Good News/Bad News

[loracs]

Today was THE DAY of layoffs and their aftermath. As of a few days ago, I was told my position in IT was okay - at least for this round of layoffs - there will be another round in June/July for the next fiscal year. A little after 12 pm I received a call from my boss to please come upstairs to her office. I knew in the pit of my stomach this was not going to be good news. A few days ago we heard they were asking for 3 or 4 more position cuts city-wide and they wanted them in administrative classification. Last night my boss got the news that they were cutting my position. That's the bad news. The good news is I have been in this classification long enough to have bumping rights and in two weeks I start work at a different department It will be with the Community and Economic Development Agency. I'm not even sure what the do, but I know it's a much more political department.

What I really, really, really, hate is leaving my boss and co-workers. The Best Boss Ever (TBBE)has been so great to me. My first year with her included so many family emergencies, including my own hospitalization for gallbladder removal, that I was sure she was second guessing her decision to hire me. But she never blinked at any of it and was really supportive each time something came up. Recently, with very short notice, I got a week off for puppy maternity leave when we got Pippin. When she assigns a new task, she is very clear, but there is always room for my input. She compliments me often - not in a gushing way, but will let me know she appreciates my work.

And she appreciates my sense of humor, even when I have to explain the joke to her. She is from Switzerland, her English is excellent, but some idioms give her trouble. Last Dec. we were in a supply closet getting the boxes of xmas decorations. She got a call on her cell. I hear her say "Carol and I are in the closet". I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but TBBE kept repeating "Carol and I are in the closet" - each time getting a little bit more perplexed at the caller's response. Finally, in exasperation, she said "We are not coming out of the closet until we are done" and hung up. I was smiling through the entire exchange. TBBE said IO (the caller, a friend/coworker) was so silly because she told TBBE to come out of the closet NOW. I explained the joke and the look on her face was so funny and then she started to crack up. Just then IO came around the corner and started to tease her. IO is from Nigeria and we all had a great laugh on the dangers of slang in communicating across cultures/languages.

I like almost all my co-workers and I don't really dislike anyone. My cubicle neighbor (CN)started last Feb. and we hit it off from day one. We are only a few months apart and sometimes we seem to share the same brain. We both come up with the same obscure references. She's a technical writer and I'm a writer wannbe; we have some fun word geeking conversations. I will miss her very much.

This has gotten way too long and I haven't even started in on my fears of walking into a new job. That will just have to wait. I'm exhausted now.

Comments

BIGGEST SUPPORTIVE HUGS EVER!

[tracytreefrog.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you were able to at least shift not leave. If you feel like doing some damage to my Longs discount card to let off stress let me know I will be there with bells on.

Re: BIGGEST SUPPORTIVE HUGS EVER!

[loracs.livejournal.com]

Sorry to whine so much, I know I'm lucky to still have a job; over 100 people are headed for the unemployment line. I'm just in shock. I really thought I was okay for now esp. because I'm far enough down on the "food chain" that loosing my position does save that much. They are closing all non-essential offices one day a month and for 5 days around xmas/new year. This will translate into a 5% cut in pay for the year, but at least almost everyone (even city council) will be affected the same. And time off is a good thing, even though it comes without pay.

Thanks for the hug and right back at ya!

Re: BIGGEST SUPPORTIVE HUGS EVER!

[tracytreefrog.livejournal.com]

you are not whining you are venting venting is GOOD!

[clever-doberman.livejournal.com]

wow.

what a mess. and I'm so glad you landed on your feet.

but still: wow.

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

Best of luck with the new position.

[leback.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm so sorry you're having to leave your position. The people you work with there sound lovely. I'm glad there's another job for you with the city, though, and I hope it works out well for you. You certainly seem to make friends wherever you go -- I'm sure your new co-workers are going to love you.

I still wish these layoffs weren't happening at all. I know the state's in trouble, money-wise, but people are just not disposable.

[loracs.livejournal.com]

Having classifications lends itself to treating people like interchangeable widgets. A project manager should be able to do their job just as easily in IT as in Parks and Recreation. Yes, there are skills in common, but the specialized knowledge each requires does not make them interchangeable. When you get to administrative assistance positions, we really are treated like one type of person you can plop down in any department, wind them up and away we go. Even though I understand why and how the civil service rules were put in place and I agree with them, it still is very hard when you get to layoffs. For the next round, they agreed to look at golden handshakes first to see who they entice into early retirement. I don't think we'll have as many takers now with the economy - a lot of people (including me) are already thinking we will have to put off our retirement. Plus, golden handshakes only help if the people who retire are not in key positions that need to be replaced. You might save some money because the new person would start at a lower step, but you wouldn't save near as much as it sounds when you report 10 people who make $200,000 a year are retiring.

I can put on a good public face for a while, but that won't last long if I end up working with or around people I don't like. The power of positive thinking is eluding me tonight. Thanks for the good thoughts.

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

The whole thing sounds just awful from start to finish. And I know you can't be looking forward to working in a politicized office. Still, I know you'll come out on top and in 3 months they won't be able to imagine how they ever managed without you.

Sorry you (and everyone else) has to go through this.

[waywardcats.livejournal.com]

Hugs from here too...

I agree with Debbie, it will be tough for a while, but pretty soon you will be indispensable to your new boss(es).

[firecat]

I'm sorry that change is being forced on you.