These last two days, I have been working in a company that is laying off employees. It’s the first time they’ve taken these kinds of measures in their 100 year history and it has been painful for their whole "family".
I’m amazed: People are tough and have resources that go deep. The HR people have been extremely caring and "un"-professional: sharing tears and hugs. By the time the laid-off folks get to the team I’m with, where we talk about the future and processes we’ve set up to help them get a new job, they are worn out but still able to look to the future and see something other than black.
Of the 8 employees I saw yesterday, one had been there 33 years. Another 25 and another 23. They were doing their best even though the foundations got rocked. When our time finished together, I would open the door and there would be standing another of their colleagues ready to take them to their car, or call a taxi, or spend some time talking. It all helped, even if it gave the opportunity for even more tears.
