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Every few years it seems like we go through a round of layoffs. My department has been lucky enough to avoid it for the most part. Usually the ones hit are corporate or salaried employees who have been here years upon years.
Today we weren't so lucky. Out of the 15 assistant supervisors in my department, seven were let go including myself. When I heard rumors of layoffs this morning I didn't think too much of it. I'm only part time, am underpaid as it is, and 15 asst supes is already below the bare minimum (usually we operate with 25+). I figured we couldn't afford to lose anyone especially with a busy winter season coming up. Then around 11AM I got a lovely call at home from HR letting me know that my position had been terminated and I am no longer to report to work. My ID badge had already been deactivated and if I have any belongings still on the premises I'll need to have an employee bring them out for me. Those unlucky enough to actually be at work when they were told of this were immediately escorted off the property by two security guards. (Which is a little excessive if you ask me)
No time for goodbyes, nothing. We will get paid two months severance and are free to apply to any internal positions until late December but other than that we're done. It was short and to the point.
They stressed a few times that this was not based on our performance, and I have to believe that because the seven of us were some of the strongest in our department. Some of the ones kept around are... questionable, to say the least. I love them as people but as workers many of them are the kind who are constantly late, always sitting around doing nothing, and always whining about wanting to quit. The seven of us laid off were some of the hardest working, most dedicated, and most respected of the bunch. It makes no sense. I'm really not trying to sound bitter, everyone is just so confused as to how we of all people were let go. I've heard rumors from past layoffs that supervisors/managers/directors have no say in it and they themselves don't even know who it is going to be until the day of. Something about randomized algorithms on some program that ultimately makes the decision. I really have to believe that.
I'm mostly just sad. I liked my job, and I was good at it. I've struggled with finding my "place" in life for a long time and I felt like I'd found it there. It wasn't my dream job or anything and I was actually thinking of looking for something new next year anyway. I just wasn't quite ready for how abruptly it ended. I learned and grew so much as a person there over the years. If I compare to how I was when I first got hired to how I am now it's like two completely different people. I made SO many close connections and friendships there. I've never had a lot of friends and I don't have a big family, but I got both of those things while working there. Even if we got irritated with each other we still had the other's back. We always found things to laugh and joke about. 8-12 hour shifts went by in a flash even on the most hectic, stressful days because as a team everyone was so close.
If you go through my posting history I know it only seems like all I do is bitch and moan about guests, coworkers, management, etc... but I really did like working there. What can I say, I like to vent I guess.
One good thing coming out of this is the amount of love I've been receiving all day long. I can barely count the number of "WHAT? YOU? Of ALL people?" texts, comments, and messages I've been getting all day. The entire department is devastated about the seven of us getting the axe. We have a Facebook group for shift trades and general chat and it has been blowing up all day with messages of disbelief, grief, anger, love, and support. Most of us had been there for a while and were kind of the veterans of the bunch so we were a constant presence as people came and went. I've heard several people say it's like the heart and soul of the department has been ripped out and many of them don't even want to return to work anymore after this. People that I didn't think even liked me very much have reached out to me about what a huge loss for the department this is. Hell, people who haven't even worked here for months/years have joined the group just to post about how heartbroken they are for the department.
I always second guess myself. I know I'm a good worker but in my mind I'm never good enough. There were so many times where I thought I'd screwed up royally but instead got massive praise for a strong job performance. We are our own worst critics, after all. This, however, is all tremendous reassurance that my hard work and intent always showed and that I left some kind of impact. I loved getting to know my team members over the years and treating them with kindness, respect, understanding, and now I'm getting it back tenfold. Seeing this outpouring of emotion for me and my fellow fallen assistant supervisors/leads has made this bleak day just a little bit brighter. I'll really just miss everyone and I hope that we are all able to stay in contact.
(I'm also interested in hearing all the juicy gossip about how things run without us. Many of us were responsible for key tasks such as scheduling, attendance, safety, maintenance, etc... and all that was difficult to get done with even all of us there)
Now on to something new.
I know this whole thing probably sounded really dramatic but I'm just so greatly appreciative for everything during my time there and this really does feel like a family has been torn apart. This is truly the end of an era for me.
Today we weren't so lucky. Out of the 15 assistant supervisors in my department, seven were let go including myself. When I heard rumors of layoffs this morning I didn't think too much of it. I'm only part time, am underpaid as it is, and 15 asst supes is already below the bare minimum (usually we operate with 25+). I figured we couldn't afford to lose anyone especially with a busy winter season coming up. Then around 11AM I got a lovely call at home from HR letting me know that my position had been terminated and I am no longer to report to work. My ID badge had already been deactivated and if I have any belongings still on the premises I'll need to have an employee bring them out for me. Those unlucky enough to actually be at work when they were told of this were immediately escorted off the property by two security guards. (Which is a little excessive if you ask me)
No time for goodbyes, nothing. We will get paid two months severance and are free to apply to any internal positions until late December but other than that we're done. It was short and to the point.
They stressed a few times that this was not based on our performance, and I have to believe that because the seven of us were some of the strongest in our department. Some of the ones kept around are... questionable, to say the least. I love them as people but as workers many of them are the kind who are constantly late, always sitting around doing nothing, and always whining about wanting to quit. The seven of us laid off were some of the hardest working, most dedicated, and most respected of the bunch. It makes no sense. I'm really not trying to sound bitter, everyone is just so confused as to how we of all people were let go. I've heard rumors from past layoffs that supervisors/managers/directors have no say in it and they themselves don't even know who it is going to be until the day of. Something about randomized algorithms on some program that ultimately makes the decision. I really have to believe that.
I'm mostly just sad. I liked my job, and I was good at it. I've struggled with finding my "place" in life for a long time and I felt like I'd found it there. It wasn't my dream job or anything and I was actually thinking of looking for something new next year anyway. I just wasn't quite ready for how abruptly it ended. I learned and grew so much as a person there over the years. If I compare to how I was when I first got hired to how I am now it's like two completely different people. I made SO many close connections and friendships there. I've never had a lot of friends and I don't have a big family, but I got both of those things while working there. Even if we got irritated with each other we still had the other's back. We always found things to laugh and joke about. 8-12 hour shifts went by in a flash even on the most hectic, stressful days because as a team everyone was so close.
If you go through my posting history I know it only seems like all I do is bitch and moan about guests, coworkers, management, etc... but I really did like working there. What can I say, I like to vent I guess.
One good thing coming out of this is the amount of love I've been receiving all day long. I can barely count the number of "WHAT? YOU? Of ALL people?" texts, comments, and messages I've been getting all day. The entire department is devastated about the seven of us getting the axe. We have a Facebook group for shift trades and general chat and it has been blowing up all day with messages of disbelief, grief, anger, love, and support. Most of us had been there for a while and were kind of the veterans of the bunch so we were a constant presence as people came and went. I've heard several people say it's like the heart and soul of the department has been ripped out and many of them don't even want to return to work anymore after this. People that I didn't think even liked me very much have reached out to me about what a huge loss for the department this is. Hell, people who haven't even worked here for months/years have joined the group just to post about how heartbroken they are for the department.
I always second guess myself. I know I'm a good worker but in my mind I'm never good enough. There were so many times where I thought I'd screwed up royally but instead got massive praise for a strong job performance. We are our own worst critics, after all. This, however, is all tremendous reassurance that my hard work and intent always showed and that I left some kind of impact. I loved getting to know my team members over the years and treating them with kindness, respect, understanding, and now I'm getting it back tenfold. Seeing this outpouring of emotion for me and my fellow fallen assistant supervisors/leads has made this bleak day just a little bit brighter. I'll really just miss everyone and I hope that we are all able to stay in contact.
(I'm also interested in hearing all the juicy gossip about how things run without us. Many of us were responsible for key tasks such as scheduling, attendance, safety, maintenance, etc... and all that was difficult to get done with even all of us there)
Now on to something new.
I know this whole thing probably sounded really dramatic but I'm just so greatly appreciative for everything during my time there and this really does feel like a family has been torn apart. This is truly the end of an era for me.
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