DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY, IT'S ONLY BUSINESS

I'm sure you have at some point heard the phrase, "Don't take it personally, it's only business." I tend to question the underlying motives of someone who says that. The phrase is generally intended to shut off the response of the recipient to some sort of bad news - usually life changing. Business dealings operating with full integrity would never call for the use of a phrase like that.

So, here's a question for you. If you were going to be laid off in a week would you want to know now or would you rather walk in to a mandatory meeting only to learn your fate along with a dozen others? (The group meeting is to avoid the touchy business of a supervisor meeting one on one with 13 people to lay them off. Could be sticky.)

What in the world am I going on about? Sunday afternoon my husband and some of his coworkers inadvertently discovered they would be laid off in a week at a mandatory meeting. Despite the evidence they had, no one would come clean and confirm what they had learned. When they were handed a memo the next day announcing a mandatory meeting the following Monday, they asked their supervisor if they should be looking for new jobs. The answer? "I don't know what you're talking about." When my husband called Human Resources to get information about the impending layoff, he was told that they couldn't directly answer his question, but that his department was making "enhancements". Hmmm....it all sounds a bit cowardly to me, but perhaps I'm being too judgmental. Maybe the meeting is really a surprise party for the employees?

It's just a job. They can find new ones. (Frankly, they would have more job security selling on eBay.) It would be nice to find a work environment that was out of the ordinary. You know, one that valued open and honest communication. Perhaps I'm taking this experience a bit personally...after all, it's only life.

Don't worry. I'll post more about my art and writing later and I'll also let you know how the surprise party went.