One day after my company died someone said to me, “You’re gonna realize that you were the one who screwed up.” WTF? I had been recently promoted to the top level of the firm and kicked in over $150,000 as the price of admission. Six months later I was left with 1/3 of my pay, an end date, and a $150,000 debt. My fault? Come on.
Eventually I understood what my friend meant. I was still there when the shit hit the fan because of greed, “golden handcuffs,” whatever you want to call it. I was in a tough situation with an increasingly dysfunctional company but I didn’t leave for fear of losing a huge amount of income. Since I routinely make terrible financial decisions, I figured by bucking my gut feeling I would come out ahead on this one. It turns out I paid $150,000 to learn that I was wrong.
Character may mean sticking in there when the going gets tough, but it also means following your instincts – your good instincts – even when it’s going to be uncomfortable. I’ve mentally rewritten the outcome without having made this expensive mistake and I would definitely do it differently next time.
Since then, I’ve seen too many people who stayed with a company until the end because they were promised severance or retention bonuses. Instead, they found the pot at end of the rainbow had the yellow stuff in it but it wasn’t gold.
How about you? Did you stick it out until the end, only to get something less than you expected?
Ed Eusebio // Feb 25, 2009 at 4:29 pm
As someone who has been laid off a few times, I can confirm that being the last one standing sucks worse than being cut early and quick. Last one ends up doing everyone’s work, as well as dealing with fear and anxiety of the axe. There’s no glory in being the last one cut…you’re still cut, and worse off.
We all know the sure signs of company decline. Facing the truth, in a gilded cage, is difficult, but necessary.
Laurie Phillips // Mar 30, 2009 at 4:27 am
It’s also demoralizing when you’re committed to be there working at a ghost town to wrap things up and in response people say, “Really? They’re already gone.” There’s no point in managing perceptions or trying to explain the nuances of closing down a business. If you get out of there soon enough, you won’t have to.