We live in rough times. Job cuts have trickled down into my sector, and we’ve lost a huge number of staffers, effective with the end of the fiscal year. And man, have we handled that badly.
There is no nice way to nicely tell someone that they are losing their job. Even when they’ve not done anything to cause it, and that you, as the boss, have no choice in the matter. But there is no worse way, so far as I can tell, than to tell them that they’re done with the end of the year, and then leave them on the job.
I have never encountered so many “not my problem” people as I have in the last six weeks!
Last week I mentioned to my boss that another department had appeared to drop the ball on some Federal reporting. He brought it to the Executive Council this morning, and now I have a meeting with the boss’s boss and the rest of the parties involved. The person who was supposed to do the work – done June 30th. The woman she was supposed to order to do the work – “retiring” next week.
What we should have done – what would have been the only reasonable thing to do – would have been to furlough them immediately. Pay them for the rest of their contracted time, and send them on their way. There is nothing harder than trying to work with, and work around, people who don’t want to be there, don’t have any remaining loyalty, and no desire to do their jobs right anymore.
Oh, it’s not everyone. There’s one guy in particular that I see every now and again – he’s busting his butt all day every day, until he’s no longer an employee. And you know what? There’s a chance he’ll get his job back – maybe because of it.