It was Tuesday morning and I was working at my desk. My boss, John came into my office and told me there was a company meeting at noon that everyone was supposed to go to.
As I was eating lunch, the two Technical Support guys told me that Andy was coming to the meeting. Andy is the CFO of Power On Software and he lives in Ohio with our other employees. That surprised me. They said that Greg, the Vice President of the company (who hired me and works in our office) was going out to meet him and bring him here.
When they came, it was Greg, Andy, John Wallace (the CEO and owner of my company) and Sean, a multi-purpose employee from Ohio. We waited for Ben, the new guy, to get off the phone with a customer. We all sat down in a conclave of chairs in Greg's office and listened to John Wallace.
He told us that he was closing the Minneapolis office. We had all been terminated. The next few hours would consist of exit interviews and we would discuss our (severance) packages.
No one was mad. No one threw a fit. All seven of my coworkers just looked disappointed and shocked. Many of us had been working together for three or more years. We had an office that most people never have the pleasure to work in.
Some older, wiser men and women will tell you that enjoying work is all about pride and doing the best job you can do. Happiness is finding new challenges and new ways to break through your limitations. Play games. See how fast you can do your job and aim higher every time.
Adages like that were unnecessary at the Minneapolis office of Power On Software. We loved our jobs. Scratch that, we FUCKING loved our jobs. More importantly, we loved each other. There was no political bullshit in our office. There were spouts, but we always got over them. We partied together, we watched movies together, we went to concerts together, ate lunch and dinner together. We believed in our product and wanted to see it fulfill its potential.
In one fell swoop it was all gone. I will not be able to see Dawn every morning. I will not be able to joke with my boss John about anything on a regular basis. I don't get to discuss anything with Patrick anymore or talk about home ownership with Mary. I don't get to discuss opinions and ideas with Greg any longer or playfully make fun of the computer illiterate with the other two techs.
I always knew I had a job as long as Greg was there. He helped found Power On. But, they fired him two. It was his office. He got to make it into his dream work-place.
When the CEO asked if I had anything else I wanted to say in my exit interview, I just said thank you to him. Before Power On, I was the shift manager at a movie theater in Coon Rapids. My salary tripled and I was able to move out on my own, release a CD and buy a house because of that job. My freshly ex-CEO nearly started crying. He said he'd miss working with me and everyone else, that it was a hard choice to make.
That company is in deep trouble. The moves they make to survive also cripple them severely. We were the technology department. We had all the technical support and all the quality assurance. I fear for them, but it is no longer any of my concern.
Now I am unemployed for the first time in 3.67 years. And there are no jobs like the one I was doing in Minneapolis. What will become available will be hopped on by hundreds of applicants. If there is a job for me, it won't be with my family, Greg, John, Patrick, Dawn, Mary and Shawn. It will be with some more uptight fucksticks. And it probably won't pay as well. I may need to wear a suit...
Perhaps now is the time to change carriers? To work full time in the music industry?
I kept composed on Tuesday as I packed up all the things in my office, some of which have been there for years. But after I handed in my parking pass, my door card and key, grabbed my bag of perishable items I had packed for lunches earlier in the week and closed the door to Power On Software, I broke down and started crying as I walked down the stairs to my car, where I left work at my dream job for the last time.
Senior Support Specialist: 3/1/03 - 9/2/03 (0.5 Years)
Technical Support Specialist: 11/21/99 - 2/28/03 (3.3 Years)
See the rest at http://www.stolenbyserious.com/journal.html
As I was eating lunch, the two Technical Support guys told me that Andy was coming to the meeting. Andy is the CFO of Power On Software and he lives in Ohio with our other employees. That surprised me. They said that Greg, the Vice President of the company (who hired me and works in our office) was going out to meet him and bring him here.
When they came, it was Greg, Andy, John Wallace (the CEO and owner of my company) and Sean, a multi-purpose employee from Ohio. We waited for Ben, the new guy, to get off the phone with a customer. We all sat down in a conclave of chairs in Greg's office and listened to John Wallace.
He told us that he was closing the Minneapolis office. We had all been terminated. The next few hours would consist of exit interviews and we would discuss our (severance) packages.
No one was mad. No one threw a fit. All seven of my coworkers just looked disappointed and shocked. Many of us had been working together for three or more years. We had an office that most people never have the pleasure to work in.
Some older, wiser men and women will tell you that enjoying work is all about pride and doing the best job you can do. Happiness is finding new challenges and new ways to break through your limitations. Play games. See how fast you can do your job and aim higher every time.
Adages like that were unnecessary at the Minneapolis office of Power On Software. We loved our jobs. Scratch that, we FUCKING loved our jobs. More importantly, we loved each other. There was no political bullshit in our office. There were spouts, but we always got over them. We partied together, we watched movies together, we went to concerts together, ate lunch and dinner together. We believed in our product and wanted to see it fulfill its potential.
In one fell swoop it was all gone. I will not be able to see Dawn every morning. I will not be able to joke with my boss John about anything on a regular basis. I don't get to discuss anything with Patrick anymore or talk about home ownership with Mary. I don't get to discuss opinions and ideas with Greg any longer or playfully make fun of the computer illiterate with the other two techs.
I always knew I had a job as long as Greg was there. He helped found Power On. But, they fired him two. It was his office. He got to make it into his dream work-place.
When the CEO asked if I had anything else I wanted to say in my exit interview, I just said thank you to him. Before Power On, I was the shift manager at a movie theater in Coon Rapids. My salary tripled and I was able to move out on my own, release a CD and buy a house because of that job. My freshly ex-CEO nearly started crying. He said he'd miss working with me and everyone else, that it was a hard choice to make.
That company is in deep trouble. The moves they make to survive also cripple them severely. We were the technology department. We had all the technical support and all the quality assurance. I fear for them, but it is no longer any of my concern.
Now I am unemployed for the first time in 3.67 years. And there are no jobs like the one I was doing in Minneapolis. What will become available will be hopped on by hundreds of applicants. If there is a job for me, it won't be with my family, Greg, John, Patrick, Dawn, Mary and Shawn. It will be with some more uptight fucksticks. And it probably won't pay as well. I may need to wear a suit...
Perhaps now is the time to change carriers? To work full time in the music industry?
I kept composed on Tuesday as I packed up all the things in my office, some of which have been there for years. But after I handed in my parking pass, my door card and key, grabbed my bag of perishable items I had packed for lunches earlier in the week and closed the door to Power On Software, I broke down and started crying as I walked down the stairs to my car, where I left work at my dream job for the last time.
Senior Support Specialist: 3/1/03 - 9/2/03 (0.5 Years)
Technical Support Specialist: 11/21/99 - 2/28/03 (3.3 Years)
See the rest at http://www.stolenbyserious.com/journal.html