Cut the Bull

Do you know what I hate more than almost anything else? Fake positivity posting on Linkedin about your job. When I got laid off from my last role, I was really upset. However, the work culture at that company was one of really intense gratitude and positivity, and I made a post about how grateful I was for the opportunity. I feel kind of gross about it now because what essentially happened was the company laid off 85% of its staff during a global pandemic. That is not empathetic human behavior, that is capitalist knee-jerking. I realize now in hindsight, and with a lot of time between now and then, that really what I did was respond to gaslighting.

Of course, I am grateful for opportunities, but I took steps to make those opportunities for myself. I didn't sit around and cry and then they gave me a job because they felt sorry for me. I applied and interviewed for that job, I did industry research, and then once I got the job I worked my ass off every day, for 8-10 hours a day with a great direct team, and great indirect co-workers. Sure. But it was also made very apparent that every single move I made in that building was watched and scrutinized, and judged. If I laughed too loud, I was sent an email, if I wore a dress to work, I was sent an email. If in a moment of exasperation I stepped outside to collect myself, I was sent an email. And when it was all over and I could finally breathe, I was told that I should be grateful they hired me at all. I came into that role with years of experience, and a solid work ethic. I came into that role with the innovative thinking processes that allow me to make long drawn out tasks easier. I came into that role with adjacent knowledge that allowed me to pick up projects others had abandoned. Absolutely none of that saved me from the chopping block.

In my scroll through Linkedin today I saw no less than 25 posts of gratitude for being thrown to the wolves of destitution. May I remind you that there is currently no federal help for unemployment and that most people will only receive something to the tune of $75-$500 a week? Laying off someone or firing them is going to ruin their lives with surety, especially in jobs that pay under $75,000 a year, especially in a city like Seattle, or New York, or San Francisco where the cost of living is so high that $75,000 a year sounds like the minimum wage. Why are you grateful for being put in a position to lose your house, your car, your security? Why are you grateful to a company that saw no profit dip, but let you go so that your CEO could get their holiday bonus?

This goes doubly true for people of color and women by the way. For every job you think you worked to get, a woman worked twice as hard, a person of color worked three times as hard, and a woman of color worked 8 times as hard to get that same position. The work you do matters, don't let a company devalue that work with talk of how you should be grateful that they didn't fire you sooner. If firing you was on the table for something legitimate, they would have done it already, instead, they waited until they could legally justify letting you go with a piddly severance and a reminder to be grateful to the company for housing you for however long it happened.

You provided the talent necessary to make their business grow, they provided you with a paycheck. One of these things is more vital than the other when it comes to engaging with people. All the money in the world won't help you if no one will work for you because of your behavior. So instead of saying, "thank you to [insert company name here] for providing me a home for the last [X] years, I will miss everyone and wish nothing but the best for all of you! On to my new adventure!" Consider saying something like, "After [X] years of loyal and dedicated service to [insert company name here] they felt that their bottom line was more worthy of their consideration than my talent. They have decided to lay me off during a global pandemic, with a tanked economy, and with no federal aid for displaced workers. They provided me with [X] weeks of severance and showed no remorse. While my experience working there was largely positive, I am disappointed in their valuation of human life as a commodity."

Worried that saying something like that will hurt your job prospects? That's fair. It took me a long time to find the job I am in currently, and it was a lot of diligent work, and I was very honest about why I was laid off from my last job. I didn't gloss over it by saying "oh you know the pandemic..." I said exactly what happened. The company I was employed by saw a 3% profit dip and laid off 85% of its staff. Honesty and talent over sugar-coated bullshit with a bow on it. I promise you integrity will win every time.