Thanks for letting me vent.
( I'll be appropriate.)
Please do comment if you had a similar experience. Others will benefit by acknowledging the problem and seeing a path for better days.
I was let go a while back and yes I was angry with the way I was treated for quite a while before my exit was requested.
To be blunt- No one cared.
After more than a decade of success and strong relationships, No one cared...
The hardest part was definitely the internal business climate in months before my exit.
Most of us are very experienced, yes, we are over 45. Race and gender are mixed pretty evenly according to our company's demographic.
The first signs of "the end" were pretty obvious, not being included in meetings set up by team leaders, folks not showing up or last minute or sending cancellations for no reason for meetings that I set up, I was not being included in internal dinners or outings etc.
Then came pressure on my compensation- missed bonuses (because they were honestly not attainable).
Even more difficult yet- the personal and professional disrespect, comments about being the old guard, comparing me and others my age to Dad, Uncle, Grandpa ( of course these folks were joking....right?).
The WORST- was being accused of not doing my job, even though I'd fought like heck to stay busy, relevant,showed leadership, and went the extra mile.
I wasn't going to post here. I've moved on. My stress is getting better, it was awful for a while. My family really struggled with me.
The reason for this long post is because I want to tell anyone who is saying that guys like me who are still employed or who may have being let go are irrelevant, lazy, old. You are wrong. And you are missing the chance to work and learn alongside some of the best professionals that you'll ever meet.
You are also showing anyone who may be reading this forum ,blog, who may be feeling anxious about their job or recent layoff, that they are better off to move on.
They are right- their gut was/is telling them the truth. Discrimination was/ is happening and it is or was wrong. Whether intentional or not.
It gives me peace to believe that I don't think that true leadership knows this behavior is happening. I honestly believe theyd shut it down if they did. I also don't think the problem is just with management. It's at the team level too and it's really bad.
There's a people problem- akin to bullying that must be fixed. The bullies are winning the rest are stressed or have already been shown the door.
Please do your best to hang in there. Things really do get better and there's a world of opportunity waiting for your skills.
I'm a customer now. Customers are people. People will always buy products from a brand they trust. I'm still working on that part.