I picked up extra work, helped other teams, and stayed late when it was needed, and in the end none of it seemed to matter. The people making the layoff calls clearly had no clue who was actually doing the work. That’s the frustrating part, when what you put in and what you get out don’t match at all.
13 replies (most recent on top)
@OP. You've been bamboozled. Employer loyalty doesn't exist . Take this as a life. Good luck.
@OP There's no point in overperforming. This company will use you up and kick you out of the way as soon as they can figure out a way to get rid of you. They care about profits; not you.
@OP You are not wrong, but also not quite right. There is a random element to the layoffs. From my understanding, they do target low performers and highest paid(which could be a high contributor). However, they are given an amount of people to layoff and if they run out of the previously mentioned, the random draft comes in.
For example a VP get told we need to save 1mil, that could be maybe 10 people. Of those 10 maybe like 7 were the low performers/high pay, but now you have 3 more and you have to shoot from the good overall pool, yeah that may have been you and it su-ks.
I hope this ends up a blessing in disguise for you.
There is no reason to do more. You get lumped in with lower performers. No one can shine. And those who try get treated like they are a threat.
You can work hard, do a good job, have strong ethic AND have boundaries. Doing more can be a people pleasing thing and doesn't really add much value. Do the work but log off too :) I learned the hard way too.
@OP Let me try to clear up something - they aren't eliminating people, they are eliminating POSITIONS - the specific people in those position are secondary to the position as a line item expense.
Not a defense, just trying to point out that it's in no way about the person being let go.
Hard lesson to learn, but from now on, we do the bare minimum. If you want your work ethic rewarded, start your own business.
@OP For what it's worth, there's very little in the way of individual attributes that determine these decisions, it's mostly at a level of summary statistics.
From the experience in the dept I was in the higher paid person was let go and that was a deciding factor
Unfortunately working harder does not mean you won’t be let go. One of the reasons UGH is not doing as good as it used to is because of the talent they lost thru layoffs. Decisions are made based on who you know not what you know. They get rid off the knowledge and keep used car salesmen who only know how to talk big! UGH is not the company it once was!
@am EXACTLY
STOP
WORKING
HARD
FOR
OPTUM
@OP I’m sorry you were let go. I definitely have been careful not to stay late or work extra (for free). It was hard at first because I have a strong work ethic. I know no one is safe. Now you are able to go to a company that will appreciate you.