Afterthoughts
I felt the urge to write this after I ran into an ex-colleague last night. He was one of those who got 'restructured' last month, and the most unfortunate one I'd say.
What happened was, four of the members from the other team in my company got laid off. My company's really tiny, so that was like over half that team and 20% of our Singapore office. And they were all doing that one single pathetic project until it got cancelled by the client unexpectedly. It didn't really involve me at all, but still, I was seething for over a week after it happened. The injustice was there for all to witness.
The warning signs were already there a few months earlier. Things were rosy then, and the company went happily recruiting. It brought in three new members for that project from February to May, with the view that it would last the next year or so, simply because the client asked for more manpower. But amongst us, we were already questioning the wisdom of such a move. I've seen such myopic practices in my previous company, but while my previous company has the resources to stomach unforeseen hiccups, this current one doesn't. So it seems.
Or maybe we're just viewed as tools, with a 'Dispose After Use' label at the back.
The manager who made the decision and picked the victims didn't even bother to explain his rationale to the rest of their team, nor did he explicitly say who was affected. On the other hand, my direct boss did, right there and then, to our team. So there was a communication breakdown that morning. Imagine that I was the one actually telling some of them at that time that they were safe, at least for now.
I was subsequently assured by HR, which is just a single lady, that it was a re-deployability problem, rather than just cost-cutting. That's pretty much crap to me. You recruited the person based on his skill-sets in the first place, and you're responsible for re-training them subsequently if need be.
So back to this ex-colleague I was talking about. He had barely joined the company for a month. If that wasn't bad enough, he's on an employment pass and has yet to receive his PR. So he had to find another one quickly or the EP would be voided, or something like that. And to top it off, he had quitted his previous job, which paid him better and offered him free housing, to join us with the hope of better prospects.
I barely know him, yet I was so relieved to hear that he's found a new job. So that's a little closure there.
Another one is currently working as a temp in a restaurant. But he's planning to further his studies, so he's ok. We haven't heard from the other two.
As for that manager, it shames me to admit that I still say hi to him whenever our paths cross. I wish I have the guts to ask him to f**k off and stop messing around with people's lives.
What happened was, four of the members from the other team in my company got laid off. My company's really tiny, so that was like over half that team and 20% of our Singapore office. And they were all doing that one single pathetic project until it got cancelled by the client unexpectedly. It didn't really involve me at all, but still, I was seething for over a week after it happened. The injustice was there for all to witness.
The warning signs were already there a few months earlier. Things were rosy then, and the company went happily recruiting. It brought in three new members for that project from February to May, with the view that it would last the next year or so, simply because the client asked for more manpower. But amongst us, we were already questioning the wisdom of such a move. I've seen such myopic practices in my previous company, but while my previous company has the resources to stomach unforeseen hiccups, this current one doesn't. So it seems.
Or maybe we're just viewed as tools, with a 'Dispose After Use' label at the back.
The manager who made the decision and picked the victims didn't even bother to explain his rationale to the rest of their team, nor did he explicitly say who was affected. On the other hand, my direct boss did, right there and then, to our team. So there was a communication breakdown that morning. Imagine that I was the one actually telling some of them at that time that they were safe, at least for now.
I was subsequently assured by HR, which is just a single lady, that it was a re-deployability problem, rather than just cost-cutting. That's pretty much crap to me. You recruited the person based on his skill-sets in the first place, and you're responsible for re-training them subsequently if need be.
So back to this ex-colleague I was talking about. He had barely joined the company for a month. If that wasn't bad enough, he's on an employment pass and has yet to receive his PR. So he had to find another one quickly or the EP would be voided, or something like that. And to top it off, he had quitted his previous job, which paid him better and offered him free housing, to join us with the hope of better prospects.
I barely know him, yet I was so relieved to hear that he's found a new job. So that's a little closure there.
Another one is currently working as a temp in a restaurant. But he's planning to further his studies, so he's ok. We haven't heard from the other two.
As for that manager, it shames me to admit that I still say hi to him whenever our paths cross. I wish I have the guts to ask him to f**k off and stop messing around with people's lives.
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1 Comments:
I hope your boss is not a blog stalker.
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