Survivor’s guilt…again
Nov 23, 2009 Working hard or hardly working
Working for big business has many advantages. More opportunity to move up the corporate ladder. Bigger salaries. Better benefits. Ability to relocate to another location in another part of the country or world.
But there are several disadvantages too. Mainly layoffs.
In a large company you are just one of thousands. It’s harder to stand out. And layoffs are pretty commonplace. Annual even.
We had layoffs in my office today. We’ve been pretty fortunate to escape previous layoffs without losing anybody in our department. Our last layoff was back in 2006.
Today our luck ran out. We lost two people in my department. One in my office. And it sucks.
The guilt is the worst part. Mary didn’t want to be laid off. But I’d almost welcome it. Part of me wants to take her place. With my recent graduation and new marketing degree, I’m thinking about a career change anyway. A layoff would force me to get off my butt and actually start putting forth some effort in to a job search.
But on the other hand, I likely wouldn’t be able to switch places with her. The paperwork is already done. And right now isn’t the best time to be out of work.
And so instead I just feel sad. And mad. And guilty.
I HATE layoffs. I HATE seeing my friends go. I HATE the guilt that comes along with being left. I HATE them.
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Tags: layoff, reduction in force, survivor's guilt
November 24th, 2009 at 7:37 am
I am one of the newest people in my department (and by department, I’m talking 120+ people). There is only one person newer than me, yet her and I have both escaped the recent layoffs. It makes me feel a bit guilty.
November 24th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I’ve been thru several layoffs in my career – it doesn’t get easier. I’ve survived and felt the survivor’s guilt – esp. the time where I had to lay off 9 people (1/3 of all the people laid off that day!). It was awful – almost worse than the other times that I was the one laid off.
Just hang in there though. And, keep your resume up to date
Mom