This company's unending cycles of layoffs are making me physically and emotionally ill. I have found myself utterly unable to work due to the emotional and physical stress this is causing me. ...And I'm one of the lucky ones, I realize, in that I have not been laid off yet, but there is such a thing as survivor guilt - maybe even PTSD? - after layoffs and it su-ks so much. Before we were acquired, I was exceedingly proud to be part of edX. 2U has ruined what we built by picking apart its pieces and maintainers bit by bit. I doubt this is even possible at this point, but this company needs to find a way to make things right by its remaining employees or it will soon have none, either due to people quitting, or reduced productivity, or continued reductions in customer satisfaction, likely resulting in a need for further reductions. 2U has created a vicious cycle. I suspect there will be more layoffs regardless of any efforts to turn things around at this point.
10 replies (most recent on top)
@4dcs+1rC1esxA Well f*cking said - 100% agree.
This post is gross. All you people shouting "just find another job!" are the same people who will peace out for 10 hours during a work week because OmG ReMoTE Is So FleXIbLe.
It's good to have work-life balance but you should CARE about the company you work for, whether it's mission, culture, or ideally, both. And with caring for a company you work for, comes deep relationships and feelings tied to that work.
@OP+1rC1esxA I am sorry you feel this way and that anyone feels the need to belittle those feelings. As a leader who has been doing this for a long time, the responses to your posting speak volumes about the culture this company has allowed. There should have been executive support to bring the different cultures together and instead, there was a lot of pointing fingers and toxicity that was allowed, if not encouraged.
I would encourage everyone to drop this 2U vs. edX vs. Bootcamp vs. GetSmarter cr-p and start realizing none of you made the decisions that led here.
You people make me laugh. You aren’t in jail! It’s called employment at will for a reason. You’re allowed to leave!
Hey OP, it's ok. I was one of the not so lucky ones in the last round. After the September round, I started seriously looking around the market, understanding my value and began looking seriously at other positions. I found an opportunity that was much better than the position I had at 2U. You will too, regardless of if you get caught up in a layoff or not.
One thing "Project Snowglobe" taught me was to keep work in context. Do your best, advance your career, care about the people. Beyond that it's all business. And business at 2U right now is not great. You'll find something way better given time and determination.
I’m not surprised by some of the reactions to this post since gaslighting is what 2U does best. OP, get TF out! Seriously, by all means necessary because things will not get better and you will continue to feel the way you do, or worse. 2U is not going to make things right by its employees; the company is too far gone. The truth is hard to accept. I went through plenty of denial about the situation myself. I’m so sorry you have to deal with this, but please, get out! You deserve more and you will find something better.
No blame for the people who sold edX in the first place to major money vs continue to try to manage a platform that was losing money? 2u paid way too much for it and that’s why we are in this boat imo. But your old bosses decided to sell it and let go of what they created in exchange for big bucks to spend on all the fun projects.
I feel this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone.
Man, I thought this was a place of support for people being laid off and at risk of being laid off and struggling with the effects of layoffs at work. Survivor guilt is a thing; many articles talk about it. Should have known better than to vent in an anonymous forum. Since I can't delete my anonymous post, I'll just say thanks for the feedback and "will do".
“PTSD?” “Survivor’s Guilt?” This isn’t a tour of Nam. This is a 9-5 corporate job lmao. Seek therapy plz
So find another job.