Work is about surviving layoffs

Work is about surviving layoffs alright. These days rumors abound and you never know when the next round could hit you or a co-worker or spouse.

A friend just told me of her experience -

A stand up departmental meeting would be held right away. The entire group collects in the conference room, or so it seems. One or two people are missing, so my friend puts a Post-It note on her friend's monitor and then quickly rejoins the meeting.

The meeting starts and it's immediately evident that the friend with the Post-It note is the one who just got laid off. OMG! How bad did my friend feel about that!

Obviously the friend who just got laid off didn't collect her note and join the meeting. Instead she was in HR going through the ugly details. Later, to her credit, she came back to her now former department to say goodbye to her now former co-workers.

Surviving layoffs is hard enough. Almost inviting the layoff-ee to the meeting is worse. Keep your head down and keep moving.