much different. Only in the depth of the relationships we have.
The difference is that we can only realize that these things are many time just a part of our lives not our WHOLE lives!
The key to all of this is that we recognize what we are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve our own goals while not being treated as a number.
Have a great weekend and feel free to connect.
Twitter: @BenjaminMcCall
Website: http://ReThinkHR.org
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