Unsettling News

Today something happened to a family member that made me feel very unsettled. A lay-off after 5 years of working for a company. The reason was “not enough work.” The company hired an outside Human Resources person to deliver the news via a virtual meeting. The truth is that as a small family-owned business the owner’s son has decided he can do the work of the laid-off person. Not that he has been able to do it in the past. I get that he wants to show dad how good he can be for the company. I understand that dad feels obligated to give his son a job.

This makes me think of the announcement yesterday that 10,000 Microsoft workers are getting laid off. I think about all of the people at Twitter, Amazon, and Salesforce who have recently lost their jobs.

All I can think of is how they will make ends meet in the coming months while collecting unemployment and job hunting? Severance packages certainly help. Not everyone gets a severance package and sometimes the package has so many strings attached that people reject them to better their odds of finding employment. In 2020, one of my other family members lost his job of thirty plus years and was told he could have $3000 severance as long as he agreed to not work in the same field for three years. He refused the severance deal.  

Unemployment is not so bad if you are living at home, have no student loans, no car payment, or no children to support. Our family member resides in a state where the unemployment payout is 50% of their last income and is taxable income.

I know our family member will find another job. I know that this opens the door for a better situation for them overall. I know they are resilient. The upside is that there are jobs to be had out there right now. And once they get a new job they will be valued because they are someone who knows how to show up and work.

Sigh. Some days I wish I were the boss of the world. Wait, that would mean I could never retire again. Never mind. I'll settle for providing emotional support.