As employees, many of us are also vulnerable to be voted off whenever a business or corporation restructures or fails to perform well. Sometimes we might be selected for layoff because of ‘personal reasons’ like our lack of exceptional performance, and at times because we outperformed our superiors or specially valued peers.
Are we upset or unhappy because we have been voted off the island? Are we feeling bitter or unjustified because of layoffs for the wrong reasons, such as outperforming or unwittingly crossing a person?
If we are, let’s not and let go. It’s not worth losing our head or heart over what’s gone. There’s no need for us to feel ashamed if we are asked to go for whatever the reason because with every closed door is another door waiting to be discovered. Stay upbeat for new challenges ahead.
We often complained about being underpaid and overworked, and we envy people who are seemingly quite free at work. Question is, is it better to be busy or free?
In a workplace consisting of employees, productivity is of utmost importance to a business. If a worker is not fully utilized, the business cannot thrive, and if a business cannot thrive, the business will sooner or later die. If everyone else is working hard and there are staff that are not, it is not a sight to admire, because it means the department or the section requires less staff than they currently have. This means essentially some staff are probably destined to be fired because they are not busy enough.
Being busy and overloaded with work often means the need for more staff, but if more staff is added and some become free, it is time for some to move on. I am saying this not without experience, as I have been invited to leave before. When I was employed to provide professional services some years ago, I was trained, certified, and after three months was still not assigned any field job. I knew therefore that business in the area I was trained in was not picking up in the region where I was to cover – South East Asia, and before long, I was given the golden handshake.
That handshake meant almost three years living without income, apart from bits and pieces received from freelance jobs. I have apparently left a 'secure' place to join the corporation because I could see potential in them, but after five months, I was retrenched. To the employer, it seems normal for them to hire and fire, even though all other areas of their business are doing well.
Is it therefore better to be busy or free? Consider now from a different light what it means by being overloaded with work, because it may just be the reason why we are still employed.
