When will this nightmare be over I just want to do my job and enjoy my family. I'm worried sick throwing up blood just sick over this extreme stress. They are just trying to dream things up to get rid of us at any cost why is this happening. I don't think I can take much more!
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The stress before the layoff was over the moon here. With less and less workers to share the work there was a crisis day and night. Our daughter watched her Dad and said nobody should ever want a job in IT. Though we were prepared in the ways suggested by others, it is still a shock to get that call. Everything was fine with the finances and finding a job, but there was a tension in the house that was almost as bad as the one caused by the crazy work hours, foreign management (?) style, and worry about getting laid off. One day I was watching a video by a blogger that was laid off from Microsoft. He talked about how even though everything was fine financially he realized after many months that he had been depressed. Depressed about getting dumped after building the premier Windows software. He and his buddies had always been the smartest guys in the room and all of a sudden they were shown to the curb. You can say I'm fine, but there is a hurt unless you have very thick skin. Just realizing that he was depressed worked wonders for my husband and within a week we were back to being a happy family. No medication needed. Nobody should endanger their relationships over this. So glad my daughter and I held our tongues when he was difficult because we knew this wasn't our guy. He just had to figure it out too.
Go see a doctor
Make a plan in case of lay off
Start networking
Last year i was so stressed out about getting RIF'D. You know what, we cant control it. Work on your backup plan. I am getting stressed now that they arent offering one yet. I have no backup plan yet, but everyone that has gotten RFD has bounced back and loves it.
I retired from VZ with @5 years. During my 47 years of working, I went through this scenario twice with two major corporations, VZ was just a job to finish it out. As technology evolved in both computer and printing through the years my position was eliminated and I was forced to begin anew in all together fields. Having walked the walk, I can talk the talk........Your health is the most important thing hands down, get your emotions in check and think! There is life after VZ! With that said......get your finances under control, save as much as you can put way, polish up your resume. You must stick it out and get the severance package and unemployment compensation. cobra is very expensive for medical....you can probably do better getting your own insurance as I did. Have a plan B, go to work with your head high and confident because you have battle plan if you are let go. I know it is difficult and everyone handles stress differently. Get God on your side.......every rotten situation I have had in my life, be job loss, family health issues and floods.......I have always come out better at the end of the day. Best of luck and God bless!!
Everyone erect a shrine to Ezra Singer and start praying....... Often
Rif'd Dec 2014. Could not sleep well for months. waking up at 4:30 AM daily worrying about finances , (regardless of an adequate 401k, severance, personal savings) and life in general.
I felt lost not having to commute to work daily. Sometimes I felt worthless being available during the day doing errands watching other ppl go to work.
@1lwa listed some good points BUT there WILL be RIFs quarterly ...Do Not get comfortable. The job market thins out for ppl over 50. Start tracking your home expenses - NOW.
The severance pay runs out quick. Especially when COBRA kicks in. Exercise, Get a hobby and new skill set. Dont' expect same pay and benefits as VZ in open job market Work to Live, Don't Live to Work.
Sorry you feel this way
I hope all is over for all of us very soon
NIGHTMARE
When will this nightmare be over I just want to do my job and enjoy my family. I'm worried sick throwing up blood just sick over this extreme stress. They are just trying to dream things up to get rid of us at any cost why is this happening. I don't think I can take much more!
Stick it out if you can. If you quit you will not get a severance package or unemployment. If you are like most people, you don't have a nice little nest egg saved up. I got laid off last November and I am actually glad I did. The workplace was getting extremely toxic. Hang in there....
Actually my stress level has gone down since I left VZW. I am also sleeping throughout the night. Better health comes when you leave Verizon.
Just quit!!!!
It's a goddamned shame that people should have to feel like this in a company that's making over a billion dollars a month profit. The upper mgmt. can't see the forest for the trees. Does it make any sense to anyone other than a VLSS bean counter to have an entire workforce that's angry, stressed and beaten down?
Some advice as a 25+ year veteran of VZ:
1 Realize that the odds of your position being eliminated are far less than you think
2 If you have reached this point (health affected) then you need to see a doctor to help with stress/anxiety management. Seriously, more people get treatment for this than you realize. And it would help you put this in perspective.
3 Make a plan. sit down with folks you trust (family, friends) and map out what you would do if it happens this month, 6 months, 1 year from now. I'll bet there are elements of you plan that you can implement now (I read really good ones above). This will give you more control of your situation. I've found this feeling of lacking control to have the biggest impact on physical and mental health.
Good luck
i know the feeling, just understand that this is the design; to make you erupt - stay centered and be anchored in the complete knowing that these feelings are not yours/ you are absorbing the toxicity around you - i remember when i went thru it; i went to doctor and i was given anti-anxiety medicine - i was able to numb myself and just feel my own stuff - not theirs....i've never needed to take the medication again; i've been gone for 6 months and am about to start a new job; there is a better horizon after verizon - do everything to keep yourself centered.
Hang in there bro. You're not alone in this. Many lives have been trashed by these vicious vz bastards. The abuse by my last manager went on for years and ground me down until they riffed him. The shear joy of knowing I would never have to deal with that vermin again made me whoop and jump into the air, punching skyward, as a surge of total happiness went through me. That was 3 months ago and the relief and joy I feel has not diminished. I just can't stop from smiling and whistling. Life was miserable and wretched bro, but I kept struggling on, and you can too. Much luck to you.
Made your God, whoever he or she is, always walk beside you.
The only way to become more marketable ( see ,you are just a commodity). Is to learn Hindi , and change your name to something unpronounceable by natives, also you will need to learn a new dialect called Indian English where grammer,structure,and pronunciation are destroyed, then you will get in maybe for 50k
Anyway, screw the LHH approved resume, I told them when they called if they really wanted to help send me a check for $99 to have professional resume company do it for me, have not heard from them since. NO need to be throwing up blood, at least you did not have a pillow over your head like Scalia
We live in animal farm now and things are not going to be the same, its all about control, so don't let them control you
Don't wimp out, Consider leaving IT behind it is too dangerous profession now a days. You will make it all of here I am sure are rooting for you
Manage your stress by preparing. If nothing happens no big deal, if it happens in a year - you are prepared. Let VZW pay for your classes to become more marketable to other companies. Get your resume ready and fyi you need more than an LHH approved resume. You need something that will get through the HR search and toss software. Maximize your Linkedin - get endorsements/recommendations - recruiters wont even look at your profile if you don't have enough of these. You'll feel better if you prepare. I wish I had - I was let go in October - the job search is rough out here - get a jump start!
The real nightmare begins after you lose your job.