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#Post#: 65804--------------------------------------------------
Just tell us who got laid off already
By: TootsNYC Date: April 20, 2021, 4:32 pm
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My company had layoffs today; my department lost at least 5
people. We had an all-hands meeting to loop in those of us who
remain.
And as has happened many times in my career, the executive
leading that meeting did not tell us who had gotten laid off.
"Our colleagues who were affected..." Sometimes even, "Please do
what you can to help them as they look for new jobs."
And inevitably, also as has happened many times in my career:
After the meeting there are a ton of conversations going where
people are trying to figure out who got laid off, who wasn't in
the meeting, etc.
It feels so gossipy and stigmatizing. It is SUCH a
productivity drain.
I do not understand why companies and executives simply do not
announce the names. The people have been notified; the blow has
been struck.
You can frame the list quite positively--thank people for the
work, express regret that business trends have forced the
layoffs, encourage people to reach out with job leads and
encouragement.
Instead, this hush-hush treatment makes it look as though
getting laid off is some shameful secret instead of just a turn
of bad luck through someone else's business decision.
It's business, not personal--but why are you acting as though
it's something that must not be spoken of openly?
I've been the laid-off person. I'd be totally OK with being on
that list.
Am I nuts?
#Post#: 65808--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just tell us who got laid off already
By: oogyda Date: April 20, 2021, 5:28 pm
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You're not nuts.
But have you said this ^^^^^^to the executive leading the
meeting? Perhaps someone else in a supervisory role? Put it
out as a suggestion when asked for one?
#Post#: 65816--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just tell us who got laid off already
By: Aleko Date: April 21, 2021, 2:51 am
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DH has had a very similar situation recently. The institution
had been closed and everyone was kept on during the
government-funded furlough scheme, but now that scheme is ending
and they are about to open up again they have decided to make
two workers redundant. This was announced in a mail shot to all
staff (everyone is still working from home at this point) as
‘sadly, two people have been informed that they will be leaving
us’ or some such wording, which of course left everyone fizzing
with anxious concern but not able, obviously, just to email
around asking ‘who are they, do you know?’ in case they asked
one of them. It just seems so stupid: if you’ve got to drop the
bomb, just drop it and get the bad news over and done with.
It was especially bad for DH because he did know: one of them
was his own assistant, and the director had told him what they
were planning months ago but that it was confidential. So all
through lockdown he’d had to deal with this guy, e.g. when he
put in leave requests for the upcoming year or asked about what
events were planned, and not reply ‘We aim to do X in June, and
Y in September - but it won’t concern you, because you ain’t
coming back’. It felt wretchedly deceitful.
#Post#: 65822--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just tell us who got laid off already
By: Winterlight Date: April 21, 2021, 7:37 am
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Yikes, that's so unfair to your DH. Why on earth did they tell
him? I mean, I get that he needed to know at some point, but
leaving this hanging fire for months is terrible.
#Post#: 65833--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just tell us who got laid off already
By: BeagleMommy Date: April 21, 2021, 9:07 am
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When our university laid people off due to COVID we were told
who was laid off because we had to decide who would pick up
their duties.
If someone leaves due to getting a new job there is usually a
"congratulations we will miss you" type of email sent.
If someone is fired for cause it is usually a "So and So will no
longer be with the university".
It should be announced to the departments who will need to pick
up the slack but maybe not to everyone.
#Post#: 65834--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just tell us who got laid off already
By: STiG Date: April 21, 2021, 9:14 am
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It's pretty hard to support someone who has been laid off when
you don't know who they are!
But it is slightly better than the way layoffs were done at my
husband's previous company. At a morning meeting, they
announced they would be laying off staff permanently. Then they
sent everyone down to the shop floor and started tapping them on
the shoulder one at a time to bring them up to HR and give them
their paperwork. DH didn't get tapped until 2 o'clock in the
afternoon. He was one of only 2 who were temporarily laid off.
He thinks it was punishment for one build that was way overtime,
before he was even assigned to help get the build done.
It would have been better to just read a list of names and have
them stay after the morning meeting. But the company wanted to
get at least part of a days work out of them, since they had to
pay them for the whole day, anyway. He is well quit of that
place!
#Post#: 65843--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just tell us who got laid off already
By: Soop Date: April 21, 2021, 10:50 am
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[quote author=BeagleMommy link=topic=2037.msg65833#msg65833
date=1619014045]
When our university laid people off due to COVID we were told
who was laid off because we had to decide who would pick up
their duties.
If someone leaves due to getting a new job there is usually a
"congratulations we will miss you" type of email sent.
If someone is fired for cause it is usually a "So and So will no
longer be with the university".
It should be announced to the departments who will need to pick
up the slack but maybe not to everyone.
[/quote]
That's pretty much how the emails go where I work. When we get
the fired version, the gossip starts. We need to know who has
left, in order to know who to deal with going forward. Also for
security reasons. I'm in commercial leasing and property
management. Can't keep the building secure if you don't know
that person is no longer staff.
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