Last Thursday the head of my team in Australia announced four redundancies, one of whom was my manager who was a senior consultant. The other three redundancies were a mid-level consultant and two team assistants. My manager and the consultant took the news well and were pretty positive about the situation, seeing it as a good opportunity to take a break and to change tack. I heard from others that the two assistants haven’t been taking it well. They are bitter and resentful about what has happened to them after having worked for the company for close to 30 years.
Today was my manager’s last day; yes, it was a swift departure. But I managed to speak to him the day after the news was announced, and he asked me if I was upset about what’s happening in the team. I said I was surprised but I wasn’t upset as I have come across this several times in the course of my work life. Twice I had even pre-empted the situation by finding a new job before the team I had been in was made redundant. I was working in Hong Kong back then and I had foreseen those redundancies and left before it was too late. I mean, if you find yourself with nothing much to do, then you’ll seriously have to question your value and existence in the company. No one pays you to twiddle your thumbs all day.
My now ex-manager seemed rather surprised when I said I had seen these things happen before and so wasn’t too affected by the current situation. I guess this shows I’ve been around a lot. My manager has worked in this company for 14 years and I think he has ever only had one or two other jobs. The two team assistants have only ever known this company. The other consultant has probably worked in 3-4 other companies prior to this one. Me? I think I’ve worked in more companies than all four of them combined. Haha. But that has allowed me to see what goes on in other places and companies.
At the end of the day, it’s just business. I’m a realist – I recognise and accept that this is what it’s like in the corporate world. So while I’m sympathetic to my colleagues’ situation, I also think they have to take responsibility for what has happened. The onus is on us to keep ourselves relevant to the business. The company doesn’t owe you a living and is not a charity. If you are not bringing any value or revenue to justify your existence in the company, it’s fair for the company to boot you out. Unfortunately for my manager and the consultant, they weren’t bringing in enough revenue to justify the pay they were getting. The nature of our team’s business has changed and they haven’t been able to adapt and equip themselves with the necessary skills and knowledge to go where the business is heading.
As for the two team assistants, one is in her early 60s and the other is in her 50s. They haven’t been able to keep their skills relevant and were probably a bit complacent, thinking they would have a job till they retire. I mean, come on, to be working in the same team assistant administrative kind of role for close to 30 years just won’t cut it in this day and age. Essentially their pay couldn’t and didn’t justify the nature of their jobs. That most of the team felt they were both difficult to work with didn’t help their cause. So my takeaway from this is that it always pays to be known as someone easy to work with and that it’s important to keep your skills and knowledge relevant!
But I did ask myself what I would do if I had been the one given the boot. The answer was clear to me – I would pack up immediately, rent out my place and head straight back to Singapore. There are much fewer job options for me in Australia compared to Singapore. Moreover, there isn’t anything or anyone keeping me in Australia.
Could this be the beginning of the end? Anyhow, it’s definitely time to formulate some back-up plans. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared!
