Bad Day for Bad Joke

I have a post to write revealing the contest winners in my team account, but it will have to be delayed another day. Today I came into the office to discover several colleagues have been let go. The oldest has 44 years tenure and we talked about her plans after this. She may look into a part time job at the Walmart by her home. Another colleague has been with the company for 29 years, and she is very spiritual, and has faith everything happened for a reason. The youngest has 4 years tenureship; she has a wedding planned for later this year.

I work for a nonprofit healthcare system and the pay is not the primary reason for choosing an occupation in this field. I believe individuals working in this field, both backend and in patient care, choose to do so because they want to help people. It is very sad when individuals loyal to a company are let go because they, or specifically their role, has now become obsolete.

Bad day for a bad joke!

It is common courtesy to ask people in the elevator what floor they’re going to and pushing the floor button if one is by the buttons. I was in the elevator with two colleagues, both from the department that 'restructured'. I'm not from that department but do work closely with them.

So I said to one, “Are you sure you work on this floor?” She’s usually a very happy person, but was subdued when she smiled back. I didn’t know! I had just come in to work. She wasn’t one of the individuals that were laid off, but she has been friends with many for 20+ years.
Talk about being a big douche. I did stop by and apologize for the very bad joke later. She knew I hadn’t known and did not take my bad joke offensively.

Am I worried about my own job?

To be honest, I had hoped HR would stop by my desk and say “Sorry, you are no longer important.” It would be the reason to get me out of this comfort zone I am now in. I’ve been with the company for years. One IT certification and a Master degree later, I am still here. I know those two ‘achievements’ will easily land me a job elsewhere in my field with a much higher pay, but I’m comfortable. It is challenging to balance work and life and I stay because the company is willing to work around my schedule. I wouldn’t have minded getting that extra push and motivation to move on….

Sadly, we had a department meeting. The director announced there is no plan to lay off individuals in our department. The bleeding has stopped...for now.

Here is a picture of my son's first day of school! A bright spot in my life and one that is needed today as I said goodbye to friends I worked many years alongside.

P.S. I chose to write here because I simply want to write today. Some days, it is nice to have a place to write for the sake of writing and not have to engage.