[KL01toKA03]

Reading your experience was very difficult for me. I came close to being fired once, and your experience reminded me of that time. It was quite similar to your experience, but the impact was much worse.

I am a technical writer, and one fine day I heard news that the development for project which I was handling was transferred to China, and all employees in the team were asked to leave after serving their notice period. Luckily for me, they informed me two days later that I would not be asked to leave since they did not have anyone in the Chinese team who could write in English.

During those two days (and nights), I lost my sleep and could think only about the housing loan I had taken a couple of months prior to that. I couldn't think of any way to repay the loan. I lived in denial for the first few hours, thinking that things will somehow be okay. I then realized the gravity of the situation and started blaming myself for everything wrong with the world.

That was a huge wake-up call, and I decided to start actively searching for another job. I got lucky and found another job which was better in every sense. Even today, when something goes wrong, I compare that with the time I came close to being laid off, and realize that my life is awesome.

Losing your job can be very stressful, but it will make you a stronger person (or make you feel that way) if you manage to find another job soon enough.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Family support was crucial at this time.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Not a single colleague from work helped me with anything; not a referral nor a word of support or encouragement. So much for people that I spent at least a third of my working days with.

Once, a teammate was asked to resign, he was angry at everyone else in his team when we went to talk to him. You might have been feeling low, and they might have respected your space by avoiding a conversation which could further hurt your feelings.

[speedmiester]

Thanks Selfdrive for sharing this incidence.
As someone who is associated closely with HR and Talent Acquisition teams, I can fully understand the dread and feelings one go through in such circumstances.

I do my maximum best when people ask for reference and introduction. It's the least I could do to help someone in need.

Kudos to you and your family for staying strong.

All the best.

[raksrules]

I want to speak from other side of this where I have been sometimes contemplating leaving my Job and staying home or doing something else lighter. I am in IT and am about 35-36 years old. Have spent 14 years working in one of the top Indian IT companies and now recently I shifted to another one in Mumbai. The daily grind is really something that gets me. I don't drive a car and travel by company bus.
I really want to once sit and look at all my savings and equity and everything to see if it is actually feasible to survive on dividends or Fixed Deposit Interest money or so. Obviously for that to happen, I need to have size-able savings.
I know doing what I am thinking is probably stupid and not really practical but this thought has crossed my mind a lot.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by raksrules

I have been sometimes contemplating leaving my Job and staying home or doing something else lighter.

I'm sure the thought crosses almost every working persons mind. I think of quitting at least a couple of times a week! The question is do you have a plan on what to do next? Quitting to take a risk and start something like a business makes sense, or to recover health, but to just quit without any plan in place is a bad idea. Other considerations - do you have debt? Dependents?

Originally Posted by raksrules

I am in IT and am about 35-36 years old. Have spent 14 years working in one of the top Indian IT companies

Most IT jobs provide a very decent and comfortable work environment. Why quit unless there is something really wrong or something better waiting?

Originally Posted by raksrules

I really want to once sit and look at all my savings and equity and everything to see if it is actually feasible to survive on dividends or Fixed Deposit Interest money or so.

As the OP of the thread has generously shared his experience of being laid off, it seems apparent that that something like this could happen to any of us, and we may have to look at these option to tide us through. Until then, why dip into savings, investments? Keep growing them through your regular income, as a buffer against possible rainy days. Why cut off that income source? Make hay while the sun is still shining on this industry.

[Thermodynamics]

Totally understand your feelings and I can relate to it. My wife was pregnant after 4 years of marriage and I lost my only bread winning job, months passed, bank balance was bleeding while my child is growing. By God's grace, I found a job. Along with my first month salary, I got the news of my kid's arrival. Can never forget those moments, Perseverance is the key.

Happy that you have sailed through turbulent waters and came out stronger. Thanks for sharing at this moment considering current economic situation, lakhs of layoffs and the dreaded recession just around the corner. Your post is going to be motivational to many.

I was really moved when you mentioned the doll and that tight reply to inhuman resources is fantastic. At the same time I wouldn't say all HR are bad, I knew an HR lady who was given this unfortunate job to handle layoffs. She cried she can't handle, but this is the system, she has to do. She eventually went into depression.

Given that we do not have social security system in our country, lay offs are undeniably cruel. Many a times, I think, I need to become an entrepreneur, at least a side business so when the worse happens I will be on SELFDRIVE

[naveenroy]

Thanks for penning it all down. That does take courage. I can only imagine the stressful times - esp when you suddenly realize that everyone at work starts to treat you differently. And again I say it, HR are the worst of the lot in a company.

Good that you have got another job. Maybe this is also a good time for all of us to be prepared - for Recession is coming.

[StarrySky]

Selfdrive, I can relate to what you have gone through to some extent as I have gone through the agony of fear of job loss for the past 4 years.

My company has downsized in each of the past 4 years. Being here, the downsizing however is handled quite differently. Each year, sometime during the first 3 months of the calendar year, the company has announced a downsizing target. This is followed by a mandatory period of negotiations with employee representatives. This involves the managers from each business unit presenting their plans for the business and revealing specific downsizing targets for each unit. The employee representatives can question the plans. The severance package and VRS options (if offered) are also negotiated during this time. This negotiation period lasts 6 weeks at least. At the end of each day of negotiation, the HR sends out a mail about what was discussed, downsizing target for each group discussed during the day and whether any group has been excluded from downsizing. If you are one of the lucky ones, your group may be excluded from downsizing pretty early in the negotiations and you can feel safe (for an year!).

In my case, my group was excluded from the downsizing at various stages in the past three years, but not this year. Now, if your group is not excluded from the downsizing, you are left waiting till the negotiations are completely closed. My manager called each one of us individually to explain how things stand and to inform the rest of the process. He along with other managers would prepare a list of potential candidates who would be let go. The list is then sent to HR for approval. Once the list is approved by HR, the affected individual is informed. The company sets the date when all the affected individuals will be informed. Meanwhile, the employee representative will contact everyone asking if there are any specific concerns (for eg: if your spouse is also in the same company and under threat of downsizing, the company will take care not to let both go). The entire process of identifying potential candidates and HR approval takes another 4 weeks or so. On the day when the affected employees are to be informed, you have nothing to do but wait. In my case, my manager sent a mail in the afternoon to the whole group saying he has communicated individually to affected employees and if "you have not been contacted by me today, your employment continues without change". Note that no other employee is informed about who is affected (of course, you can guess by checking who is going with the manager to a conference room). The affected employees can themselves decide when to let the teammates know.

So in short, about 10-12 weeks are spent in this downsizing period with job loss a very real possibility.

The company provides support for the affected employees beyond the severance package. This is in the form of training (to help apply for a different role in the company or outside the company) or even help to set up something on your own.

[SoumenD]

Congratulations on having landed in another job right on time , although at the cost of being away from family for sometime. Wish you all the best & hope things fall in place sooner than later

Your experience was scary!!! Having just changed my 8 year old perfectly fine car(<40k on odo) with a new one on loan, this gives me jitters. Ongoing auto industry slump & possible ripple effect across the industries, at times, make me feel I should have waited some more time before committing to an additional loan(already have a home loan)

Off-Topic:
Question to experienced folks : Is it justified investing in MFs while you still have loans running? Or is it better to first accumulate as much as possible to close the loans(atleast car loan) & then continue investing. Home loan atleast gives some tax benefits.

[NiInJa]

First of all, congratulations on getting another work opportunity. And, thank you for posting on such a sensitive topic. I have seen how difficult it can be and it really takes some courage to rise up and talk about it.

I can totally relate to the points made. I have come close to getting 'laid-off' twice in last two years. One big US company who has been in news for last two years due to falling margins had hired me for a project but it did not last for more than two months, I was on bench for next three months and finally assigned a completely unrelated project by my manager, he simply said that "if you stay on bench for one more month the HR will start asking questions". I thanked him and took the opportunity and started looking for a new job at the same time. Soon after two months, two of my colleagues who had refused to work on the project they didn't like were asked to leave citing 'performance reasons'. I got another job, but in the process, I had to waste about 11 months of my career doing something which did not add any value to my core skills, nor did I learn anything new.

The second one, 8 months after joining the new organization, the US guys decided to exit one Business Unit completely, so some 30 odd people including me were asked to leave. Luckily, one of the seniors was amongst them and he inducted us in a startup working for the same Business Unit so the company helped us in transitioning to new one.

Since then, I have realized that the IT is as volatile as any other business and there is no escaping the fact that you might be asked to leave for absolutely no fault of yours. And yes, HR is can be different topic altogether. Those few days when I had no work really made me go back to the basics like the OP mentioned. Just one more thing I would add: The only way to shield yourself from such things is keep on learning new things even if you are climbing up the ladder, you never know when it will come to your rescue

[shrey25]

I just started my career after completing college and I'm currently in Bangalore, just about to finish my training at wipro , electronic city !
Your thread was an eye opener for me as I never intended to take up this job and I wanted to do an Mba and be over with my studies and then work.
I'm also desperately trying to get into a project with its location in Delhi/Ncr due to family reasons and with no luck so far , scrolling through yammer all day and e-mailing a lot of people and with no help from management!

[Romins]

I had a similar experience in 2008-09 during the recession. When I was about to laid off in 2009, I had INR 5000 in bank and 25lac as loans - car, home, personal.

Learned from those days, I have a few rules now:

- Keep one year of current salary in Bank FDs -liquid cash.
- Plan all financial matters assuming there is no job after 3years, so no debt
- No credit card - it works easier for me than managing the payments
- No EMIs - don't enjoy tomorrow's prosperity today
- Any hike in salary goes to savings, no upgrade in lifestyle with each year's hike


It is a choice of Culture of More vs Culture of Enough

[TorqueKnight]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

While roaming in the aisles, my daughter asked me to buy a doll. Surprisingly for me, she just agreed with me and said you can buy it for me later. Kids are definitely resilient when the situation presents itself. While I was fuming on the inside about being in a situation where I denied her something, I was also proud of her having reacted that way.

I was bit emotional when reading this but I am relieved that you found a new job and settled. Currently there is an organization restructuring exercise going on in my Organization and I know few people who are in the same situation. My ex-boss was called on Tuesday and informed that his last day in our organization will be Friday, the same week. Your thread is an eye opener to remind the people to introspect where they are in their organization.

Thank you for sharing your life experience with our community. And I wish you success in your new job. Take care

[Guna]

I must say that you are somewhat lucky because you were allowed to serve during the notice period. Many companies would pay the salary for the notice period but they would not let the employee in the office premise and block access to all systems once they communicate about 'firing'.

[psispace]

Dear selfdrive, let me first congratulate you on your new job. Your thread was quite touching.

This is something, that almost all professionals in a corporate set up, have to go through at one time or another. It is also a sad reality that we have to always keep another option ready, even though we are comfortable in our present space. We might think we are doing well. However, in the end all that matters is how much revenue you make and how valuable you are to the institution. The latter, sometimes, is less important. This is sadly true even in the medical profession nowadays.

I really love this Abdul Kalam quote;

" Love your job but don't love your company, because you may not know when your company stops loving you."

It really changed my outlook. Now, I just try to do my job the best that I can. Of course, I have the advantage of experience and reputation with me. But that isn't always helpful. So, now, I don't waste time trying to please anyone. If I have to make a choice between family and work, family takes precedence as far as ethically possible.

I am happy that you have started taking a healthy route towards this. Exercise is a real stress buster and helps to keep you healthy. Stay a mile away from smoking (make that 100 miles).

Wish you all the best in your new job, and, hope you found that doll for your daughter.

[JayKis]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

I did learn quite a few things that I should have known earlier, mainly from quotes which I have read elsewhere that summarize it very well:
- This job is only a means to earn money. It does not define who I am, neither for me nor my family and friends. For everything else, you have hobbies.
- A forced exit is better than an unnecessary stay
- Family and health matter. Friends and happiness too. Nothing else does.
- For any organisation, you are completely dispensable. Keep your employers dispensable too. No point in getting attached or over committed.
- Do not assume anyone at work is a friend. There may be some exceptions, but mostly its each one for themselves.

The first three points are pure Gold! Have been on this boat twice in my life. The first happened after 2 years and the next one after another 10 years!

The first time, it took a couple of months to find a new job. The next time it took 6 months. Both the times, it has been my friends, family and ex-colleagues who were friends that helped out.

The off-period does calm you down and gives you a different perspective to life. It also created a lot of self doubts. The hardest bit was not cracking an interview but when you clear multiple ones with the same organisation for the same position and still does not land the job.

The rat race makes you think you are some one special until the rug gets pulled from your feet. The second time experience has made me a lot more humbler and be much more nicer to people in general.