You have 30 days

I sit here this morning contemplating the future. IBM just went through a round of lay offs, IBM calls them resource actions, and today I am safe. But many people are not. They have 30 days to find another position at IBM or they are summarily shown the door.

When I started at IBM, there was a promise of full employment. Which translated to having a job till retirement and no lay offs. I think this was a bad idea. The branch I started in had many employees that were obviously watching the clock wind down.

Then in the late 80's early 90's IBM went through hard times. And the first rounds of layoffs started. In those days, they would rank the branch of employees and wait for a call on Monday. What was the number and if you were above the line you were safe and below the line you were gone. The buyouts and support were quite generous compared to today, and if you were close to retirement you could bridge to retirement. I know some folks who bridged to retirement and are still getting a monthly check from IBM 20 years later.

Today.. you get 1 week of pay for every 2 years and not sure what else is in the package. But it maxes out at 26 weeks of pay. So, I sit here wondering what if I were given the 30 days to find a job. I am lucky at the moment I have a good reputation, I know plenty of executives at IBM and could most likely find something new, but would I? Would I see the 30 days as an opportunity? Would I explore not only the IBM options but others? What would I do if I only had 30 days to decide to stay or go.

I have made the choice to leave once, and that didn't last long. This was as team leader in South Florida a long time ago. The amazing thing is the difference then was I was comparatively broke.

I made a choice to leave, that inevitably put me on a Leave of Absence and like an addict came back earlier than expected.

What would I do if I only had 30 days? I can hide behind a struggling economy. I can hide behind my expenses. My two mortgages, and remind myself I am lucky to have a job and lucky not to be put into a pressure cooker at this time. I am lucky, I don't have kids or a partner dependant on me.

This is just about Brian and his 30 days.. what would I do? I have to confess to not knowing the answer. But... maybe the next 30 days will be good to wonder about choices.

Comments

Unknown said…
Oh, It's a google thing. Okay, anyway, we seldom think about the twists and turns of our highschool compatriots as we go through our daily grind. And even when we do, we seldom get close to being right in our assesment. And we often forget that each of the higher level trials we see our nation go through also effects our afore mentioned friends, often in much the same way it effects our own lives. Getting back in touch and updating myself on your life has reopened my eyes to this, once again (much like my recent talk with Vaniesa). But more so, you and everyone else we might happen to reconnect with (as well as myself) may be able to take a little comfort in the fact that we don't go through these things alone. We all feel the economic crunch, no matter what paths we chose, and can share these occurances with each other, and support each other to stand and stay strong throughout the whole ordeal. Just remember one thing, I always tell my kids and all the people I meet who feel the strains of life - Nothing lasts forever, not even the bad stuff.
December 14, 2008 at 4:49 PM
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