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submitted 5 months ago by remotelove@lemmy.ca to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

I am fairly sure that I am being laid off with other Sr. Engineers tomorrow and need some ideas. Basically, I saw a calendar mistake by HR, so oops!

Meh. It's gonna suck for a bit, but whatevers. Life is more important than a shit job. :)

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[-] jet@hackertalks.com 113 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Get all your questions about unemployment ready, including the forms filled in today... File asap! File as soon as they let you go.

If you have stock/equity decide now if your going to exercise it. You may have to pay taxes in addition to the exercise price.

Bring all your work stuff from home. Hand it over and get a receipt, nobody wants to play phone tag with a ex to get their stuff back.

If you have access to sensitive systems or passwords, put it in writing what you know and tell them they need to change those passwords now.

Make sure you keep contact with anyone you care about now, before you lose access to the systems.

Be the adult, let them you know these transitions are hard, compliment them for doing a difficult thing so well, make it clear there are no hard feelings. I've had multiple long term highly lucrative consultation arrangements after a layoff.

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 92 points 5 months ago

While good advice, he did specify to YOLO the exit interview, this is too responsible to be a YOLO imho lmao

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 65 points 5 months ago

Honestly, the biggest yolo is to be professional, prepared, drama free. Don't even let it bother you.

I'm above this, I have my own plan, I have confidence... It will distinguish you.

I once had a new job lined up, but hadn't put my notice in, I got laid off before the Friday I was going to put my notice in. The firing officers complemented me on how well I was taking it.

Then 3 months later they hire me as a side contractor at 5x my salaried rate while I was still doing my new full time job.

So yeah... Yolo is about having your life together and being above other people's drama, a bit of luck helps too.

[-] Delphia@lemmy.world 32 points 5 months ago

I know a few people who have been hired back on as contractors when the company realised they went too far or laid off people with unique experience.

Yolo is for teenagers leaving Burger King naked.

[-] Shard@lemmy.world 34 points 5 months ago

To be contrarian,

I'd count this as a YOLO. You only live once and choosing to live it with decorum and immaculate professionalism or playing the long game is also a valid response.

Maybe one day, they come crawling back to you? Take them for all they're worth or shove it back at them.

I had a lucrative job offer for a fairly senior role from a company that previously retrenched me. I got their senior management to wine and dine me. All in the guise of discussing the role, how I saw the future of the industry and my plan for taking the company to where they wanted to be in 2 years. Then after all was said and done, I told them I wasn't interested. It felt good and besides I make way more now than they could have offered me and it would have taken me away from my family and put me in a very stressful role.

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[-] remotelove@lemmy.ca 38 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Props for the prep advice.

If you have access to sensitive systems or passwords, put it in writing what you know and tell them they need to change those passwords now.

I am in security, so I know the logical reasons for that even though someone is sure to say that is bullshit.

However, I left a job once and encrypted all critical passwords I knew on a USB drive and gave it to my manager. For the password, I created a riddle that only he would know. I gave my old manager (he was cool) the USB drive and walked. After about a week, he was laid off for pure money reasons. So a month goes by and I get a frantic phone call one morning asking for all the passwords to some super important systems and I was kind enough to know they had pointlessly fired the only person who would of had access. (They had blindly destroyed his remaining equipment and paperwork, so they were gone.)

[-] DBT@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

Damn. You left all the launch codes on a usb stick. Rookie mistake.

[-] remotelove@lemmy.ca 11 points 5 months ago

It was intentional, encrypted and before enterprise password managers were common place. The key was a riddle and actual key was never actually written down anywhere. I sure as fuck didn't trust our network, so I couldn't store them somewhere accessible.

I am fairly sure the drive got put in our evidence safe which was then shredded with the other drives that were in there. (The company I was working for got bought by a venture capital group and nothing original was sacred.)

[-] walter_wiggles@lemmy.nz 94 points 5 months ago

They literally don't care. Don't tell them "the truth", don't tell them "what's wrong with the company", nothing. Just say you've enjoyed working there and if things turn around you'd be open to coming back.

The best outcome for an exit interview is you leave on good terms so you can use them in the future if necessary. You never know when you'll need a reference.

Again, any criticism or negativity you bring to the exit interview will just be used against you. You'll be labeled as disgruntled, or whiny, or just didn't have what it takes. And that will cut you off from using them in the future if you need to.

[-] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 5 months ago

My partner got laid off in a beeeeg round of layoffs, worked with me at the same company. I wanted to be laid off SO BADLY so I could take some time off work to spend with them—we had the means to take some time off.

A month passes, and one day my boss calls me into a room where our HR person was sitting. They’re both suuuuuper morose, my boss looks like she’s about to tell me my gramma died.

I’m BEAMING. They pull out papers and start explaining, ask if I have any questions, and I’m like

“excellent! I gotta ask about severance” (yes absolutely)

“so I can do the whole unemployment thing? (yes you can)

“DOPE! Do I have to work the day out? (…uhhhh no, you can’t)

“Stellar! Mind if I go say goodbye to some people?” (Absolutely, take your time)

As I left the room, HR person was like “I must say, Rai, this is the most unconventional one we’ve done so far…” and I thanked them and frolicked out. Gave some hugs, got my stuff, and dipped.

That was December 2019. The timing could not have worked out more perfectly.

Thank you, job that laid us off.

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[-] enbyecho@lemmy.world 76 points 5 months ago

There's no point in doing anything but being polite and "professional"^1^ and doing so gives you the most leverage. If nothing else you can try to negotiate a higher severance. But it also potentially enables the best kind of "revenge".

Like the time I was laid off and instructed to revoke my and my team's access to systems. Yes sir... right away sir. Only the bean counters never verified that there was somebody left in the hand-off plan who could access everything.

Github admin? Not anymore. AWS root account? Who knows?

Honestly the fallout from that, including frantic begging emails for passwords about a month later, was far more entertaining than anything I could have said at the time. Best of all, the head bean counter got fired over it.

And because I was completely "professional" my boss there was super supportive and helped me get my next gig. Still checks in on me once in a while.

^1^ People often confuse playing the game to believing in it. Use it to your advantage.

[-] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 69 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I heard the rumored date of layoff and booked a surgery I needed for that morning 8am. I got 2 more weeks / another paycheck because they can’t lay you off when you’re on medical leave. Everyone else was let go that morning. I also did it because I was going to lose my insurance (shit American healthcare system)

[-] Drusas@kbin.run 12 points 5 months ago

That's beautiful. Well played.

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[-] Head@lemmings.world 58 points 5 months ago

Do what the others already said and be mature and professional. Just wear a full clown costume to the zoom meeting. No comments on it.

[-] donio@lemmy.world 43 points 5 months ago

It depends. If there is any money on the line or don't want to burn bridges then I'd do the smart thing, whatever that is. Otherwise I'd just skip it.

[-] Obi@sopuli.xyz 18 points 5 months ago

Yeah as much as I've fantasized about going nuclear on past employers (or more recently, when firing a client), it just doesn't bring any good besides a fleeting moment of feeling superior. It's not worth it, be the bigger person and keep it professional.

[-] Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee 43 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I was in such situation recently and I dealt with it like an adult rather than petty teenager. Don't burn your bridges.

[-] ameancow@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago

My last time getting laid off, I had people loyal to me tell me well in advance so I was prepared.

You don't end up the kind of person who has people loyal to them if you do wacky, zany hijinks and make everything about yourself, even when it objectively is about you. Don't make scenes, don't be dramatic, just have some questions ready about severance and what benefits are available to you.

This will pay off a lot when you go to apply for a new job and they want to talk to the people who you worked for.

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[-] aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works 34 points 5 months ago

Come in sharply dressed with a top hat, cane, and unbreakable smirk

[-] remotelove@lemmy.ca 24 points 5 months ago

It's going to be over Zoom, so it would be missing the full effect. Still, I might be able to slap an outfit together and even 3D print a monocle...

[-] aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works 15 points 5 months ago

Hey, look at the bright side, now you can be fired in paris! I would wait for some more ideas before picking this one though, it’s rather uninspired

[-] snooggums@midwest.social 9 points 5 months ago

Since it is zoom you can focus all your energy from the waist up!

[-] WoolyNelson@lemmy.world 20 points 5 months ago

So I did the tuxedo thing when I left a job. Security wanted photos.

I told security that there are only two ways to leave if you know it's going to be your last day: Head held high and dressed to the nines, or carried out by as many security guards as possible.

They thanked me for choosing the former.

[-] Boozilla@lemmy.world 31 points 5 months ago

Always skip the exit interview if you can. It doesn't help you or your former coworkers. It's just an HR box-checking exercise.

[-] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 28 points 5 months ago

Exit interviews aren't box checking exercises, they exist to give the company a heads up if the employee seems like they're disgruntled and might try to sue. Always skip them, it only benefits the company that laid you off, nobody else.

[-] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 36 points 5 months ago

Exit inerviews can be valuable and beneficial if the exit is on good terms all around.

I left my last job for a better-paying position elsewhere, but I still loved my old job and coworkers. It's still the best job I ever had.

I couldn't pass up a 50% raise and they couldn't match it. No hard feelings or bruised egos. It's just how things work out.

Having an honest conversation with HR about what worked and didn't from an employee perspective with zero stakes for either of us was productive and informative.

[-] TheBest@midwest.social 11 points 5 months ago

thank you. Im all for sticking it to employers, but sharing feedback with a place you left on good terms from seems like a great way to maintain professional relationships. Also helps your old coworkers out.

Bad Jobs and Bad Employers Excluded obvi

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[-] Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

Does it help your co workers?

If you got fired, no, probably not.

But if you quit then you can leave them a few clues as to why you're leaving and how they might avoid losing more staff. That can help the people you left behind.

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[-] Thcdenton@lemmy.world 29 points 5 months ago
  1. Finish my ticket.
  2. Submit the PR.
  3. Log out.
  4. Mail back the laptop.
  5. Block and delete contacts.
[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 13 points 5 months ago

No, pick up a bunch of issues and half complete them. Lol.

[-] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 16 points 5 months ago

Calm down, satan

[-] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 29 points 5 months ago

Advice I have heard is decline an exit interview, because those are for the company's benefit and not yours.

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[-] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

Bring a lawyer to the meeting, just for fun. Let the hr person stew a bit. Ideally you will be offered a severance package, might as well have the lawyer check it out.

[-] neidu2@feddit.nl 18 points 5 months ago

Bring an emotional support clown

[-] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

I know this isn't the "fun" answer, but I wouldn't. I'm a manager, and I've been on the other side of that situation too many times. I've never met a manager who wants to do it - we'd all rather have enough work for everyone. It sucks but far the most for the person being laid off, but it's a shitty time for everyone.

Plus I've also hired back good employees when work picked back up down the road, so there's the bridge burning aspect to consider.

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[-] TBi@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago

Don’t go? I mean, you’re being fired, what’s the worst that can happen so just don’t go. Go for a walk in the woods or mountains while the company is paying you…

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[-] kurcatovium@lemm.ee 15 points 5 months ago

Option 1: Be professional and polite.

Option 2: Scream Leeroy Jenkins and run through the door in the middle of it.

1/2 depends on how probable it is for you to need them in the future.

[-] p5yk0t1km1r4ge@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

I'd just play my steam deck for the entire shift up to and including the exit interview

[-] Aremel@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago
[-] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

The last time I got laid off, that morning I had sent a PTO request to my boss for a family trip the following month.

I got called into said boss' office for the afternoon meeting letting me know I was being laid off, which I had not been expecting at all. I was given the paperwork to sign, etc. and mostly silently acknowledged everything that was going on. When the boss finally asked if I had any further questions at the end of the meeting, I deadpanned "so, you've approved my request to not come in on _____ days next month?"

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 11 points 5 months ago
[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 12 points 5 months ago

I've seen that happen, woman that had been rehired due to having a contact high up the ladder and the second time they fired her she left them hanging for two or three weeks before showing up to get fired, so the bosses were waiting for her at the employee entrance every time she was supposed to come in for work, they were there five or six times before they actually managed to get a hold of her 😂

[-] wildcardology@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

Hire an emotional support clown. A man in new Zealand hired one because he thinks he was about to get fired.

https://nypost.com/2019/09/13/man-being-fired-brings-emotional-support-clown-to-meeting/

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[-] Etterra@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

"That's okay, I went on a job interview last week when I called out sick. I'll be making more than you are when I start there.

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[-] graeghos_714@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

I've been 90% sure I was getting laid off a few times. I contracted to one of the big 3 auto companies in engineering/IT and head count reductions were pretty common. Three times it was our department getting cut. I was not overly expensive, did a lot of stuff to fill in gaps, and found ways to improve our teams so I always thought even if something happened to this team I could always land on another team. Once when we were at a site loading engineering sw on the servers my boss asked if I would mind training the sw to the plant the next day. I ended up switching from installs to training and did that for almost 20 years. I was originally hired as a systems analyst. I ended my career working in a manufacturing plant supporting the sw I trained and installed. One of the advantages of working for a large company is they have so many roles to fill and once you learn all the processes/systems you have value at a base level that can be used in many positions

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[-] Ego@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

I would steal the printer and go out to a field and stomp it to death.

PC LOAD LETTER my ass..

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this post was submitted on 31 May 2024
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