Useless
A few days ago a lady I work with shared some of her concerns with me.
She works in the same position I do for another group in the advertising department, and she started about a month before I did.
She asked me if there is a certain number of mistakes we're allowed before they'll get rid of us. She said she'd made several mistakes when she first started and she didn't think her team liked her very much. And she was afraid she might lose her job.
She said I was good at my job and everyone loved me and she asked if I could help her at all.
She is timid, kind, attractive, probably in her mid-forties, and because she grew up in Columbia she has an accent that is a real joy to listen to.
She said she loved the job and didn't want to lose it.
I told her I didn't know of any allotment of errors we were given. And that I thought she was unnecessarily worrying herself. I said that I didn't know what kind of mistakes she had made but if they were early on and she had shown any improvement then it would be silly for them to get rid of her.
I said that even if, for some reason that I can't possibly imagine, they did terminate her employment, then she could at least go to a place that did appreciate and respect her and everything she had to offer, and that would be so much better than being in a place that you didn't feel wanted and were worried about keeping your job. "But I really don't think that will happen. You are a benefit to this place. And they know that."
Especially if she loved the job.
I could understand if she didn't like the job... that would start to show up in her productivity and work ethic, and they would be doing her a favor to let her go... but that obviously wasn't the case. And they can't afford to get rid of people who love their job, because they improve the general productivity and morale of the entire work place.
She thanked me for my kind words and encouragement. We were instant friends.
They fired her today.
posted by shad @ 10:45 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Brilliant.
That is so sad :(! But oh, well at least you tried to encourage her. Hopefully she'll end up with a job that gives her less anxieties. Somtimes just because you know how to do a certain job, doesn't mean that there isn't something better out there for you. I hope she finds her "better".
at the same time, she knew something was going on, something told her. her conversation with you is evidence. and, sadly, people who love their jobs get fired. a lot. they fire them. adios muchacos.
i think we should set up a system of cannons or catapults. employees should be fired, not just figuratively, but literally too. though it seems cruel, the other employees could gather round as the employee was launched into the air, it would be bully fun to watch. i would also support a system of large pillows, nets or (especially) giant dollops of whipped cream in which these employees would then land. whose day wouldn't be brightened by landing in a giant mound of whipped topping? that would take the edge off the "losing your job" part.
Bummer. And I'm sad you won't be able to listen to her accent anymore.
daryel: thanks? ...?
holly: Yeah, I can't imagine working at a place where I was afraid I'd get fired. It seems like that concern alone would be enough to make me quit.
janx: I agree (with every aspect of your comment, but firstly) she definitely had an idea what was going on. That's why it was so frustrating. Because she came to me for help I assumed she was just... needing a little help. It made me feel like everything I said was B.S. (even though I'm not really sure what else I could have said... other than maybe a stonger emphasis on the whole "moving on to better things" stuff). It's just kind of embarrassing (it bothers me to think about how what I said might have turned out to embarrass her... considering how it all played out), I was just so sure I had a grasp on what was going on... nope.
Oh and it would've been awesome to say goodbye as she's hurled out of a cannon into a huge pie. That would have made me feel better anyway... then I could have played off the whole thing as though I had been trying to misdirect her from this great surprise I knew was coming, ohhh this is going to be so great!! job shmob, she's going to be shot out of a cannon and she doesn't even know it... LUCKY
IH: Yeah... major bummber. But the idea of having gotten to hear her scream in a Columbian accent as she's being fired from a cannon, eases my pain a little.
viva los catapultes!
LOL! Yes, awesome idea!! I actually think they need to put that question in the millions of 'forms' that are signed when you start a job. I think the employer owes them that much- to choose the sugary mound of goodness that will swallow them after a brutal termination.
"If I were to get terminated from this job for any reason, I would prefer to be catapulted into..."
A)Whipped Cream B) A pie C) Pudding D) Jello E) Other
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