I was laid off at USB over a year ago. After 10 years of service working from home, it all ended with a 1 minute and 34 second phone call. For weeks I kept Googling “US Bank layoffs” just to feel like I wasn’t alone. The searches always brought me here to The Layoff, and amidst the rants and raves, I never felt alone (and I still visit every week).
The months that followed were rough. Interviews went nowhere, and applications disappeared into a black hole. In May I finally landed a role with another bank. Life has been good since, but working full-time in an office created new challenges: endless politics, meaningless small talk, and a cubicle that feels like a creative prison.
A couple months ago, while taking a juicy dump on the executive floor (it just feels so right), I had an idea: A platform where current and former employees can anonymously share stories about the good, bad, and ugly moments inside their companies. I call it WorkWhisper. Right now, it’s a webapp, but I plan to expand to iOS/Android if it grows.
Ultimately, I'm convinced that my life will continue and end inside of a cubicle (and face more layoff scares), but if what I was inspired to build helps a few people voice their feelings, then I'm happy. I hope this doesn't come across as an inauthentic way to promote myself, that wasn't the intention. I just wanted to share my journey about life after layoff at USB, and the good that came out of it. If you’d like to check it out, visit www.TheWorkWhisper.com and share a work moment... the uglier the better ;)