Memorable farewells

I had one co-worker who was scheduled to work his last night. He came in, we had the cake for him, then he just walked out without saying goodbye to anyone else. For a few hours, we were wondering if he was going to work his last shift. Finally, we gave up on him.

 

Dick move. I understand hating on the bosses, corporate, etc., but thay just pisses on the co-workers who are in the same boat as the departing person.

 

A guy from the Oregonian was in Omaha covering the College World Series. He got the call, you need to come back to Portland. You're laid off. I think they flew someone else out to Omaha.

I - and I'm sure everyone in the biz - fully understands the economic realities. What I can't fathom is why some places are so clumsy at the process of laying people off - STILL - it isn't like they haven't had practice. Never mind the people who have dedicated years and untold hours off the clock to the company, think about the people left behind. Sure "fear" is a great motivator, disrespect is also a morale killer.

 

My final day on the old job two months ago was not without aggravation. With about three hours left in the shift, the boss called me into the office and gave me some late-breaking news from HR: I had to fill out the "self-evaluation" portion of my annual review before departing. He said if I blew it off, he'd get in trouble (which I didn't want to happen because I liked and respected him) and I'd jeopardize my buyout payment (which I REALLY didn't want to happen because I needed the money). This wasn't a total surprise because HR there was known for making people's lives unnecessarily difficult. The self-evaluation form asked a few questions and left space for a long paragraph for all of them, but I didn't feel like making much of an effort and typed in one-sentence answers. Must have worked, because the buyout went through without a hitch.

A few weeks earlier, my boss had told me that even though I was leaving soon, I might be forced to take the company's online code of conduct course, which didn't have to be completed until March 15 -- long after my departure date. I asked him, "Would HR find it sufficient if I promise not to smear feces on the bathroom wall on my final night?" He got a good laugh out of that, and I never did have to take the course.

 

A view from the other side of the desk. I was not in journalism, but I was a mid-level manager in a bureaucratic organization before I retired. I had to fire people a few times in my lengthy career. The unofficial feedback I received from the rest of the staff was "what took you so long?"

 

Can u imagine being a suit and having to listen to HR tell you that a guy who has been laid off has to take an online code of conduct course and you damn well better make sure he takes that course? Many suits are so scared they have no self respect. You tell the HR person that's a ridiculous mandate and you are damn well not going to tell the lame duck person they need to take some course before their last day. People in this business have no self respect. Once in a while, suits, it's OK to disagree with the HR people and/or higher ups. You are going to be laid off at some point like the rest of us so please grow a pair!

 

This is what I don't understand. We are all human beings. At what point in life did this ME become a total prick? I would have said to the ME, "Yeah I'll write it for 40 dollars, not 20 and I need the two 20s right now because I don't trust you to get me the money." Guess what? He'd say not to write the story because he'd know that he'd have to give 40 of his own money and get reimbursed and no way payroll would reimburse him without a hassle so no story. By the way that SE has earned my respect!!! Love that person for telling the ME what an ass he is.

 

@bumpy mcgee: Did the SE actually call the ME a dick to his face?

 

Lets be honest though - most newsroom managers left at this point are there BECAUSE they will kowtow to upper management and maybe even enjoy it or have no problem doing it if it buys them another month of mortgage payments.

 

My ex-boss (and I'll again emphasize that I like and respect him as he fought as much as possible for me and others) is assured of a job only for as long as it takes for the company to complete the sale of a few of its papers. If he goes along with the directives from HR/upper management, there's a chance he might be retained by the downsized company and be employed for at least a few more years. If not, he'll be "jettisoned" (as an all-time great sports editor I worked for used to say when someone was canned).

 

Once had a friend that got axed during a large round of layoffs. Newsroom was told that EVERY employee would have a one-on-one meeting to find out if they still had a job. The meetings were spread out over two days.

After suffering through a day and a half of seeing her colleagues enter and exit the glass offices, my friend finally got her meeting (and firing). Awful.