Layoffs

Yesterday there were layoffs at the company I work at. It was a very stressful day and I want to write some of my thoughts down.

During the past year, we all saw massive layoffs all over the IT sector and even from the biggest and most profitable companies in the world. It was unpleasant and worrying to even read about it. Seeing a lot of good people who worked hard at these companies being laid off with just an email was worrying and like a wake-up call. Wake up and be aware that your job is not you. Use your free time to be yourself, have friends, family and personal life to enjoy. Job is here today, tomorrow maybe it won’t be, while family and friends will always be there for you. During the years, and after my previous company sudden shut down, I experienced this firsthand and got to appreciate my private life more.

Yesterday, I witnessed a layoff from the first hand and I must say, it’s stressful. We all got a message that those who are being laid off will get an email. Then the stress game began, looking at the email inbox, getting even some automated emails was a heart skip for me. While waiting for an email you hope won’t come, people started to post messages that they are being laid off, it feels like a storm and you can only look at your long-time colleagues getting hit by it. And in this modern age, it is like this, you only have a short period to say thanks and bye to the people, exchange contact information to keep in touch and that’s it. With most of them you won’t even hear again.

While I very much like the remote and global labor market, this is one of the major drawbacks. The time you realize people sometimes are resources and could be removed in a moment.