The Grass is not always Greener on the other side

I was laid-off in the big RIF last September and it wasn't because of my performance reviews. I had a 5-block rating on the 9-block grid and had decent reviews - so I definitely was not a "right elbow" victim. I had been with Honeywell for over 20 years and was wanting to stay until I was at full retirement age, so was completely devastated and broadsided by it. But, I was having an off year as far as taking on more responsibilities and tasks mainly because I was struggling with some on-going health issues. These issues were not major, but kept affecting my energy and morale, yet I never really approached my boss about them because I thought they would go away. And, my boss and I were not on the same page ( communication-wise) for most of the projects I was involved it - so he never really understood the value of what I was accomplishing.

Anyway - the reason for my RIF - was that since they were going to be reducing the number of analysts in my category - they didn't think I had the "skills and abilities" to do the remaining or future work even though I had been doing this same job for years. Overall - that was an inaccurate assumption by them - and they never told me how they arrived at that or what group I was compared to. I believe I should gone to the EEOC about this right after the lay-off because I think I would of had a good case against them to get reinstated. But - I didn't read the complete lay-off documentation that mentioned the EEOC - and just took the severance package instead.

My main point for writing this to make others aware that you can be targeted for this "skills and abilities" measure if your department is affected by a RIF, So, I would advise anyone to make sure that they get regular clear feedback from their boss on how he thinks your doing on your share of the job tasks. And if you are having some health issues that are affecting your ability to keep up your workload - mention and document it to him! I was WFH way too much and just needed to come in and have a face-to-face sincere talk with my boss before it was too late. Horrible procrastination on my part and I paid the ultimate price! But - I was told I could reapply for this exact job a year from the lay-off date.

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don't reapply go els ware there loss

Not sure going extra mile has much to do with it. Corporate targets groups to eliminate so if u are in one of those u go, no matter what work you do. Then it depends on how well your boss is liked by his leaders and how well you get along with your boss. Better to have a lot of friends than do a lot of work. I was laid off 18 months ago after 21 yrs. I always did extra hours and projects. Towards the end the bosses were new and didn't understand what I was doing and really didn't care, just trying to protect their existence. A lot of those who don't get laid off may think it's because they are doing the right things or are smart/ needed, but it is mostly random. I am aware of entire groups that got let go at once. We are in the time of financial wizards shrinking companies. These are not the 80's and 90's where real growth existed.

Sorry to disappoint those who think this is fake - but I actually went through this unfortunate experience in Aero ISC, as I am the one that wrote the original post. My main reason for writing this was to let others know about this "skills and abilities" measure that is probably done on all employees to some degree. It was revealed to me that is not a measure that HR provides to employees, but it is a means of rating employees other than just with the normal 9-block method. Maybe it is part of what is called a 'MRR Process' ? I'm sure an HR person would know....if they would even want to reveal anything about it. It appears HR wants this to be a hidden measure of sorts.

As for coming back to Honeywell - there have been many employees who have come back over the years who have been laid-off and I am sure some have recently. I would mainly want to come back to redeem myself ( instead of holding resentment ) and to recoup my full pension amount when I reach age 66. I know Honeywell is not nearly the company it used to be now - but it was a very important part of my life for 21 years. And maybe if I had appreciated my job more, and gone the extra mile in my work last year - I wouldn't be writing this at all.

Yes this is fake and is written by management or HR or PR. No self respecting person would crawl back to a company that got rid of them. Everyone knows you never go back.

I left Honeywell and the grass is much greener. I have way less stress and im left alone to do my job. And oh no 9 block ratings. You either do your job or you get wrote up. It's even a smaller company with a much better 401k match and co pays for Dr visits and meds.

If you buy this story, I have some swamp land to sell you in Florida.

Ditto on the last post. Not about what you accomplished more about who you BLOW. Got out with my dignity and retired while giving Mother Honeywell a flying middle finger salute . . . life is solo much better outside of Honeywell and now running auto parts feeling much more satisfied. Aerospace was all about arrogant self centered engineers thinking that no one could touch their intellect. Welcome to the real world that has been the norm since the first tech downturn in the late 80's. Stop crying pick yourselves up by your bootstraps and find your groove that makes engineering gun again. Screw Honeywell where they aspose mind numbing dogma rather than enriching real engineering. Shame on Honeywell for no appreciation of who brings home the bucks . . . Executives are s---ing the life blood out of what was once a great company.

I laid myself off and called it retirement. I was tired of being treated badly by a horrible and remorseless company. It used to be a good company. Money grubbers took control and you know the rest of the story. Don't take it personally if they nailed you. Age is the only statistic they need to want you to leave.

To OP:NZ62Mue-aif: No - this is by no means fake. An employee can be laid-off for this "skills and abilities" measure. Just ask your HR Generalist, and it is explained in the general severance documentation. What is especially about bad it is that you don't get a formal warning about it before any RIFs! It kind of a hidden measure. You just have be aware of your general status of how you might compare to your fellow co-workers - which probably means you may need to get some honest feedback from your boss. I would recommend this If you don't feel real confident or are unsure on where you stand in regards to this. Or - just make sure your boss is OK with deliverables and workload!

This sounds fake

Also, to the OP, your story isn't a victim type story and your suggestions are proactive. Because of your candor, It sounds like poor management unlike a good portion of these layoff testimonials.

Not true, I've seen two people laid off (one for good reason and one for bad) and they both came back and are doing great this year.

Why on earth would you want to work for the people that laid you off? How desperate you have to be to go crawling back to them. It will never be the same again, it's best to move on somewhere else.

I know of 1 person who rehired after being laid off. I wonder how common it is? Obviously some people moved on.

Thread regarding Honeywell International Inc. layoffs

The Grass is not always Greener on the other side

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