avatarJesse Bramani

Summary

The article "I Got Laid Off and I Didn’t Care" discusses the author's experience of being laid off during the remote work era, and how it led to unexpected feelings of relief and freedom rather than distress.

Abstract

The author reflects on the blurred lines between work and personal life during the shift to remote work amid the pandemic. Despite the initial promise of better work-life balance, the reality involved longer hours, increased meetings, and a subtle push for more work without overtime recognition. The author was laid off without warning, yet felt an immediate sense of relief, signaling a readiness for change and the end of daily corporate demands. The layoff prompted introspection and a reevaluation of life goals, leading to a decision to seek more personal control over time and work, rather than returning to a traditional corporate role.

Opinions

  • The author suggests that remote work initially seemed to fulfill the promise of work-life balance but ultimately led to an increase in work hours and a loss of clear boundaries between personal and professional time.
  • There is a hint of criticism towards employers who took advantage of the remote work setup to coax more work out of employees without acknowledging it as overtime.
  • The author implies that the layoff was unexpected and initially seemed negative but turned out to be a positive turning point in their life.
  • The article conveys a sense of liberation and optimism post-layoff, with the author expressing no desire to return to a conventional corporate job and instead seeking autonomy and personal fulfillment in their next career move.
  • The author believes that the layoff provided an opportunity for self-reflection and planning for a future with more control over their own time and a deliberate choice to stay within the field of software and technology on their own terms.

I Got Laid Off and I Didn’t Care

Working for three decades does that to you

Photo by Jenny Hill on Unsplash

As the The Great Work From Home Initiative of 2020 charged on, many tech workers lived the dream of working remotely. It wasn’t just tech heads, of course. Anyone who could reliably work on a computer traded in their slacks and oxfords for loungewear and fuzzy slippers, clocking in hours from their kitchen countertops, man caves and makeshift offices at the dining table.

And clocked in hours, they did.

Working from home, the line between office time and home time got blurry. Hardly anyone minded clocking in a little earlier or signing off a little later. The need for hour-long lunchtimes were no longer a necessary break to just get away for a bit. The phrase “I gotta jump into another meeting” was uttered a million times over across the globe.

Getting work done from home fulfilled the promise of work-life balance that companies purportedly offered. Workers, in turn, felt that since they were home, they finally were able to cash in on the promise.

Or so they thought. Or so they felt.

Instead, supervisors and management kept toeing the line on how much overtime could be coaxed out of salaried full-time employees — without calling it overtime. And since no one was physically at the office, it certainly didn’t feel like it was.

Sneaking off from the computer a few minutes at a time to go play with the kids, water the plants, feed the dog, quickly run to the drugstore for prescriptions, taking care of household chores…it all balanced out when working the extra hours. No one really tallied how much “goofing off” time counted against the early mornings and later evenings taking care of “just one more thing.”

It was the dream. Certainly, for many workers who had never tasted the sweet liberty of working from home, this was the modern day equivalent of George Costanza’s trifecta — having sex, eating a pastrami sandwich and watching TV, all at the same time. Working remotely, we one-upped the Costanza Trifecta by getting shit done at home, while eating at our desk and having Netflix play in the background. And we got paid for it! Thus, completing the quadfecta. For the lucky few, squeezing in a nooner here and there sweetened the pot even more.

How could anyone complain? How could anyone burn out?

The kids were happy to have us home. We had extricated ourselves out of our twice-daily commutes. Significant others were happy. Employees were happy. Employers were happy. The work was getting done. In fact, it seemed more work was getting done.

Simply putting in more hours equated to getting more work done. Add to the fact that workers were able to handle emergent family issues swiftly reduced the stress levels of balancing work and home. Kids, not getting exposed to other kids’ germs at school, greatly reduced the number of sick days. The quarantine against Coronavirus effectively kept other infectious bugs at bay. No longer having to take kids to day care appeased kids and wallets.

Cutting out commute time, shuttling kids to and from school and activities, and eliminating all manner of social enjoyment gifted employers with all this “extra time” that could be exploited.

The Hammer Drop

It came as a complete surprise to me when I was called to “jump into a quick meeting” late on a Thursday afternoon. There was no indication that this Teams meeting was going to be any different.

Of course, seeing HR in the meeting immediately set the tone. I knew there was no reason for me to be written up. I had diligently completed my work. No one had filed any complaints against me. At least, I couldn’t fathom any reason anyone would file a complaint.

I had just gotten through my performance review a couple of weeks prior. It wasn’t stellar, admittedly, but it was satisfactory. Enough to even get a merit increase as well as a few kudos and attaboys.

There was only one reason HR would be in the meeting.

My superior launched into his opening spiel. Likening it to another Costanza moment, it simply amounted to an “it’s not you, it’s me” breakup. Of course, the breakup was basically a layoff.

I was out. Just like that. In compiler parlance, there were no errors and no warnings. Severance pay? Pfft.

The Aftermath

Immediately after that meeting, my credentials were quickly locked out and my day abruptly ended. Microsoft Teams logged me out. My calendar signed me out shortly after.

Without warning, I was overcome with a torrential rush of….relief!

I was caught by surprise by that emotion. There was no sense of anger. Or of betrayal. Or abandonment. I didn’t question my sense of worthiness. I didn’t silently scream “why, why me?” out to an unseen deity. I didn’t reach out to my peers to see if anyone knew anything about the layoff. I didn’t bother to see if anyone else got laid off.

I calmly closed all my work-related applications and I felt my shoulders relax and unclench. I didn’t even realize they had been in a state of permanent suspension until that moment. My breathing slowed, and there was a sense of euphoria coming over me, similar to taking the final step after a good long run. Or, catching my breath after that nooner.

As I quietly sat in my chair, relaxing and idly listening to Netflix in the background, the recurring meetings I had memorized in Outlook started fading away. I felt the threat of the deadline I had coming up the following Friday vanish.

Not my problem anymore.

The discord I had to settle between the technical team and the product teams?

Not my problem anymore.

The report I had to create to present to the executive team?

Not my problem anymore.

That audit I had to schedule and prepare for before the end of the quarter?

Not my problem anymore.

The Next Chapter

For the first time in two decades, I was out of a job. For months after that surprise separation, I didn’t even bother looking for a job. I was lucky enough to be able to get by on savings and unused vacation time that I cashed out.

I enjoyed even more family time. I spent a lot of time in introspection. What do I want to do next? Where do I go from here?

I found a lot of peace. I allowed myself to carefully plan out the next chapter of my life. I created and recreated plans for the next two decades.

None of the roads I built in my head led to returning to a job in the corporate world. I was not going to get out of the world of software and technology. I just didn’t want to be another pawn. I wanted even more control of my own time. I no longer wanted to be a slave to Microsoft Teams or Outlook.

When I was figuratively clocking in and out of my job, I wasn’t able to question what I wanted out of life. I was too busy taking care of its daily and hourly demands.

It took the rug pulling of getting laid off to make me stop and smell the roses.

I didn’t even have any roses. I did, however, have lots of time to decide what roses to plant and where to plant them.

Corporate
Soul Searching
Burnout
Work
Pandemic
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