I could give you the broad lines of their conversation, but these are immaterial to its end result. It was a rather simple message – she was being laid off.
After working in the same place for 20 years, my friend had been told by her boss that she no longer had a job. It was akin to being hit by a bolt of lightning.
All of us deal differently with shocks and setbacks. Some of us take it in our stride – aiso toh hota hi hai. Others take it to heart and find it so, so hard to get their lives back on the rails.
First, you have to accept the message and then you have to convey it to others. To your partner, your children, your parents, your friends, your relatives, your colleagues.
My friend’s story is similar to that of thousands of others, whose lives have taken a hit from that message which is becoming increasingly common at India’s work places: you don’t work here anymore.
Given that I have performed the unpleasant task of telling people that they no longer had a job, let me tell you that it is possibly the most traumatic thing to do.
The shock, disbelief and anger displayed by people at the receiving end of the message is something that you can’t really prepare for even though I attended a training session for managers organised by my previous employer.
So, whether it’s done on the phone or in person, the end result of hurt and anger on the part of the recipient is the same. It’s not an easy message to digest. Remember George Clooney in his film, Up in the Air, travelling from city-to-city firing people.
People are being laid off right, left and centre in India. In an increasingly uncertain economic climate, several companies are in panic mode.
Only last week, the Network 18 group, which runs the CNN-IBN and IBN7 channels, is reported to have laid off 300-400 persons from a staff of about 1,300.
Though The Hindu and Mint newspapers reported the story, other media outlets – especially television – largely ignored it. Social media, of course, picked on it and soon it was all over Twitter.
Ajay Maken, lead spokesperson for the Congress party, said in a tweet: “Regular mtng with journos in my room at AICC. Sad not to see many regular faces. They were frm TV18. Good hardworking journos. Feel bad for them".
So, these are the new Indian realities – there is no job security anymore, there’s only job insecurity. Your employer might fire you anytime. It just depends on profit margins and the tolerance threshold of employers’ with the amount of money coming in.
Actually, there’s another message in all this for the individual. It’s not about merit or performance. If offered as a reason, these are mostly just a talking point.
It’s mostly about companies setting unreachable goals, bloated salaries for a few or that the management was totally inefficient in ensuring delivery on objectives.
And, then the panic sets in. You have recruited indiscriminately in good times and when the financial squeeze sets in, employees are the first target. They have to go – the collateral damage of slim margins or actual financial loss.
So, friends, the moral of the story is this – keep acquiring new skills for yourselves and keep looking for job options – because your current job is unlikely to last forever.
Actually, this is just how the corporate world works. You may have got the best possible appraisal during the year, but in the next quarter you might lose your job.
While you deal with the personal consequences of job loss, remember there’s the bigger picture as well.