I Need Peace Not This Right Now

On Tuesday morning my boss who is also the company President and owner walked into my office and closed the door. I knew at that moment that something was about to happen and the possibilities ran through my mind before he even opened his mouth. The first thought was that he was going to have me let someone else go as we have done with a half dozen other employees over the last few weeks and then it occurred to me that he was going to let me go.

He took off his jacket and sat in the chair across the desk from me. He started with pleasantries but quickly got to meat of the matter. He recounted historically the positive growth of the company over the last 25 years and the difficulties that the business has encountered over this last year. He said that he had always expected to leave the company at a high point but that he had been given an offer for the company that he couldn't refuse. Before he would carry the conversation any further he asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement that he pulled from his inside pocket handed me. The offer is from a major American firm that has about 25 plants in the United States as well as plants in Europe and four other plants here in Canada. We know them fairly well by their reputation in the industry. He said that they wanted our technical ability and our management team.

It was like a knife to the heart. I could have almost taken it better if he had just asked me to clean out my desk and leave. I have worked for five companies that have been sold our taken over in my 25 year career. In every case my position has been eliminated. Sometimes it takes weeks or up to a year but in every case they were American firms that place no value in the work that Human Resources provide to a company. The HR job doesn't have a direct positive impact on the bottom line so they see no value in it for a comapny.

So I have just had my birthday and turned 60 now I face the reality that I am going to have to try and find another position to carry me through the next five years. The chances of that happening are very slim indeed. Companies do not want to hire a person of my age regardless of my abilities and experience. The immediate results are that I will now be working long hours to put together all of the information that the new firm will require on all of our people. Not just lists of simple payroll data but detailed reports on each person's responsibilities their skills and abuilities, training and background. I will have to put toether reports on all of our employee programs and benefits. They will sit and pick and choose what people and what program they want to eliminate and then have me do the dirty work for them. The final step will be for me to turn over only the mandatory responsibilities to others in the company who by the way won't know what to do with them and then I will be asked to leave. Great prospect for my future. Work my ass off and then leave.

When I get over being angry I will have to dredge up my last resume, clean it up and start to look for a new job.