It saddens me to see how many people are playing right into their hand by quitting. With so many layoffs happening, chances are higher that you will be laid off than not. Walking away without waiting it out and getting severance is shortsighted and does them a favor. Just my two cents.
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Walking away isn't a failure, it's leaving grief behind for new exciting adventures. Life is short act accordingly, don't waste it miserable in a stupid job
Oh no. Walk away and I win. No stress, no anxiety, and no more worries for the future. I'm glad to be outta there.
A co-worker was about to quit when Covid hit. About three months in, they got a new job and decided to stay at Cengage as long as they could.
It took about six months for them to quit.
There is also a cap on severance. It used to be one year, but when I was laid off last year, it was 36 weeks. So, even if you've been with the company for more than 18 years, the payout won't be more than 36 weeks. It's possible this varies by department. I asked HR how it was calculated and they refused to tell me.
Severance is 2 weeks pay for every year you’ve been at the company. Not really incentive to stay if you haven’t been here that long
what does all this mean for authors? I have suspected for a while that they don't know how to sell books, they just expect them to sell themselves. They want me to propose a new edition, and I'm not sure it's worth the work given diminishing returns.
In 18 years with Cengage, I've had nothing but awful experiences with managers and editors (or whatever they are called now), but as the checks get smaller it makes me wonder why I'm doing it.
Sure, stick around out of spite and let them bleed you dry while dangling the chance of severance like a prize in a rigged carnival game. But hey, if your grand plan is to suffer in silence just so “they don’t win,” congrats, I think they already did.
There is no one-size-fits-all decision in this situation. Leaving without something lined up could be an extremely risky move if you have no other means of supporting yourself. However, some folks may have savings set aside or a second income to rely on or heck maybe they just want to go off-grid for a year and have a mental reset. All of these are valid choices. It’s best to trust people to do what is right for them under their specific circumstances. Sometimes sticking it to them (while it can feel good… so no judgement from me for anyone who takes that path!) isn’t what’s best for the individual.
It's a complicated decision. At the same time, the severance could be very useful.
I agree that walking away without a job offer in your hand is not a good strategy. But leaving for another position is the absolute best thing 95% of Cengage employees can do.